Comments for Pickle Power!

Comment on Nukazuke: Japanese Rice Bran Pickles by Thy Tran

Thy Tran — Thu, 17 May 2012 04:44:37 +0000

Mairoa–Congrats on starting your pickle bed! You should be able to tell a huge difference in the flavor of the vegetables from the first week (salty, not sour at all) and those that emerge 2 weeks (hint of sourness beneath the saltiness, perhaps some strong funkiness as the microbes start partying). The flavor should continue changing 4 and 6 and 8 weeks later (increasing sourness, more complex but also more mellow and melded flavors). The smell, texture and look of the bran bed itself should also change. The timing depends a lot on the specific blend of ingredients you use and the temperature of your kitchen, but you should be able to eat flavorful pickles within 6 weeks if all goes well. If you aren’t tasting pickles you like a lot within 2 months, you’ll need to readjust the bed for flavor and pickling speed. As you settle into a specific regimen, adding new ingredients or boosting with replacement bran, the bed will go through a temporary adjustment period. It might help to use a consistent vegetable (say a few radishes or a Persian cucumber) every once in a while as a standard flavor test and take notes. Of course, the flavors will continue to develop for many months and even years. Good luck! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Comment on Nukazuke: Japanese Rice Bran Pickles by Mairoa

Mairoa — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:44:49 +0000

I’m curious how you tell if the bed’s ready for real pickles. I’m using junk veggies now and wondering how I can tell to put the good veggies in from my garden.

Comment on Nukazuke: Japanese Rice Bran Pickles by Gee

Gee — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:17:04 +0000

Ms Tran, amazing insight in nuka! You must be the nuka queen
I heard about nuka one week ago, when my organic farmer told me he will give me 15 kg organic rice bran, so I went googling and come on this amazing blog. Can you hibernate your nuka bed in there refirgerator?
I live in Thailand since 5 years and it is always around 90 F/32 C in my living room. It seems that you only may use organic nuka, as not organic nuka contains too much arsenic, and all that arsenic is in the bran.
http://missclasses.com/mp3s/Prize%20CD%202010/Previous%20years/Arsenic/rice%20bran.pdf
And of course only food grade containers, some ceramic pots have lead coating, and that is very poisonous too. So as from today I start my first nuka bed, and I am soooo excited, thanks again, best blog ever!!

Comment on Nukazuke: Japanese Rice Bran Pickles by Gee

Gee — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:16:07 +0000

Comment on Nukazuke: Japanese Rice Bran Pickles by Thy Tran

Thy Tran — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:05:38 +0000

Hi Dandan, Be sure to allow free air flow, even slow, into your rice bran so that it ferments properly. It’s full of living microbes that require air to do their magic, so a tight seal will eventually kill them off and allow the anaerobic colonies to take over. Trust me, those are definitely not the ones you want! As for the rusty nail, I was reading about that but haven’t tested it out myself yet. It supposedly prevents eggplant from turning brown (I’m guessing something is happening with the trace amounts of metal distributed in the nuka bed that prevents oxidation of the vegetable surfaces). I believe that you don’t have to use rusty nails, per se, just something made from iron. Back in the day, this probably contributed valuable supplemental iron to diets less abundant in red meat than ours, similar to the use of cast iron pans. For what it’s worth, ingesting small amounts of iron or iron oxide (a.k.a. rust) won’t be harmful, unless you have a severely compromised immune system and swallow huge amounts of it. And yes, it’s now the season again for Brussels sprouts — enjoy!

Comment on Nukazuke: Japanese Rice Bran Pickles by Thy Tran

Thy Tran — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:50:11 +0000

Hi Guido, I know, it can a bit tricky tracking down the rice bran, especially if you’ve never used it before. I just did a search on Yelp for Japanese markets in the Boston area and came up with several that seem promising. The stores usually stock 1 to 2-pound bags of nuka near the rice aisle. I don’t know of any rice vendors here in the US that just give away the rice bran, though you might be able to order directly in bulk from rice growers in California or throughout the South. Let me know if you need more help finding the raw nuka.

Comment on Nukazuke: Japanese Rice Bran Pickles by Thy Tran

Thy Tran — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:46:07 +0000

Hey there, Noob — Glad to hear you’re trying out your very own nuka-doko. The bed, with regular use, won’t dry out because it will be absorbing moisture from the vegetables that you bury in it. In fact, if anything, you will need to soak up excess moisture that collects on the surface to maintain the right sandy but not wet consistency. And yes, the smell can be strong when you’re up close and personal with the fermenting rice bran, but between my wooden lid and an old cloth napkin, I don’t notice any residual smells through the day. Like a healthy compost pile and very fresh fish, there actually shouldn’t be any unpleasant odors, merely the essence of the living things. Earthy at most, like a forest after rain, but definitely nothing rotten or fumey.

Comment on Nukazuke: Japanese Rice Bran Pickles by Thy Tran

Thy Tran — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:40:07 +0000

MV: I love the idea of beer — can’t wait to use some for a new bed I’m starting. For stirring, I just leave the veggies in. I tend to do little ones, or else cut larger ones (like cabbage or carrots) into smaller pieces, so it works okay for me. You can, if you’re doing more elaborate layered arrangements, have two crocks and just transfer between them for the “stirring” in order to give them the aerating and movement they need. Please do not use a tight-fitting lid, however, if you’re making the shorter-term pickles. There’s a version of rice bran pickles that uses anaerobic fermentation (without air), but it’s meant for very long-term aging; involves sturdier vegetables, typically mature daikon; and has a much more robust flavor. Believe me, I once traveled with my bed inside a plastic zip bag, thinking that I’d just pickle along the way instead of putting the rice brain into hibernation, but the bed went totally slimy and gross because it didn’t have enough air flow. Good luck and have lots of fun!

Comment on Nukazuke: Japanese Rice Bran Pickles by Thy Tran

Thy Tran — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:34:39 +0000

Sorry about that! We changed domains and some images were dropped in the switch. It should be all fixed up now

Comment on Nukazuke: Japanese Rice Bran Pickles by Thy Tran

Thy Tran — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:33:51 +0000

Hi Tess: Yes, you can choose to leave the nuka bed empty for shorter periods. For longer breaks, you can put the bed into deep hibernation using layers of dry mustard and salt on the surface. Read the end of the blog entry to see what I do for a few weeks or months of travel. Thanks for sharing your story about eating the pickles on the farm in Japan–great image!