Brownish liquid in fermenting fennel?

June 19, 2015 8:32 PM

Dig this jar of fermenting fennel in the style of sauerkraut. It's all bubbly and shit! But also the water at the top is all brownish and shit! Is this something I should be concerned about?
posted by kenko to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

It's just made with salt + water + fennel, and smells pickled-y. The bits of fennel that floated up above the weight holding most of it down have also turned brownish, but the fennel beneath the weights hasn't.
posted by kenko at 8:33 PM on June 19, 2015

When I've had this with other vegetables, the brown vegetables are still edible but not pickled by the 7 day mark. Eat them ASAP and leave the rest.

Going to try pickling fennel now.
posted by thebotanyofsouls at 8:39 PM on June 19, 2015

Oh the water will change color - totally normal as long as it tastes and smells normal
posted by thebotanyofsouls at 8:40 PM on June 19, 2015

It's normal! You can spoon the discolored liquid off if you want (as you can with weird moldy liquid in a ferment) and it will keep on doing its thing. Go ahead and taste it every few days, and throw it in the fridge when you think it's done.
posted by padraigin at 8:48 PM on June 19, 2015

Hooray!
posted by kenko at 8:49 PM on June 19, 2015

... no? it's fennel?

Oh, I see what you mean. Still, if it's normal it's normal.
posted by kenko at 9:46 PM on June 19, 2015

This is all totally normal.
posted by feets at 12:03 AM on June 20, 2015

Agreeing that it's normal -- just the veg oxidizing. (Cabbage will do the same.) But! You should also become familiar with kahm yeast, if you're not already. It's not harmful, and most folks say it doesn't affect the end product too much, but it makes things a bit too funky for my taste.
posted by mudpuppie at 8:42 AM on June 20, 2015