Fermented Vegetables

The most comprehensive hands-on guide to fermenting vegetables at home. Kirsten and Christopher Shockey run a small farm in southern Oregon and have been teaching fermentation workshops for years. That teaching experience shows on every page. They know exactly where beginners get confused and address those moments with clear instructions and helpful photographs.

Why This One

Where “Wild Fermentation” gives you breadth across all types of ferments, “Fermented Vegetables” goes deep on one category and does it brilliantly. The book covers 64 different vegetables and herbs with over 120 recipes, organized so you can look up whatever is in season at your local market and find something to ferment with it.

The Shockeys break fermentation down into a handful of core techniques: krauts, kimchis, brined pickles, chutneys, relishes, and pastes. Once you understand these basic methods, you can apply them to almost any vegetable. That framework is what makes this book so practical. You are not just following recipes. You are learning a skill.

The instructions are detailed without being fussy. Each recipe includes timing guidance, troubleshooting tips, and clear descriptions of what your ferment should look, smell, and taste like at each stage. For someone who wants to go beyond basic sauerkraut and explore the full range of what vegetable fermentation can do, this is the book.

What to Expect

A large, well-organized cookbook that doubles as a reference guide. The first section covers equipment, techniques, and the science of lacto-fermentation. The rest is recipes, sorted by vegetable. Expect to discover ferments you never knew existed, from fermented salsa verde to beet kvass to kimchi made with radish greens.

At 376 pages, it is substantial, but the organization makes it easy to use. Most people start with a few simple krauts and gradually work through the more adventurous recipes as their confidence grows.