Kimchi pots in Korea

Kimchi is a Korean dish made of fermented vegetables. Like the Dakotas, North Korea is far enough north that vegetables cannot be gown during the winter months. Historically, fermenting the vegetables during the growing season was a way of preserving them through the winter. Fermentation preserves nutrients and contains microbes that benefit digestion. Studies show that kimchi plays a disease prevention role as well.

Kimchi has been made for 3000 years, and the original dish was made with cabbage and beef stock. Over time other kinds of vegetables have been used—radishes, onions, cucumbers, and chili peppers. In some places seafood replaces the beef broth.

Different kinds of kimchi are made in different seasons, depending on the vegetables available. Some kimchi is served fresh. Wikipedia says 187 varieties of kimchi have been identified.

On March 17 Carol Suzuki of Rapid City will teach a class on making kimchi at 2:00 pm at the Heritage Nursery Farmers Market, 3500 West Chicago, in Rapid City. The cost of the class is $5.00.

As farmers and gardeners make decisions about what to plant this spring, we remind those planning to sell at farmers markets of the state rules governing the sale of fresh, canned, and dried fruits, vegetables, and herbs. These rules are relatively new, and growers are still learning the details. Those canning fruits or vegetables must have their recipes tested and must follow specific procedures of canning and labeling. The purpose of these rules is to make sure that growers are using the latest and most reliable methods of preservations so that the food can be safely stored and is free of pathogens.

Several state and federal agencies set the rules. We hope this post will help you find what you need.

Here’s a summary:

Growers  may sell at farmers markets:

• Whole intact fresh fruit and vegetables
• Baked goods—bread, cookies, cakes, fruit pies, etc.
• Home canned goods with a low pH—jams, jellies, syrup, salsa, tomatoes, some pickles, most fruits
• Dried fruits, vegetables, herbs

These foods may not be sold at farmers markets:

• Home processed cider and fruit juice
• Non-acidic home canned foods such as peas, beans, corn, beets, carrots, squash, etc.
• frozen vegetables
• Foods that need refrigeration—custard and pumpkin pies, kuchen, fresh salsa
• Flavored oils
• Take-and-bake-products—unbaked pizza, fruit pies, coffee cake, etc.

Meat, poultry, dairy products, fish, and eggs are heavily regulated and have their own state and federal rules.

For more information on how to prepare and label foods for sale at farmers markets, click here.

For answers to your canning questions and for contacts if you plan to sell meat, dairy foods, poultry, fish, or eggs, click here.

There are rules for giving out samples. To learn more, call 605-773-4945.

If you plan to sell products by weight, your scale must be checked for accuracy. Call the state office of weights and measures for details. 605-773-3697.

We at DLFN believe that the state should put all the farmers rules into a single handbook, and we are working on that. In the meantime, we will do our best to help.

Sauerkraut

Black Hills Milk is hosting a class in fermentation this month in both their Rapid City and Spearfish locations. The class will teach sauerkraut making, practical and health benefits of all fermentation, as well as touch on water kefir and milk kefir. In Rapid City, the class will be held at their new location, the Heritage Nursery Building, 3500 West Chicago on February 11 at 2:00. In Spearfish, the class will be February 25 at 2:00 at the Red Barn Farmer’s Market. You may register in person at either location or by email at vistolz@rushmore.com. The class cost is $15.

Recently, my cousin who runs a black Angus beef operation slaughtered a young cow with a lame leg.  Not needing the beef for his own family, he offered it to my dad and uncle who jumped on the opportunity to can some beef. I am talking A LOT of beef here – 52 quarts and 14 pints to be exact. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to do such a thing. I mean, for what other reason do we have chest freezers?! Besides, the final product isn’t especially appealing to the eye.

They explained to me that canned meat has a flavor all of its own. During the ninety minutes spent in a pressure canner, the meat becomes incredibly tender and the liquid becomes a rich gravy. I tried some and I had to admit it actually tastes quite good. Furthermore, a simple meal of canned meat and boiled potatoes or noodles can be prepared quickly whereas a beef roast must first be thawed, then cooked for hours. Best of all, it can keep for a long time in a cool dark place.

My uncle said that slaughtering, butchering and processing beef with one’s own hands is a very intimate, almost spiritual, relationship with an animal. Nothing is taken for granted when a life is sacrificed. Having butchered chickens that I raised from chicks, I completely agree.

I was also told that canned beef has a special place in ranch culture. It’s a way of remembering times past and old ways of doing things. Because most ranches did not have electricity until sometime in the 1940’s, ranch wives in western SD canned beef each and every fall.  My grandmother would can a quarter of a two-year old steer and send the remainder to frozen storage at a meat locker (Baldwin’s?) that was located behind the present-day Baken Park shopping center. The canned beef was so good that another uncle swears he married my aunt just so he could eat my grandma’s canned beef!

When the ranch finally got electricity in 1942, my grandparents still were unable to store much frozen meat at home because the refrigerator icebox was extremely small. Once a week, they would drive to Rapid City to sell their fresh cream and eggs which in turn paid the weekly grocery tab. My grandparents would stop by the locker and take home as much meat as they could stuff into the little freezer compartment. Otherwise, it was canned beef for dinner.

Now that I’ve tasted canned beef, I find my mind racing with possibilities. Should I can some of the venison next fall? How about those old laying hens? In theory, what I really like most about the idea of canning one form of protein or another is knowing that I would be carrying on a forgotten tradition. It would make my grandmother proud!

Fermentation, the chemical process where sugar is converted into an acid or alcohol, has been used for thousands of years in many cultures. Before refrigeration, storage of fresh perishable food was difficult. Fermentation allowed for the preservation of food for longer periods of time. Think of the poor goat herder who reaped more milk than he could consume in one day. Rather than waste the precious milk, he found a way to convert the milk into yogurt. Unfortunately, fermented foods have lost steam in modern-day American culture possibly due to our germ phobia and reliance on supermarkets.

Fermented foods are “alive” with microorganisms that make foods easier to digest and promote digestive tract health. They also are nutrient-rich and can act as antioxidants. When you ingest these live foods, you are doing your body a huge favor. On the other hand, most of the fermented products purchased in the supermarket have been heat-processed thereby killing these helpful microorganisms.

This book written by Sandor Ellix Katz is a simplified and relaxed approach to the world of fermentation. For the adventurous person looking to try his hand at fermenting, this book covers so much more than just sauerkraut and kimchi – think all sorts of dairy products, breads and even alcoholic beverages. It’s a surprisingly slim book given the amount of information contained within.

Mr. Sandor makes several references in the book to the commune where he lives. While not all will agree with his lifestyle, I believe that the quest for REAL food can be a common ground for people with differing lifestyles, politics and religions. The following quote from the book best sums this up:

“Resistance is everywhere at the margins. This is where the people who manage to avoid succumbing to mainstream cultural currents come together. In the margins, we create and support diverse alternative cultures that express our needs and desires…What to eat is a choice that we make several times a day, if we are lucky. The cumulative choices we make about food have profound implications.”