Cultured Veggies

Do Real Pickles count? Or does it have to be a cabbage product?


Hey, I haven't tried the pickles yet, but Real Pickles also makes saurkraut and asian style cabbage. I just noticed today that the prices went up on all of their stuff. I am so sick of price gauging at health food stores.


Oh I know, I'm broke! Thats why I was so bummed Whole Foods stopped selling Deep Roots. Now I have to drive 1/2 and hour and pay more.

OMG the pickles are so good!


They really aren't that difficult to make. It can easily be done in mason jars. I have made sauerkraut, onions, beets, collard greens, and daikon radish, and make sure to eat some every day. I also make my own kefir.


How long does it take? Can you summarize your process? Thanks.


Basically you shred or grate the vegetable and for every 4 cups of vegetable you add 2 teaspoons of sea salt and 2 tlbs of yogurt or kefir whey. After it is mixed you pound it down (a potato masher works well) to release the juices from the veg. Then you pack it down very tightly in a mason jar and leave about an inch at the top. Put the top on very tightly (it is an anerobic process) and leave it at room temperature for 3-5 days depending on weather. Put it in a dish or pan in case there is some leakage. When you tip the jar you can see the bubbling during the process. When you open it there may or may not be some bubbling. Taste it to see that it tastes tangy then put in the refrigerator. It will keep for months and will continue to ferment at a much slower rate. Personally I love the taste of fermented vegetables and I think they are doing great things for my health.


One thing I forgot. When you pack the vegetables in the mason jar there should be liquid over the vegetables. If you don't get enough by pounding then add a little filtered water before you put the top on.


Thanks, I may give that method a try.


i love those real pickles! i just found a place that sells them by me...
i also love the bio-lacto deep root red cabbage....so good! I just ordered a fermenting crock and am going to start making my own! you guys should check out the book wild fermentation...its really good! ill have to let you all know how it works out...(well after 4 weeks of fermenting!)


Hi, please let us know how it works out. I am FURIOUS over the rise in prices since I started buying the cultured vegetables.


i know its crazy! its so high for a small little bag that i eat in one setting...also i have to say i dont love the other deep-root veggies (except the red cabbage) something weird with the spices.... i think it just is so much easier to make yourself.... i mean then you can control the taste too....

its like a 10 minute process of chopping veggies and adding water and seasalt...

just think if we all started this week we would have veggies by mid december...once you start its so easy because you keep reusing it for starter and it becomes continuous....

i realized i have to stop being such a lazy ass and just do it...i love cooking and i try to cook most of my meals anyway ---which prevents cheating....im sometimes very bad when im out i have little to no will power!!! and i always allow little slip ups....!

lets all start fermenting!!


As long as the ingredients contain just the vegetable and salt (no vinegar), and are refrigerated, they count.


I have been getting leg pain and hot spots down my leg and headaches even though I have been good on my diet? Is that die off. Nothing that I cant handle just feels odd.


I have just gotten my package from rejuvenative foods but one of the jars leaked all out in the box. When I opened it to have a taste, it started bubbling out of the jar all over my counter- yikes! Then I dropped the lid-- and splatter! What a mess! Can anyone tell me if they also have theirs shipped unrefridgerated? The cost was ridiculous for that and they told me over the phone that it is not necessary this time of year. Well-- here I go-- the taste is pretty tart, Hmmmm. Hope I don't keel over from food poisoning :-)


If you don't like the taste and only plan to eat a little with each meal (I eat it as the main ingredient in most meals) - you can
- mix with salad and oil as dressing
- make soup, then when you serve, have a few spoonfuls in your soup - water or veggies and water.

You will be surprised at how many dishes that tastes better with some tart water added.


Thank you Tove for your reply. Yeah the taste is kinda nasty- sour. But I don't really mind that per say as I am more concerned that they have lost some of the good bacteria ( I am using them for my candida ). Gosh, I sure hope not. Does anyone know? Unfortunately I have no other way to get any because no health food stores in my area carry them :-(.


They are supposed to be sour. You can add some sweet vegetables such as red bell pepper and after a few days in the fridge it will taste of bell pepper. (I love it with bell pepper and coriander leaves, but the green leaves only keep about two weeks)


A few minutes of chopping veggies, add the starter culture, and three or four days later I have a couple of QUARTS of cultured vegetables. I think it's a little over priced, but the Body Ecology Cultured Vegetable Starter works great. Make up your own mixture of cultured vegetables. I added some medium hot peppers to the last batch-tastes great. The package will make gallons of cultured vegetables. I figure my total cost for veggies and starter to be around $4 per quart. It's cheap, fresh, and teeming with live micro-flora, kind of a no brainer in my view.


Sorry, I'm not awake this morning. I posted the "Body Ecology Veg Starter" post. I accidently entered the "subject" in the "from" space on the posting screen.


Thanks for your post. Unfortunately I have already had to discontinue eating my cultured veggies. They were making my innerds burn- I have that problem with a lot of foods and supps. I think they were way too acidic for me. :-(

Just a thought. Take a break for a few days then try a small amount like a teaspoon on one day and then skip a day. See if you have the same reaction. You may need to "get used" to it. But if you still have trouble, then stop.


HI Guys, Regarding cultured vegetables. I don't think you will notice die-off symptoms, but IMO they really help in many ways. They repopulate good flora and also help with digestion. I made huge improvements when I first tried them, physically I had alot more energy and better days in general. However, you still have to follow the candida diet strictly, that's what I've found anyway.


Thanks! Well I sure hope I have as good results with them. Everything just seems to go in me and putrify and probiotics never seem to work. I'll repost soon and share my experience with them ( should get mine mine next week ). Have you noticed any reduction in your candida? Thanks so much for the feedback.


Hello, as long as a stay strict to the candida diet and eat cultured vegetables regularly I do o.k. Three years ago, I was barely working two days a week. Now I can work five or six (I get tired, but I do it) I also notice that my candida rash looks much better when eating the cucltured vegetables. Good luck. p.s. I try to eat small amounts with every meal.


Wow, that's great! It sounds like they've given you some improvement. I will take your advice and eat some with every meal. I sure would love to be able to work again, or at least do some regular small workouts at the gym. Oooooh, it's been so long :-(. Thanks again, and I'll repost after I start eating mine.


Hi ,
I read your post in the thread below and I'm LOL!!!! My stores didn't even know what they were either. I wish I'd had a tape recorder of some of the conversations. You want what?? Let me transfer you over to the Deli. Let me transfer you over to produce. What is it again? Cabbage? And, these were healthfood stores! Then I tried gourmet shoppes. Same situation. We need to get back to basics, don't we.


Yes, I agree!! I finally told one sales lady " No wonder everyone is ill!" I was so frustrated. Hmph! :-)