kohlrabi torshi x beetroot kvass
Kenji Morimoto is a London-based Japanese American food writer and content creator who specializes in fermentation. He draws from his cultural heritage to teach, write, and share culinary knowledge through various platforms, including his popular Instagram @kenjcooks and his upcoming book "Ferment."
Kenji Morimoto•
September 10, 2025
This is a combination of two of my favourite ferments:
(1) The ubiquitous pink turnip pickles (torshi) seen across many Middle Eastern, Slavic, and Balkan cuisines
(2) Beetroot kvass, a fermented drink hailing from Easter Europe
It works well and given the overlap in technique, it made sense. Feel free to adjust or change the spices (garlic? ginger? allspice?) or add fresh herbs (parsley or mint?) but I've leaned into citrus notes with lemon + sumac.
You're left with crunchy tangy pickles and a delicious brine - try a shot in the morning!
Ingredients (7)
Ingredients (7)
Instructions
Zero out your electronic kitchen scale and put your fermenting jar on top. Add all ingredients and then fill the jar with water.
Note the total weight (of everything inside the jar AKA not including the jar) and calculate 3% salt - ie, multiply the total number of grams by 0.03. This is the amount of salt you need - add this to the jar and let it dissolve.
Cover your jar and let this ferment for 3-7 days; I generally leave this one at room temperature (however be careful as it can attract unwanted yeast due to the brine) but move to the fridge when you're happy with it for long term storage.
Notes
Notes
I used a 1.5 litre jar for the video and the above amounts.
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