Fermenting commercially canned beets??

Has anyone ever lacto-fermented commercially canned beets? Any positive or negative or advice?

Something that is helping my health a lot is some very expensive fermented beet powder. I'm definitely feeling a good result from it. It's obviously NOT the same as just beet powder, the fermentation process is releasing something that I need. I'm VERY broke right now, and fresh beets are incredibly expensive here.  I have a bunch of #10 cans of diced beets. I'm thinking about trying to ferment some of a can. Flavor is NOT an issue, I LOVE beets.

I'm considering making a quick starter for it, as it was sterilized by the canning process, I haven't done that in years, maybe just a light flour in water with possibly one of my probiotic mix supplement pills opened into it...?

I'm thinking pour off the liquid, put in starter and salt and clean water, and weight it. I have lemons I could slice into it too... maybe help release whatever the fermentation process is releasing that makes that powder so effective?

Thoughts? Advice? Suggestions?

They're pickled, right; canned in vinegar? You'll want to be able to bring the pH up at least a bit. Maybe decanting the canning liquid and replacing it with a brine would allow enough of the acid to leach out. But maybe you'd want to soak and rinse a couple times.

For starter, I'd just add some cabbage or whatever edible greens you have in the ground right now.

Can you get the ingredients on the fermented beet powder that's been helping you?

I think you're spot on about adding a starter.
you might find this useful https://www.reddit.com/r/fermentation/comments/85uxsi/can_i_lacto_ferment_frozen_or_canned_vegetables/

I am not sure about your probiotic starter. i have tried making yogurt with one and got some weird outcomes, but what could it hurt?  you have the starter, you have the beets, try a wee batch and see what happens.
if you have anything else with live cultures, it would be worth trying. I do like the idea of adding cabbage leaves or whatever you have around to get things going.

Christopher Weeks wrote:They're pickled, right; canned in vinegar?

No, They are not, just water and salt packed.
I don't buy pickled beets, they over sugar them. And I don't much like them to start with, beets are too good as they are to be tortured like that  :D

For starter, I'd just add some cabbage or whatever edible greens you have in the ground right now.

The garden is almost totally dead, I believe. Health issues and too much other stuff to do made me just let it go. Only thing I'd call edible greens out there is possibly some wild clover, not sure, might have died too from lack of water during drought.  

Can you get the ingredients on the fermented beet powder that's been helping you?

Heh. Ingredients: Organic fermented beets.
That's it.

Tereza Okava wrote:I think you're spot on about adding a starter.
you might find this useful https://www.reddit.com/r/fermentation/comments/85uxsi/can_i_lacto_ferment_frozen_or_canned_vegetables/

Thank you, I got zero useful hits when I searched the net.

I am not sure about your probiotic starter. i have tried making yogurt with one and got some weird outcomes, but what could it hurt?  you have the starter, you have the beets, try a wee batch and see what happens.
if you have anything else with live cultures, it would be worth trying. I do like the idea of adding cabbage leaves or whatever you have around to get things going.

What I have is just probiotic pills. I can do just flour as a starter, I'm just thinking to add a few more critters with a pill.
Nothing else with live cultures around.  

Pearl Sutton wrote:Has anyone ever lacto-fermented commercially canned beets? Any positive or negative or advice?

Something that is helping my health a lot is some very expensive fermented beet powder. I'm definitely feeling a good result from it. It's obviously NOT the same as just beet powder, the fermentation process is releasing something that I need. I'm VERY broke right now, and fresh beets are incredibly expensive here.  I have a bunch of #10 cans of diced beets. I'm thinking about trying to ferment some of a can. Flavor is NOT an issue, I LOVE beets.

I'm considering making a quick starter for it, as it was sterilized by the canning process, I haven't done that in years, maybe just a light flour in water with possibly one of my probiotic mix supplement pills opened into it...?

I'm thinking pour off the liquid, put in starter and salt and clean water, and weight it. I have lemons I could slice into it too... maybe help release whatever the fermentation process is releasing that makes that powder so effective?

Thoughts? Advice? Suggestions?

I've not done this but if I were to try it I think I would do just as you suggest.

I have used a pro-biotic capsule with a bunch of different lactos to make coconut yogurt. It usually worked out great!

Pearl Sutton wrote: I can do just flour as a starter,

I think that works, i was going to also say raisins? fruit peels? a potato? crabapples (or whatever kind of wild fruit you have there) out in the yard?
You figure the canning process killed everything, so whatever you can add will probably help.

My impression is that raisins and wild fruit are rich in yeast, so good for starting sourdough or wine, but not so much veggies. I wonder if that's really a thing or if it matters. I suppose it's worth a try at the least.

Hm, i think you have a point there Chris, I'm thinking of "wildlife" rather than specific ones.
Maybe better to use yogurt? Sour some milk?

I think no matter what you use, the texture is going to be .... unfortunate, with cooked beets, but if you blend it up you've got a fermented beet soup, which sounds good to me.