On Apr 4, 1:24*pm, Deidzoeb > wrote:
> I've been trying lots of recipes from Linda Ziedrich's "The Joy of
> Pickling." It took me awhile to overcome fear of food spoilage before
> I trusted fermented foods that I tried making like sauerkraut and
> kimchi. Before trying this, I would have thought any shredded veggies
> that sat unrefrigerated for a few days would be sickening even if they
> didn't look or smell harmful. I don't worry about that anymore,
> although I wonder if it's safe to sample fermenting foods in the
> middle of the process.
>
> In some of the recipes, Ziedrich suggests tasting the fermented foods
> after a week or two to see if it's sour enough. In some recipes, she
> hints that you can taste test them all through the process, although
> she always gives a range when they should be finished. Is it only safe
> to taste these things after the end of the process, in the time frame
> when it's nearly finished, or is it safe to taste them all along? I
> realize that fermentation develops some organisms that kill botulinum
> and toxic things, but I'm not sure if they start doing it within the
> first few days, or only at the end of the process.
>
> Another question I've had about fermentation is whether it develops
> acid as it goes along. Obviously the flavor and juices change during
> the process. Maybe I'm drawing a totally absurd parallel, but some
> unfermented pickles are preserved by putting them in an acidic
> solution like vinegar. I just wondered if fermentation creates acid
> during the process, or if it's only preserved because of the competing
> organisms that kill harmful organisms.
>
> Thanks,
> Deidzoeb

Just FYI, there's a special group for canning/preserving, which would
include pickling I would think - rec.food.preserving I believe the
name of it is.

(I know nothing about pickling, per se, other than making pickles -
the cucumber type - now and then.)

N.