my favourite ferments. What's yours?

So, based in part on this thread popping into my life and having some stuff available (sourced through a food cooperative I belong to, not grown by us), I spent a bit of time working on starting some ferments today.

Sunchokes became available, so I got some of that started since that is supposed to help with the gassiness issue people have with them - there are some peppercorns and a couple cloves of garlic in with them.  I also did some beets - I used the mandolin with a 1/8" julienne blade.  That's finer than I might have liked, but continued rather than dirtying the 1/4" "french fry" attachment.  Those just have some peppercorns with them.  I used the crinkle cut blade with the carrots - there's some peppercorns and ginger in with them.  In hindsight, the crinkle cut can capture air...it took some finagling / burping to get most of them dealt with.  Let's see how things go.

Thanks for the info about the crinkle cut.I would not have thought about that,im sure they will all be delicious.

Fermented ice-cream!  I've been interested in making ferments for some years but my children don't really like fermented foods, so I kind of let it drop. But recently, my interest is piqued again as I learned that plants have defenses meant to kill you. Of course, we don't find people dead from eating vegetables, but they wreak havoc to our health in a myriad of ways for those who are especially susceptible.  Fermenting reduces the harm and makes food easier to digest in some cases and/or increases the nutrient density of the food. Austin Durant (he teaches live classes on how to make fermented ice-cream!) talks about the various methods of fermentation and food preservation in this vid:

There are so many I like but I only occasionally make any particular one, except a mesophilic yogurt that I keep a quart of going at all times. Most of my ferments a batch lasts a long time so I don't practice making any individual one very often.
Salted lemons - I thought they were too old to use, most recipes call for using them within a couple of months, but then I found the Asian recipes that say they're better after a decade.
Sauerkraut, usually with experimental seasonings (citrus peel, ginger, galangal, fennel, weeds from the garden,...). Been a long time, there are too may good ones at the store now, and mine gets really soft and sour before I finish a batch.
Kombucha, both black tea, and (my favorite) root tea: sassafrass, sarsaparilla, burdock, star anise. Have to get a new scoby, it's been too long. I can't drink it fast enough to keep up when I make it often enough to keep the scoby happy.
Plum wine from my formerly superabundant plums.
Dilly beans. Yay! One of the few vegetables I harvest enough of to preserve. Brine.
Mushrooms. Last year I got a bunch of lactarius near my house. Brined some. Packed some in miso. Yum. Particularly recommended for fans of pickled herring.
Umeboshi have not yet been really successful.
Olives. Some just in brine, some in brine after lye.
Sourdough bread. I fade into and out of wanting to make my own bread, so I often have to start a new starter.
Oolong tea from home oxidized tea leaves. Unsure whether they're fermented or just bruised. Similar with fireweed. I try to keep them moist enough to ferment a little.
Sour cream from my yogurt starter when I have leftover cream.
I tried artichoke hearts in brine this year but last time I tasted them they were too tough, several months ago.
Alexanders stems in brine.
When I buy nukazuke or kasuzuke I put more vegetables into the leftover nuka or kasu. Too lazy to make a nuka pot.
Kvass. Love it. Beet or bread, either or both. Too much hassle but I miss it.

Above in this thread the Japanese dish natto was noted.  AFter introducing nattokinase as a supplement into my diet, I'm finding it may be doing wonders for my arthritis and general older age/post-stroke discomforts.  Does anyone here have a natto recipe they can recommend and a way to serve it in a meal?  Thanks!

I have made wine and mead in the past. Currently I make lacto sour kraut with carrots. I only use 1/2 tablespoon of salt per cup of water so it’s more sour and less salty. I tried fermenting purslane but it turned to mush. I also started making fermented soda out of random plants and fruit from my yard. Pine needles and mint leaves makes a mojito soda that I didn’t like but that’s just me. Made an autumn olive soda and crab apple soda (crab apple one was the best) working on sumac soda next. My wife makes awesome sourdough bread and discard foods.

John Weiland wrote: natto recipe they can recommend and a way to serve it in a meal?  Thanks!

natto recipes are divided into two camps: hiding the flavor or celebrating the flavor. I'm a celebrating the flavor sort of girl, so my kid and I eat natto on its own, mixed with mustard and soy sauce and eaten over hot rice.
If you like the taste, it makes a great sushi or onigiri filling.
I also ate natto spaghetti often in Japan, sometimes they are celebrating natto taste (like this recipe https://www.japanesecooking101.com/natto-pasta/ ) and others cover it up with sauces, i think i had a tomato sausage one that made it totally undetectable.

Nick Mick wrote: working on sumac soda next.

sumac soda sounds delicious!