When did it start?
Set a date, and the notebook keeps the tally for you — no other record-keeping needed.
What's in your jar?
A freeform note for exactly one jar of this experiment. Keep it honest and small.
Calibration check
Temperature toolpH and EC meters drift a little with temperature. Slide through the range and read the corrected values — staple, not science fiction.
| Standard | Value at temp | Change | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC 1413 µS/cm | — | — | |
| EC 12880 µS/cm | — | — | |
| pH 4.01 | — | — | |
| pH 6.86 | — | — | |
| pH 7.00 | — | — | |
| pH 9.18 | — | — | |
| pH 10.01 | — | — |
The four months, as a story
Count from the day brine touches the vegetables. A short ferment is an introduction; the full 120 days is a novel. Both are fine reading.
The culture wakes up
Lactobacillus takes over. Acid climbs, and below pH 4.0 nothing unfriendly finds a seat.
The deep work, slowly
Compounds move from the vegetables into the brine. Whether they then do anything interesting is what this exploration is for.
Ripening
The chemistry that only appears over months begins to show. Watch, taste, take notes.
The jar becomes a culture
Refresh with vegetables and brine each month and it keeps going — a recipe that outlives a batch.
A possible shopping list
What a beginning jar might ask for. Trade freely — the palette page has the alternatives.
For the brine
- Non-iodized salt (35 g per litre)
- Glycine (8 g per litre)
- Vitamin C (1 g per litre)
- Molasses (5 g per litre)
- Black seed oil (12 mL per litre)
Vegetables & herbs
- Red onions, ginger, turmeric, garlic
- Cucumbers or cauliflower
- Oak or grape leaves (for crunch)
- Nigella seeds, peppercorns, citrus peel
Equipment
- A large glass jar (the jar loop has them)
- Glass or ceramic weights, fine strainer bags
- pH strips or meter use the tool above
- Amber jars with one-way lids for the road
Care, not catastrophe
Throw out the batch if you see: mold growing, a rotten or sulfur smell, pH still above 4.0 after 14 days, or any sign of spoilage in a sealed jar. Talk to your doctor before experimenting if you have allergies, take blood thinners, are pregnant, or have thyroid or blood sugar conditions. An exploration that hurts no one is the only one worth keeping.