Salt and Weight

Who writes here

I ferment vegetables in a small kitchen with one counter, a north-facing window and a radiator that makes winter temperatures unpredictable. Most of the work is cabbage: plain sauerkraut, a kimchi-style version with chili and garlic, and whatever else is cheap at the market in a given month. There is usually a jar of cucumbers going in summer and a jar of chili mash bubbling toward hot sauce in autumn. Nothing is pasteurized and nothing is sold.

I weigh everything, salt by percentage, and write down the temperature of the room because that turned out to matter more than any recipe. When something goes wrong, which is often, it goes here with the numbers attached so I do not repeat it. This is a notebook with a readership of one, kept in public because it keeps me honest.