Fermented delicacies and canning

[Octave]

Alright VSalonistas, impart upon me your wisdom -

my wife and I have been making various fermented foods for a few years and finally invested in a good crock to replace our makeshift collection of mason jars, drilled lids and gaskets. The upshot is that we can make much larger batches now. While this is great (who doesn't need 15L of kimchi?) it has led me to the following question: can you can fermented/fermenting things to make them shelf-stable? I've seen shelf-stable sauerkraut, kimchi etc. in stores, but I'm wondering if they use something (UV, argon flood..etc.) to stop the fermentation before it goes into the jar.

The scientist in me thinks that this should be okay, since the canning process creates a vacuum and without gas exchange the fermentation process should halt, thus you won't get expansion and thus it will not explode. However, I'm not willing to play that game and end up with a massive broken glass/kimchi/kraut/chutney situation in our pantry.

So, to those of you who ferment in large batches, what do you do to keep these things around assuming you don't have a walk-in refrigerator?

PS free kimchi and some killer riding to anyone passing through Marseille - drop me a PM.

[Dmoeny]

you need to control PH and temperature. I'd guess that you can can a fermented food, using a hot water bath. But I'd measure PH of your final product, and go from there. Botulism isn't so great, and that's a big worry for long storage with an airtight container.

[rowdyhillrambler]

I will ask my fermentation guru. We can a lot and pickled, Briney ferments are my fave.

By the way my guru is Sandor Katz, buy his books if you don't have them. He is the fucking last word as far as I am concerned. Had the pleasure of communing with him, still reach to him for info.

Read his books

[JoB]

Sauerkraut at room temp will not last forever - it will get slimy as the weather gets warmer here. I open my crock twice and remove all sauerkraut on the second go and freeze what I have not given away or eaten. For that reason, it's a good idea to make it with others. I am don't know anybody who cans their sauerkraut but that may be cultural - where I am from, fermenting was basically a way to get Vitamin C during the cold months until the next growing season started.

As for kimchi (which we use in much smaller quantities and as a seasoning rather than a side dish), I've had quantities of it in the fridge for months and it was fine.

The major factor for botulism is high pH.

If you have Netflix, season 2 of Mind of a Chef features Sean Brock who does some interesting things with fermentation. Lastly, thanks for the Sandor Katz reference!

[dogrange]

PS free kimchi and some killer riding to anyone passing through Marseille - drop me a PM.

I got nothing to offer you, knowledge-wise, but my favorite food and sweet riding may be enough for me to get on a plane.

[Curt Goodrich]

My understanding is the hot water bath would kill the fermentation so expansion would no longer be an issue. While I enjoy the taste of the fermented foods I also am interested in the health benefits of the live cultures so I don't heat the stuff I make. Things like kraut and pickles keep in the refrigerator a long time.