---
title: 'The Most Helpful Fermentation Guide on the Internet'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=W6Aq8TodxHs'
video_id: 'W6Aq8TodxHs'
date: 2026-06-30
duration_sec: 1167
---

# The Most Helpful Fermentation Guide on the Internet

> Source: [The Most Helpful Fermentation Guide on the Internet](https://youtube.com/watch?v=W6Aq8TodxHs)

## Summary



## Transcript

So, as most of you know, I have been
rather obsessed with fermentation over
the last decade of my life. I put out
countless videos on the subject, which
have racked in over 50 million views.
But over the last 6 months specifically,
I have taken things to a whole new level
because I am deep in the process of
writing a fermentation book with the
main goal of making what can be a very
confusing and overwhelming subject as
accessible as possible. And with every
single bubbling jar and croc that I've
experimented with in this kitchen over
the last few months, I've gained a
little bit more knowledge and a whole
lot of inspiration that I just could not
wait to share until the book is
released. So, I welcome you to my master
class in fermentation. Now, the world of
fermentation is extremely vast. It has
helped humans survive for thousands of
years. So, of course, different cultures
have adopted their own specific
techniques, their own recipes, and the
book covers a much broader range of all
of these things, but today I wanted to
specifically focus on the simple skill
of fermenting vegetables. Because when
you're learning any new skill, I think
it's best to just start with the basics
and then expand your knowledge from that
point. which is why I think every single
home cook should at least be somewhat
comfortable with just simple veggie
fermentss. So, this video won't be
covering more of the complex recipes
like kimchi or kombucha or even koji.
Instead, we're going to be sticking to
just two ingredient fermentss, just
vegetable and salt and water if you
consider that an ingredient. And when I
say vegetable, that includes every part
of the vegetable. The stalks, the pods,
the stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, all
of which will be demonstrated in this
video. And what's really fun is every
single ferment that you see in this
video has been harvested from my garden
over the last few weeks, which really
ties into the core of why humans always
fermented foods. taking that abundance
that's available during the growing
season and preserving it to help survive
those colder months when fresh
ingredients were not available. Now, of
course, with modern technology like
refrigeration, humans have slowly over
time lost this very basic and natural
ability to ferment and preserve foods.
But even with all the available
resources and fresh foods that we can
now get year round in this modern world,
people are finally starting to wake up
about the health benefits of consuming
food that is active, that is alive, and
thriving with beneficial microbes that
help create a healthy balance for our
gut biome. Now, the great thing for all
of you is since we are just focusing on
the basics of fermentation today, we
don't need any expensive gadgets or
equipment. We just need some very basic
supplies and by far the most important
piece of equipment of course are your
jars. The most classic and I think
accessible fermenting vessel being the
glass jar. They are reusable and most
importantly you can see through them so
you can actively watch your fermentss
develop over time. These are your
classic ball jars. Some are considered
widemouth which have a wider opening and
some are considered smallmouth which
have a smaller opening. I do prefer a
wider mouth, which is much easier to
funnel things in and out of. Plus, this
glass weight can fit perfectly into the
mouth of the jar, which do come in
different sizes, and I would highly
suggest having a bunch of these around.
They are a great piece of equipment to
keep your veggies submerged safely under
the water line, which we're going to
need to create a proper anorobic
environment. Now, of course, these glass
jars come in different sizes. My
favorite and what I would say the most
allpurpose size is the classic 32
ouncez, but I also ferment in these 16
ounces and even 8 oz for like a small
little jar of peppers or hot sauce. I
also want to mention these lay parfait
jars which are top of the line when it
comes to a pop top style of jar, which
are a great option for fermentation
specifically because the jars can
actually be sealed tight while still
being able to release gas out of the top
so you don't have to worry as much about
an explosion in your kitchen. Although
these jars still should be burped from
time to time just to be safe. Which
brings me right into the next piece of
equipment, which are your jar lids. Now,
there are many different types of
fermentation lids. Different options
that are more classic that have always
been around, some new options that have
hit the market as fermentation has
started to get bigger. This is a fun
little spring-loaded lid that keeps the
veggies safely submerged under the water
line without needing a weight. Right
here is a one-way air lock lid, which
lets that CO2 that's developed in the
fermentation process out while keeping
the oxygen from coming in. These things
are great. I have a bunch of them in my
kitchen. I use them all the time. You
also have a more classic version that
looks like this, which you have to add
water to, but you get the same exact
effect. And then of course, you just
have your standard mason jar lids, which
definitely do the trick, but they create
a tight seal. So, if you do screw these
lids on, they need to be burped from
time to time to let out that CO2 so you
don't have any type of glass jar
explosion. And then outside of that, the
only other real piece of equipment that
you need for proper fermentation is a
good kitchen scale. And any somewhat
accurate scale will do the trick. All
right, my friends, that brings me into
the most important part of this video.
See how we have a percentage right here
on this jar? that comes from a specific
fermentation equation to get the proper
salt ratio you need to have a healthy
fermented product. And I did a video on
this many years back, but for this book,
I really wanted to fine-tune this
equation. So, it was crystal clear. It
was very practical and it was easy to
adjust at home. And the only way to do
that was to experiment myself, which is
what you see all over this kitchen. Now,
I first want to briefly cover the basics
of fermentation. As simple of a
breakdown as possible. Remember, we have
three things in this jar to unlock some
incredible flavors and health benefits
in this hakarai turnup. Vegetable, salt,
and water. And when fresh vegetables are
submerged in a saltwater solution, also
known as a brine, it creates an anorobic
environment, meaning no oxygen getting
in. And in that specific environment,
certain beneficial bacteria like
lactobacillus, start to thrive. And
these specific bacteria feed on the
natural sugars in the vegetables and
convert them into lactic acid which
gives these fermented vegetables that
nice sour flavor.
All right, before we get into salt
percentages, I just want to let you know
that if you really are interested in
taking your fermentation game to the
next level, the fermentation book and
course are coming this fall. So you can
sign up for more information. We'll send
you updates on the release. Just click
the link below in the description. All
right. So, I would say this is the most
important thing to understand when it
comes to vegetable fermentation, which
is choosing the proper salt percentage.
Now, this is something I struggled with
for many years. There is a lot of
conflicting information out there. And
the reason for that is there's really no
onesizefitsall
answer. There's a range of salt
percentage that's going to work well for
fermenting vegetables. And the key is
understanding how choosing within this
ratio is actually going to affect your
final product. And we have found from a
lot of rigorous testing that anywhere
from 2 to 5% salt of the total weight
and vegetables is going to give you a
great ferment. So that's the good news.
Anywhere on this scale is going to give
you something delicious on the other
side. But how do you choose? All of
these fermentss have a slightly
different salt percentage. And there's a
reason why. Actually, there's four main
things to understand and keep in mind.
Number one is timing. Salt, of course,
is a preservative. So the higher the
salt levels, the more of an inhospitable
environment you're going to create for
that bad bacteria, which is going to aid
in longer fermentation time. So if you
plan to ferment something for many
months, it's better to go higher on that
salt ratio. Whereas on the other end, if
you plan to ferment something for a
short period of time, a lower salt ratio
is actually going to speed up the
fermentation time. Number two is
texture. Salt over time is going to
break down the cell walls of your
vegetable. So if you're say fermenting
something that's a little softer like a
radish, a lower salt percentage might be
ideal to preserve the crispiness and
snap of the radish. Whereas a beet or a
carrot, those are denser, harder
vegetables. They can handle a higher
salt ratio while still staying crispy.
Number three is flavor. A lot of those
beneficial bacteria, those
lactobacillus, actually prefer a
slightly lower saline level. So lower on
the salt scale can aid in building more
of those delicious fermented flavors.
Whereas on the other end of the scale,
of course, a higher salt level is going
to make your vegetables taste saltier,
which some people prefer. But as your
vegetables ferment and build more of
those sour flavors, that sourness will
end up balancing out those higher salt
levels. And finally, number four is
safety. Again, salt being a
preservative, the higher the salt ratio,
the more reduced risk you have for
spoilage, which is going to ensure a
more reliable ferment, which is good for
beginners if you're just getting into
the game, I would go a little bit higher
on the scale and then as you get more
comfortable, you can start lowering that
percentage and going for more of those
unique flavors. All right, so hopefully
you're feeling more confident and you
have a much better understanding of how
fermentation works. Now, it's time to
see it in action. And I have been
harvesting a bunch of things over the
last few weeks. And we're going to start
off with carrots and beets. Two things
that I love fermenting. I'm going to
combine these into one jar because they
have a very similar texture and the
flavors together are going to be quite
nice. Now, for this first ferment, I'm
going to go into more detail of the
process. And the other ones, I'm just
going to kind of go over what I
fermented and the salt percentage that I
chose. and then Carly and I will do a
nice little taste test to see where we
ended up with these fermentss at the end
of the video. Now, when you're
fermenting veggies from the store, I
would highly suggest peeling your
vegetables because you don't know what
they've been treated with and also if
they've been in the ground longer, they
might have a tougher skin. Since both of
these are fairly small and young plants,
the skin is very delicate. It's also
loaded with nutrition, so it can be
fermented. I'm just going to peel off
and cut off any blemishes to get things
cleaned up. And then I'm just going to
chop up my vegetables in what I think
will be just a nice little fermented
bite.
[Music]
Now, once I'm done with the chopping,
I'll get my scale out. I'll pop on my
clean jar. I'll tear everything to zero.
Then, I'm going to load in all of the
vegetables. I'm going to cover them with
water, which will give me the weight
that I need to calculate my salt
percentage. And since this is a fairly
short ferment that I'm going to eat
pretty quickly, I'm going to go with a
lower percentage at 3.5%. But remember,
since these are denser vegetables, if
you're fermenting them for a long time,
they could take a higher salt
percentage. So, I'll multiply my water
and vegetable weight times. 035 to give
me the amount of salt I need, which I'll
weigh out separately. I'll dump that
into the jar. And I'm just going to
cover it with the lid and give it a
shake up. Generally, that's enough to
get the dissolving process to start. And
over time, all of that salt will just
naturally dissolve. Then I'm going to
pop on that glass weight to help keep
those vegetables submerged under the
water line, which is very important,
especially in those early days before
you've built up that good bacteria to
protect things. And this will happen,
like you can see here, a floater will
pop up. It will break the surface of the
water. Now, it's exposed to oxygen, and
all of that bad bacteria can come in
potentially leading to the growth of
mold at the top of your jar. If that
does happen, which things happen in the
world of fermentation, you want to throw
that away, learn from your mistakes, and
start over. Now, the final step is
popping on your lid. And what I love
about these one-way lids is as CO2
builds up in your jar, the CO2 will push
out the remaining oxygen that was left
over in the jar, meaning this empty
space over time will have no oxygen,
which is a much safer environment in
your jar. And when actually fermenting
your vegetables, there's just a few
things to keep in mind. You want to
store them away from sunlight. So,
somewhere on a shelf that's not right in
front of a window or in a basement with
no windows. And when dealing with this
specific type of lactic acid
fermentation, just like the salt ratio,
there's also a range of temperature that
will work to properly ferment your
vegetables. I find a range from 60° F to
75° F will work, which is great because
room temperature falls right in that
range. So for me, we've just been
fermenting things right here at room
temperature, and it's great. But if you
ferment, say, in your basement at a
lower temperature, you'll get some
different flavors. Your vegetables will
also ferment slower, which is a little
easier to control. Versus at the higher
temperature, things are going to ferment
faster. It's a little harder to control.
Things can kind of get away from you
quickly at higher temperatures. Now, for
the second thing I fermented, I had some
garlic scapes, which emerge from the top
of the garlic plant as they flower. But
I'm not actually after the flour. I'm
after these tender, garlicky, sweet, and
delicate stocks, which I just cut into
little pieces and fermented those at a
4% salt ratio. For ferment number three,
I have my absolute favorite spring
vegetable, which are hakarai turnups.
These are super juicy. They're sweet.
There's almost zero bite like you would
get in a radish, which is why I like
them better than radishes. And I
actually fermented these whole at a 4%
salt ratio. For ferment number four,
I've been getting a ton of these radish
pods, which actually emerged when it got
a little hotter and the radishes bolted.
They put out flowers at the top and then
these pods started to develop and they
came in the masses. This is just a few
radishes that developed all of these
pods. And it's a great example of how
much more there is to ferment than just
the actual vegetable that you're used
to. I cleaned off all the pods, got
everything weighed out, and again, I
used that nice middle ground of a 4%
salt ratio. Now, for ferment number
five, luckily, I had some cabbage in my
garden to show you how those ratios are
slightly different. This cabbage was in
the greenhouse, so it was a little hot,
so they weren't really nice big heads,
but hey, a few of these will turn into a
great sauerkraut. So, I chopped up
everything fine. I weighed out my
sauerkraut. And since I'm relying on the
water content in the cabbage, I lower
that salt percentage to 2 to 3%. In this
case, I'm going to go right in between
at 2.5%. I weighed out the salt, dumped
it over my cabbage, and you get to
decide the texture of your sauerkraut.
If you like it more broken down, just
really massage in that salt and break
down those cell walls. Now, I'll place
the cabbage in the jar, and I usually
just wait an hour to see how much
moisture is drawn out. Now, you can see
here, I actually didn't have enough
water to cover all of the cabbage. So,
I'm going to dump in some clean water,
but to account for the ratio, I'm just
going to sprinkle in a little bit of
salt. And that will even everything out.
Now, the last variable to consider is
the time of fermentation. And what I
would say is the first few days, things
aren't going to taste great. If you're
trying it, it might even taste a little
bit off. And that's because that lactic
acid hasn't developed yet. So, the good
bacteria, all those health benefits, the
sour flavor is not developed. And after
about 5 days at room temperature, that's
when things will start tasting better
and they'll just continue to get better
over time. But we're going to talk about
the specific timings we like during the
taste test.
>> All right, so we have almost I don't
know like 12 fermentss here. All
different vegetables, all different salt
percentages, different timings.
>> Some things I didn't make in this video
that have been going for multiple
months. We're going to do a taste test.
I want to rank them 1 to 10, 10 being
the highest. and we'll see how it goes.
Let's move these aside. Two hawkai
turnups. This is the older one at 4%.
>> This is also 4%.
>> Okay.
>> But this one's probably a week or two
weeks older.
>> Yeah. Let's try the one first.
>> Wow.
>> Good. Slightly salty at the 4%, but so
good. This has been going for just a
month.
>> Yeah. It's salty at the beginning, but
then it kind of passes and then you get
that the sour flavor.
>> Yeah. The juiciness of this still holds
up.
>> These look less fermented almost. Maybe
cuz they're whole. Wow.
>> Salt has gone down a lot.
>> Mhm. That's from 421.
>> Oh wow. So that is 3 months old.
>> That is so interesting.
>> Melloed out a little bit.
>> A lot.
>> The salt mellows. But it's not like a
lot more sour.
>> This is definitely better than that one.
The extra time.
>> 9 and 1/2. 8 and 1/2 for me.
>> I would say this is like a nine and this
is like a seven.
>> Um
>> let's go. Cuz we have two beats now.
This is a 3%. What's that?
>> 3.5%.
>> All right. So, that's This is much
younger than this one.
>> Start with the young one. This one's
beets and carrots, I think, though.
>> This one's just beets.
>> All right. Let's just try be the
difference.
>> Yeah. Because it's a lower percentage.
Not too salty.
>> Not too salty.
>> Not that sweet.
>> It still very much has like raw beet
flavor.
>> Yeah. I'm interested in in what's
happening here.
>> This is from May 23rd.
>> Oh, wow. That tastes like a roasted
beef.
>> Completely different. It's amazing like
how much the texture changes and it's
not like, oh, this is mushy now. It's
like, oh, this tastes cooked now. That
tastes like a roasted beef and that's a
10 out of 10.
>> And it's so sweet.
>> Those a 10 out of 10.
>> So good. Beets for the win.
>> We got garlic scapes at 3% and these
have been going for just a month.
>> Those will get better. That's an obvious
>> to me. That is a perfect salt level.
>> 3%. 3%.
>> Yeah, the 3% works. And we've been like
blending these into salsas and relish.
That's another note. It's not like we're
just eating these plants. We're adding
them to dishes, cooking them into
things. We're blending them into things.
It's just so good to have this around
because you get the additional flavor
that's built in. Like you don't need to
add acid anymore. It's just like such a
punch.
>> This is incredibly soft.
>> 8.5. Going to get better.
>> That's like a 10 out of 10 for me.
>> Okay, let's try these little radish pods
that are about a month old at 4%. Oh,
they're a little stinky. They smell like
farts.
>> I love that smell
>> cuz that's the radish.
>> That's the radish fart smell.
>> Oh, like some have different texture.
They have a bit of a pop.
>> Yeah, they're like filled with juice.
>> You know, these have gotten better cuz I
tasted those about two weeks in. They're
getting better. They're kind of fun. I
would say an eight.
>> Yeah, I'll give them an eight.
>> Okay, so now we have four sauerkrauts.
Classic. I don't This one doesn't have a
date. We'll we'll guess.
>> Yeah, we'll guess. That's That's
interesting.
>> Yeah, the brassica has that funkier
farty type. That's why when you open
like a sauerkraut, sometimes it smells
like farts.
>> That's how I know this is still young.
This is a young femin that goes away at
a certain point. probably a few weeks
old. So, this is red cabbage with
carowway. Our only spice in all of this
at 4% from 2 months ago. Now, this when
I was first tasting it, I was like, you
got to watch out when you're adding
spice. Any type of spice because the
fermentation can really intensify the
spice.
>> Smell that. Smells like rye.
>> Wow.
>> I think if you didn't like carowway, it
would be gross. But on the right
sandwich or the right dish, like this
would be so good on pastrami.
>> Oh my god. or something like that.
>> That is such a good point. Nine out of
10 for me.
>> That's a nine out of 10 for me, too.
Next time I would do less carowway.
>> Last one of my favorite condiments of
all time.
>> Clearly favorite of mine.
>> I couldn't I couldn't resist. This is I
forgot the term.
>> It's called cotito.
>> Cito. This is cabbage, carrot, jalapeno.
>> Greatest condiment of all time because
it works as a salsa. It works as a
sauerkraut. It works as a um sloth like
>> but it's like a slightly fermented
sloth.
>> Spicy.
M.
>> Oh, I made this years ago on the
channel.
>> So good. The salt level is perfect.
>> And then you get the sweetness from the
carrot. 10 out of 10. I mean, the only
thing is just like it could a continue
to age. I would love more.
>> Yeah. Well, this will be my next when we
get jalapenos in. We have everything
else.
>> Oh, you're right.
>> We're about to get them. They're coming.
>> We're about to get a ton of cabbage.
>> Oh, we got to do a video on that.
>> That'll be a good short.
>> We'll end on that.
>> Oh, 10 out of 10.
>> So fun. Hopefully, you learned a thing
or two about
>> pickles are good. And you should try
making them.