Hmmm, this is very interesting. A few thoughts:

First of all, you might like to read this page/website:
http://bodyecology.com/cveggies.php
You can buy a starter culture from them:
https://www9.mailordercentral.com/bodyecologydiet/prodinfo.asp?number=BE011&v...

Cultured Vegetable Starter contains the following beneficial bacteria:
Lactobacillus plantarum,
Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis,
Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris.
Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis
Leuconostoc mesenteroides ssp. cremoris

Now, I made the Nourishing Traditions recipes, in the mason jars. I could see that it was changing and after 3 days it was very tangy and fermented tasting, and I then stored it in the fridge. It was a little above 70F in the room they were fermenting in. The way I understand it, when you culture IN a closed jar, it wouldn't "bubble" much because of the air pressure of being sealed. I couldn't SEE bubbles, but when I opened the jar up for the 1st time, then it kinda bubbled and fizzed and made some crackling noises, because the pressure had been released and the gas could rise.

I am just guessing that if you have a small amount like in a jar, it might take less time to ferment than a big batch. It certainly seems that open-air batches should ferment longer than the jarred batches. Perhaps this is also because the jarred batches are not exposed to much oxygen and this is a factor?

I have no idea about the levels of good bacteria, or which bacteria are present when we make this NT type of fermented veggies. The book indicates that it is lactic acid. I am quite happy with it for myself so I will continue with that.
However you might want to consider adding the starter culture so that you can be sure to be getting those good bacteria. As to the size and amount, I suppose that the mason jar method is partially for convenience. If you want to make a big batch I know there is plenty of information out there on using the old methods involving a large open container and the detailed instructions, go ahead and use that method if you think it will suit your needs better. Let us know what you decide and how it turns out!
~Squeaky~

EM1 or Kyusei/Bokashi.

This is a mixture of various microbes - it gets used for everything, including making cultured veggies in Japan.

In fact EM-X is now being used to treat Abdominal and Liver cancers.

As to the sauerkraut, the temperature you keep it at, and even more important, keeping it a constant temperature is the key...

The latest medicinal research in Asia and Europe includes Ginger root as well...

Finally it worked well.

I had tried to follow the ideas of kimchi, but it seems it didn't work very well. So I kept it simple and used only green cabbage, a few pinch of salt (just enough to extract enough juice from the cabbage), and a little bit of Bio-K+, a milk fermented with a patented strain of acidophilus and with Lb. casei. Set it at 23 degrees Celsius (room with an electronic thermostat).

After 3 days the result is great, there are even chunks of it that are too sour (and give a weird sensation in my nose).

Parents claim that it smells, I say it smells ok. They always complain anyway.

EM and other starters sound great, but I prefer to use something I already have. I'm tired of buying supplements and other stuff from the net, shipping is always ridiculously high...
Do you know of any canadian company selling these EM?

As for ginger, I don't like the taste of it, but I heard you could put it on top of the cabbage, so I could eat it by itself.