My sourdough discard led me to fermenting radishes

I had extra starter and didn't want to waste it. Someone online said to mix it with sliced radishes and salt. After a few days (seriously, just sitting on the counter) they got tangy and crisp. Now I do this with all my extra veg scraps. It's a neat way to reduce food waste while making snacks.

4 comments

4 Comments

jamesf293mo ago

Tried that with some old carrots from the back of the fridge last week. Mixed the discard with salt and a little water, just let it sit. They got this great fizzy, sour punch that's perfect on salads. The key is to really keep everything under the liquid in the jar.

the_fiona3mo agoMost Upvoted

Watched my friend Dave try this with bell peppers last month. He got lazy about weighing them down and woke up to this crazy green fuzz on top. Totally freaked him out because he thought he’d messed up the whole jar. He saved it by pulling off the bad bits and using a clean cabbage leaf to keep everything else under the brine.

karencampbell3mo ago

Mold can really jump scare you when you're new to fermenting. I had a similar panic with some green beans last summer, a fuzzy white patch showed up overnight. It's such a relief when you learn you can just scoop the bad part off and keep going. Keeping everything under the brine is the hardest part for me too, I'm always hunting for the right sized weight. Your friend saving his peppers with a cabbage leaf is super smart, I'm gonna remember that trick. It's all just part of the learning process with this stuff.

margaretramirez2mo ago

Yeah, the mold panic is real. Karencampbell is right, it's like a horror movie jump scare when you lift that lid.