Fabulous Fermentation's topics - tribe.net

mead fermented with kefir grains

2009-11-08T14:30:12Z

Thought you may be interested....I am getting kefir grains in few days, and have received a recipe using 1 cup of honey to 1 gallon of water, kefir grains, a few weeks, and then voila honey mead! Has anyone tried this? I am going to try the basic recipe first, and then experiment with adding herbs...possibly ginger to start. The kefir grains are supposed to spead up the fermenting process. I will let you know how it turns out, and if you have tried this, I would love to hear any suggestions.
~Blessed Be

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 1 reply

sourdough starter from fruit skins

2009-11-08T10:39:23Z

we've talked about the many ways to make sourdough starter in past threads. I just started a new one, by using the skins from some plums that had a nice bluish-white 'bloom' on them. Grapes grow the same yeasts, too, wihch also looks like a 'bloom' of greyish stuff on the skin of a purple grape.
Just cut off some skins, put them into with some flour and a lot of water (we used rice flour due to a gluten-free dieter in the house, but wheat, rye, etc, all work great). After 24 hours or so, pick out the skins and feed the watery 'starter' just enough flour to give it the consistency of runny pancake batter, then incubate again. All this time you can leave it at room temperature. Within a couple of days it should grow a nice colony of tasty/bubbly yeast, the same yeast that came from the bloom on the fruit skin. After a day or a few days, the colony of yeasts in the starter should be robust enough that you'll see lots of bubbles in your 'batter'. At that point you save a little starter and set it aside/into the fridge to start the next batch next time you want to make bread. The rest of the 'batter'/sponge/starter that you just made gets used in bread recipes (I use a cup or two of 'starter' per loaf of bread and add enough flour to make the runny starter into a proper consistency dough. Sometimes I add oil, sometimes I don't, I always add salt, and I vary the flours to get different kinds of sourdough breads)

If you're lucky, the yeast you happened to capture might be a really robust leavening agent, and you may not need to add any storebought bakers' yeast to the recipe to get it to rise. If you don't like the flavor or if the stuff doens't seem to have a lot of 'oomph' as a leavening agent, try capturing another strain of yeast from a different batch of fruit. There are other ways to get sourdough culture, including just leaving a flour-water mixture out on the counter, open, till it ferments.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

Easy Beet Kvass

2009-11-08T03:10:08Z

I learned this from Sandor and have been making it a lot this year. Beets are in season again so ... here goes.

peel and cut into chunks - beet root (i use one medium sized beet for a quart- but its all to taste really)
Put in some salt (to taste) (the more you use, the slower it ferments i believe- but i don't get as much mold either so i use quite a bit. )

cover with a cloth
set it on the counter for 2-3 days-
taste it and check if you like it- ferment longer- or put in the fridge.

mmmm... good for ya too.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

Seeking Jun Mother Culture

2009-10-25T02:53:07Z

Greetings and Praise

We are two sisters who live in Northern California and are seeking healthy whole Jun Mother Culture or Cultures. We will journey to pick up the culture anywhere in the westcoast. Please bless us up with the culture and we shall offer blessings in return..
Many thaks
J&M

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

Jun ferment

2009-10-25T02:36:02Z

Anyone know anything at all about this culture/fermented drink?

I have only found one site that sells it. But the guy gives no info what soever about it.

I have a culture of it gifted to me. The person who gave it really did not know much about it.

Please let me know.
Thank you

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 24 replies

do you have to remove starter when feeding sourdough?

2009-10-24T02:16:53Z

i think i understand the basic idea behind the advice to remove as much starter as you put in- that with limited space in one's jar, you need to remove "waste" products to provide more room for the fresh food you add so the ratio is favorable to the type of bacteria you want to grow.
but if you have enough space in your jar to keep feeding in ample amounts, does it affect the quality of a starter to nor remove any some weeks? i tend to only use it once a week or less, and don't like wasting starter when i don't need it.

anyone have any experience to share?

thanks in advance.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 10 replies

do you need to remove sourdough starter every time you feed it?

2009-10-13T18:29:24Z

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

Paul Stametz on kombucha- negative

2009-10-12T20:33:30Z

Paul Stametz, the mushroom guru who's generally very supportive of medicinal uses of fungi, has a fairly negative article on kombucha. I tend to agree with most of his points here, as kombucha just doesn't make sense to me as a probiotic- and the several people who suffered lifetrhreatening effects (one died) from kombucha in Idaho a while back had extremely acidic blood after drinking only 4 oz for a few months.

anyway: http://www.fungi.com/info/articles/blob.html

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 47 replies

Fermented Beans...

2009-10-12T20:29:35Z

Has anyone else had success fermenting pinto and black beans?

According to a study, beans fermented with two strains of bacteria, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, produced little or now gas. I've been trying to reproduce these results at home. First step was finding a source of the bacteria. I found a probiotic supplement. containing those two bacteria (as well as half a dozen others). I found a yogurt maker that keeps the beans at a constant temperature good for lactobacillus strains.

The results have been mixed and a little disappointing. For one thing, the beans don't cook very well after fermenting. They never really get soft, even after too many hours on the stove. They're not exactly "crunchy". It's more like "al dente".

Anyone have any thoughts?

In the mean time, the experiment continues.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 3 replies

kefir grains in or around nyc??

2009-10-01T19:29:39Z

I know I could order them from such-and-such site, but I'd rather get something local that's made of yeasts from nearby. Does anyone have some to lend out or can you recommend a place to buy them around here?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 7 replies

tomato ferments -- drinking, (maybe kefit too)juice?

2009-09-20T22:30:03Z

I've been trying this old French recipe all summer for fermented tomatoes in various forms (paste balls covered in herbed olive oil, regular thick paste covered in oil, regular sauce with a twist). But the byproduct nobody mentions is the fantastic water that releases from the fermenting tomatoes. I've been putting it in the fridge and sipping bit by bit.

The best part is that everyone at the Farmer's Market gives away their mushy tomatoes. I easily get 10 pounds or so a week of great organic heirlooms -- the farmers are happy for me to take the uglies off their hands!

Has anyone tried fermenting tomato recipes - any to share?

Anyone experienced this wowee-zowee juice?

I was thinking it might handle my water kefir grains -- any idea how I could do that? (I've adding nothing, not even salt to the juice ferment.
Not sure how sugar might factor in.)

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 1 reply

Sweet Potato Fly kefir possible?

2009-09-17T22:06:07Z

I've become addicted to Sweet Potato Fly (unfortunately because it IS actually super sweet!) and I'm wondering if it can handle kefir. I don't have enough grains (water) yet to risk experimenting yet. I'm a kefir newbie.

Anyone have any experience?

It's basically grated sweet potato, lemon, sugar, eggshell, whey + water - fermented for 3+ days in the sun. It sounds stranger than it tastes - it ends up being a pink lemonade-type taste.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 1 reply

Plum recipes

2009-09-17T22:02:12Z

I just harvested 1000's of delicious plums from my plum tree.... Anyone have any good plum ideas?

So far I have made:
Fermented Plum chutney
Plum vinegar
Plum Cobbler
Frozen a bunch of sliced plums for future cobblers...

I am looking for more savory applications- trying to stay away from too many desserts! Plus I love to cook but not really a baker...

Thanks!

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 9 replies

Fermenting Pickled Beets

2009-09-02T15:17:27Z

I'm new to this tribe and seek some advice. I was on my way to fermenting pickled beets when I realized in NT it says to roast your beets. I boiled mine. Is that going to be a big deal??

thanks so much!

diana

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

Fermenting Cucumbers

2009-08-30T15:24:04Z

Hello,
A few weeks ago I fermented some cucumbers using Body Ecology's Starter. After about 5 days, it smelled fine but there was a while film on top of the veggies. I wasn't sure if this was some bad bacteria or what? I didn't think good and bad bacteria could live together but I wasn't sure. Any thoughts if it would have been okay to eat?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

Caring for your Kefir Grains

2009-08-11T08:08:02Z

just thought i'd post a new topic on taking care of your kefir grains.
if you've tried making kefir grains into kefir, i'm willing to bet at one point or another you've had a hard time maintaining the little critters.
sometimes those little kefir grains just doesn't seem to grow. Or they just taste funny, or they even seem to shrink each day.
this post http://www.yourkefirsource.com/kefir-grains/caring-kefir-grains i came across should serve as a guideline for people who have their own kefir grains.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

Piima, Viili, Fil Mjolk and Caspian Sea Yogurts

2009-08-11T05:48:39Z

Hi everyone,

I've never made yogurt before but after doing extensive research found that these particular yogurts culture at room temperature, and do not require the milk to be cooked. That sounds great, and means I can use raw milk! Anyone in the Bay Area doing this? I'd like to find someone that would be willing to share the culture with me (I did find a place to buy them, but its nicer to share ;)

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

anyone in Asheville NC? Got kefir grains?

2009-08-10T17:01:37Z

Hey folks,
I've been hanging out in Asheville NC this summer, and I'd love to meet up with some more Tribe people here, especially foodies. Anyone want to hang out? Check out my profile for what my interests are, fermentation and food preservation is pretty high on the list.
I'm also looking for kefir grains. Anyone have any in town (Or out of town if your'e still reading this and can mail me some?)

Thanks,
Mark

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

Freezing ferments

2009-08-08T17:16:58Z

I am making A LOT of fermented plum chutney due to my overwhelming plum harvest... I know it will last a long time in the fridge but can I freeze some of it, too, and still maintain the probiotic nutritive qualities?

Anyone have good success freezing their ferments? Sorry if this has been discussed before- I couldn't find any back-posts about it.

Thanks!

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

Starting Kombucha from a Bottle

2009-07-20T19:41:53Z

I just did this for the first time- it was easy and I had great results!

First, I picked up an unpasteurized bottle of kombucha. I couldn't find a plain one, so I used elderflower. I avoided the fruit flavored ones, because I wasn't sure how the added fruit juice would do in a ferment.

I shook it up (to get the sediment on the bottom) and put it in a covered jar with a cup or so of sweet tea....and waited. I swirled it every now and then, although I'm not sure that was necessary. Once it got very strong smelling, I added some more sweet tea, and within a week had a film starting to develop. I stopped swirling and kept adding tea, and now the mother is thick and healthy, only two or three weeks later! It's pretty strong smelling now, so soon I'll get the first actual batch out of it.
Can't wait!

Has anyone else used bottled 'buch for their starter? How was your process different? I'd love to hear other stories to figure out the best way to accomplish this. Seems like a lot of people want mothers and aren't able to find them.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

kale fermentations?

2009-07-18T20:55:14Z

Hey all you fabulous fermenters. I have an abundance of kale in my garden now and am wondering if anyone has fermented with kale before. I just shredded some to try making kale kraut. Have no idea how it will be. Smells very kaley!

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 10 replies

grape leaves in half-sour pickle recipes

2009-07-13T19:12:37Z

I'm getting ready to make some half-sour pickles (ie cucumber pickles with minimal vinegar, fermented), and some of the recipes call for first lining the crock with grape leaves or currant leaves. I've seen this in Russian pickling recipes before (they pickle just about ANYTHING, including fruit). Any idea what the point of this instruction is- is it a way to get acidophilus starter into the vegetables, or is there a tannin reason for it?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 3 replies

Kefir grains are amazing

2009-06-20T18:16:04Z

For several reasons - travel, dairy free diet for a while, neglect - I've had a jar of kefir in the back of my refrigerator for a bit over a year. Today I decided to finally see what was going on in there. Astoundingly, the kefir grains look and smell healthy. Just cleaned them and added some milk and I'm hoping that they will still make good kefir.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 9 replies

you might think of joining this new tribe...

2009-06-20T01:49:08Z

natural and organic brewing
http://tribes.tribe.net/onb

this dude has a twist and turn
on fermenting PLUS
other
things

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

Permaculture and Food Skills Workshop Series, Class 1: Beer Brewing

2009-05-18T19:21:43Z

May 24, 2009 10 am - 5pm Beer Brewing and Hop Growing for Beginners

This is the first workshop in our Permaculture and Food Skills workshop series. Check out www.lostvalley.org for more information. Learn to make your own beer and grow hops in this day long workshop. Home brewers around the country are learning to make their own signature brews for a fraction of the cost of you pay in the market.

Tobias Schock of Valley Vinter and Brew will lead this hands-on workshop teaching you all you need to know to get started brewing. We will also spend some time in the field learning how to grow your own hops. Organic, vegetarian lunch and home brew tastings included.
Cost: $25.00 includes organic vegetarian, lunch and beer tastings
Space is limited to 25 brewers so pre-registration is recommended.
Where: Lost Valley Educational Center, Dexter, Or, 97431
Call: 541 937-3351 x 112
Register: events@lostvalley.org

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

Fermentation Workshops

2009-05-12T00:54:19Z

passing on the measage...

Summer and Fall 2009 Fermentation Workshops with Sandor Ellix Katz Come experience how simple it is to make your own kimchi, kefir, kombucha, and other fermented delicacies. Learn about the healing qualities and nutritional importance of live-culture ferments, as well as their illustrious history and integral role in human cultural evolution. Empower yourself with simple techniques for fermenting these healthful foods in your home. Be part of the fermentation revival! Please help spread the word by forwarding to other interested folks and posting on relevant listserves!

May 21-31 Whitwell, TN Food For Life Sequatchie Valley Institute Fermentation and many other food-related skills and ideas, at agorgeous mountainside homestead. svionline.org/events/513/food-for-life-2009/<javascript:void(0);/*1241928458324*/>

July 25-26 La Farge, WI Kickapoo Country Fair www.organicvalley.coop/kickapoo<javascript:void(0);/*1241928470521*/>

August 5-6 Asheville, NC Wild Foods and Fermentation, Co-teaching with Frank Cook Ashevillage Institute www.kleiwerks.org/events_projects.php<javascript:void(0);/*1241928488874*/>

September 22-26 Woodbury, TN Fermentation Intensive at the Foundation for Fermentation FervorTeaching Kitchen www.wildfermentation.com/events.php?id=132<javascript:void(0);/*1241928519685*/>

October 29-31 Woodbury, TN Wild Foods and Fermentation, Co-teaching with Frank Cook at the Foundation for Fermentation Fervor Teaching Kitchen www.wildfermentation.com/events.php?id=144<javascript:void(0);/*1241928546233*/>

November 7 Red Boiling Springs, TN Kimchi-Making Harvest Festival Long Hungry Creek Farm www.barefootfarmer.com/ <javascript:void(0);/*1241928563041*/>

November-December Woodbury, TN Dates to be announced One-day workshops on fermenting vegetables, miso, tempeh, and tonicbeverages at the Foundation for Fermentation Fervor Teaching Kitchen www.wildfermentation.com/events.php<javascript:void(0);/*1241928583636*/>

Sandor Ellix Katz is a fermentation revivalist and author, whose passion for fermentation developed out of his overlapping interests in food, nutrition, and gardening. His books are Wild Fermentation:The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods and TheRevolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground FoodMovements. For more information visit www.wildfermentation.com

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 3 replies

sourdough pizza

2009-04-14T15:28:51Z

I've been making pizza from my sourdough bread dough, since I make it in huge batches and keep it fermenting in the fridge so it's ready when I am. So far I"ve been too lazy to use a separate recipe for pizza- I just add lots of olive oil either when I form it into a ball, or on top of the flattened dough. It's pretty good, but sometimes gets too puffy, even when I poke it all over with a fork.

Do any of you have a sourdough pizza recipe or technique from a regular bread recipe that you'd like to share?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

Rare kitchen tool discovery for fermentors!

2009-04-10T17:42:11Z

Today at the Wok Shop in San Francisco's Chinatown, I found an excellent
source for beautiful and inexpensive clear glass fermemting jars.
The design is somewhat like the excellent, heavy and expensive ceramic crocks
with a water moat made by Harsch.
The elegant advantage of these new jars and the Harsch crock is the water moat,
which lets the natural gasses escape thru the water filled moat, avoiding daily maintinence
and development of white kam skum which is harmless but unattractive.
With the ones available at the Wok Shop, we will also be able to observe how
things are developing visually thru the clear glass, unlike the Harsch, which
is opaque ceramic.
I don't know what the role of light is upon fermentation. When making a batch in the Harsch crock,
I keep it out of the sun in a cool place outside on the deck.

Tane Chan of the Wok Shop had been searching for years for a source of fermenting jars
with a moat to sell in her shop and just found these made in a remote villiage in Shanhai.
She is as ecstatic to have finally found these beautiful jars to sell as I am about experimenting
with fermenting in a smaller size container than the huge Harsch crock I happily use.

The 2 sizes are:
large, 132oz, @11.5" tall X 7.5" diameter for 19.99 (@1 gallon size)
small, 84oz, 9.5" X 6.5"diameter for 14.95
These glass jars have no weights (so excellent with the Harsch) so I used a plastic bag
filled with water to weigh down the new batch of sauerkraut I made in it tonight.
The opening at the mouth of the jar is @4" wide.

The Wok Shop is a retail vendor of functual wonders and the cool and
unusual for your kitchen. The prices are quite reasonable for everything there.
They also ship.

www.wokshop.com
718 Grant Ave, San Francisca, CA 94108
415-989-3797 or 888-780-7171
info@wokshop.com

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 9 replies

Natto Anyone?

2009-04-08T00:29:22Z

I just recently came across this wonderful looking ferment and was wondering if anyone has any experience with this culture.
Also, I was wondering if there is any way to acquire the culture other than buying it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natto

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 25 replies

jun?

2009-04-05T01:31:15Z

anyone here have experience with the jun culture? if yes, please email me, i've been making it, but have no one to compare notes with!

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 9 replies

Veggie ferments

2009-03-26T23:58:18Z

Hi,
I am having fun making saurkraut with and without whey and will now make some veggie ferments with whey using zucchini, onions, garlic, carrot and a few other veggies from our CSA share. I was asking Linda on another tribe some questions, so thought I would post hear and ask more questions related specifically to fermenting veggies.
Linda mentioned that when canning with zucchini that using grape leaves would help to keep the zucchini from dissolving totally.
Does anyone know more about this. I do have grape leaves. I may just try a few ways to see what happens.
Anyone else want to share veggie ferment recipes. I am seeing many possibilities for healthy living through increasing the fermented foods I eat.
LInda, If you read this....thanks for your help so far and any further help would be greatly appreciated.
And thanks to anyone else who know more than I do about this.
Peace, Julie

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 14 replies

Injera

2009-03-26T21:22:00Z

Does anyone have a recipe for injera that they have been successful with. I tried the recipe from Wild Fermenation and did not get great results..so wondering if others have tips and suggestions. I ended up with more of a big pancake than the light fluffy bread, the pancake was good, but just not injera. I love this Ehtiopian bread and have some teff flour to play with.
Spring Blessings
Linda

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

cold temp problem

2009-03-26T01:31:15Z

at the moment my place is too cold for fermenting. i do not have gas heating and it too expensive to keep my place warm at the typical room temperature. the situation has been making me fermenting frustrated. my kefir for example will seperate. i am wanting to do things like kimchi, honey wine ect...

can you think of any solutions? maybe there is a simple gadget on or a home made 'job' solution to the problems ? i am not sure if i am willing to at this momemt spend much money on a modern gadget (not knowing if there are any such things) as i may not need it for much in the future. regards

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 7 replies

Sourdough pancakes

2009-03-26T01:23:09Z

An important part of keeping a sourdough starter alive and happy is regular feedings. Feeding the starter involves adding equal parts flour and water, at least doubling the volume of starter. A good measure of a starters health is that about 6-10 hours after feeding, the starter will double in volume again with CO2 bubbles.

Some people don't feed their starter enough, just adding a little flour and water. This inhibiting the growth of the bacteria and yeasts, reducing the health of your starter and eventually resulting in bland tasting bread. The problem is that if you are feeding it enough and you don't bake a lot of bread, you wind up throwing out a lot of starter. Some people (like me) hate throwing away what is basically food.

This morning, when feeding my starter I tried making sourdough pancakes for the first time and WOW! I took a bite before putting anything on them and wound up finishing them off without butter or syrup. The were amazing and so easy!

2 cups sourdough starter
1 egg
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix all the ingredients except the baking soda. Add a little flour to adjust consistency and mix in the baking soda.

This is a great way to start your day and use up extra sourdough starter.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 8 replies

So I tried using coffee as a base for K. tea...

2009-03-22T18:03:05Z

and Damn!

Its pretty freaking tasty! Its "heavier" in the mouth then using black or green teas as a base, but its pretty darn good! I did get a pretty big build up of yellowish looking foam under my SCOBY, but I just scrapped it off when I was filtering it out. It reminds me of some of the coffee flavored drinks I bought when I visited Okinawa from the vending machines there.

Its a nice change from "regular" kombucha tea, and I'm going to experiment with it a bit more to see what kind of flavors I can come up with. I also just finished up a citrus flavored k. tea batch that is quite refreshing!

Yay for homebrewing and not paying $3.50 a bottle!

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

herbal kombucha vinegar?

2009-03-22T17:58:52Z

i am wondering if you can make an herbal vinegar out of kombucha vinegar? i accidentally have 2 gallons of some 3-month aged kombucha, and i would like to infuse some with dandelion root. will this work, or will it ferment in a funky way and spoil?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 3 replies

Ferments a Tamasic (long-term depressing effect) Food?

2009-01-30T05:34:39Z

I was reading this thread in the Healthy Food for Lazy People tribe about garlic and onions...then someones talking about fermented foods being Tamasic which is one of three ayurvedic food types...Tamasic being the type you should have the least of because it has a long term depressing effect...

This sounds crappy.

I mean understand fermented foods are "living foods" as much as they are "dying foods" But the microorganisms offer up their bodies and by-products as enzymes, organic acids and vitamins. This warrants eating them in my opinion. Plus the fact that fermenting preserves foods, stabilizing food supply during lean times or for homes without refrigeration.

For those on an ayurvedic diet...a diet of Sattvic foods is supposed be best. So, basically foods that still have their high life-force in them or something?

I just got a copy of Wild Fermentation for x-mas and I'm so into fermenting right now. It's depressing to read info that says ferments are depressing to the body (long term)

Here's the post I read about this in
http://healthylazy.tribe.net/thread/beb591f7-3fa2-4b59-8dbb-4cf8faa3137c

and the website they pulled it from
www.sivananda.org/teachings...gunas.html

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 5 replies

I've got whitish stuff on Pickles after fermenting...

2009-01-26T14:47:35Z

So I made a batch of Pickles out of some smallish slicer cukes. i added some thai chili, dill and garlic. They taste great, but there is some whitish stuff growing on the cucumber rinds...it looks like colonies of bacteria, or something....I just rinse the stuff off before eating them...its not very thick or anything, just a thin little film in patches. Anyone have any clues or experience finding stuff growing on ferments that seem otherwise harmless?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

Zurek Polish Sourdough Soup

2009-01-21T21:25:36Z

In my project to find as many uses as possible for my sourdough starter since I can only eat so much bread;

I found the Polish Sour soup known as Zurek. Traditonally made with polish sausages and hardboiled egg and thickened with rye sourdough.

As I dont have rye I just used my sourdough starter that is all spelt.....and I loved it.

Some recipes call for sour cream, some for horseradish etc. I added kefir.

And now that I think of it, this sourdough method could be used for a lot of soups. It adds flavor and thickening. Cool.

The tasty pieces of hardboiled egg added at the end were awesome too.
I will be making this again.

I wanted to find a good recipe page with photo tutorials but was unsuccessful.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

Sourdough

2009-01-19T16:51:44Z

I am facilitating the creation of a sourdough starter per Sandor's recipe. Any words of wisdom to share???
Astrid

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 18 replies

Best place to get homebrew start-up supplies

2009-01-16T01:36:44Z

Hi everyone! There is so much information out there for a beginner to sort through, so I thought I'd ask the experts here for some start-up tips. I live in Alaska and am looking to start brewing Kombucha at home. Is there a web-site that offered products you had good experience with? Thank you for your time and energy :) Best wishes to you all!!

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

Does anybody know how to make beer or wine w/o the heat...under 117.5 degrees

2009-01-07T19:33:24Z

i know raw cider vinegar. apple, etc
but what about the alcohol content?
within the yeast or some other compound?
what separates alcohol from being?
the heat?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 24 replies

air lock

2008-11-26T02:19:47Z

so, how about my airlock idea rather than a weight on the sauerkraut?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 3 replies

Kombucha with honey?

2008-11-25T17:02:16Z

I've never made Kombucha before but I was going to try using raw honey for the first batch. Has anyone tried this?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 5 replies

What happened to my pickles?

2008-11-22T22:15:45Z

I made dill pickles using a fermentation recipe from Nourishing traditions; they taste OK two months later, but the texture is horrible, so bad I threw them out. Squishy middles and not-very-firm outer skins. Am I doing something wrong? Or is it because I used full sized cucs instead of pickling ones?

Any advice would be appreciated.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 7 replies

silly question from mr. compost

2008-11-13T16:17:35Z

i can't seem to make kraut to save my life. i've been composting the hell out of some cabbage though. i was rummaging around setting up my still and got to thinking. dangerous i know... what is it about the air that is so bad for krauting? is it the oxygen? if so what do you guys think about putting a bubble type air lock on the top of a sealable container? as the kraut ferments and produces carbon dioxide i'll have an oxygen free environment. that way i wont have to worry about keeping the cabbage weighted down or anything. think it'll work? i'd like to get some input before wasting more perfectly good veg matter.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

some questions ?

2008-11-12T06:44:54Z

having cultured a healthy interest in fermented foods in the last few weeks i have a few questions.

is lactobacilli.. lactobacilli ? i mean this in terms of.. is the lactobacilli in one food (ie kerfir) the same in another (ie sourdough bread); or are they different? is it beneficial to consume cultures under the same name but from different foods sources. do you see what i am getting at?

regading kefir...is it really much better to use pure milk from mr cow direct ; ) than to use shop bought pasturised milk. to my thinking surely the microbes go to work at reproducung themselves and neutralizing toxins (or to a large degree). as long as they reproduce does it matter if the original product lacks microbial life or purity to begin with? correct me if i am wrong.

on that line of thought. i have seen slow fermented sourdough bread in my local supermarket with white flour. would you get the probiotic benifits from this?... relating this to wholewheat sourdough. i am sure that you will agree white bread is neutrtional rubish, but more out of curiosity microbes being natures transformers should feed and convert the bland substance (to my thinking) to a degree.

how quicky do bacterai multiply ie in yogurt in general. i one heard they double one every half an hour. do you concur with this?

regards

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 16 replies

hi first batch of kraut with a question

2008-10-24T16:40:06Z

ive got the kraut in crock for about 3 days allready, ive read a few different things about putting the cloth "on" the kraut or "over" the whole crock? can someones confirm this,, i put it over the crock for now,, also the juice is over the plate not the kraut, thats allittle confusing to, because doesnt it need to be over the kraut? or if its over the plate or i should say "on the plate" there is sufficient enough juice over the kraut? i know its the most simple of things to make, but i keep screwing it up somehow, this is my 3rd batch and i am determined to make it work . so if there is no scum yet on the water juice just leave it? oh and my final question is
i love pickles , and can eat a whole jar in a day, and the juice is left,, can i put that over the kraut to give it some extra flavor???? not sure, but i love the idea and the "taste thought" running thru my head....

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

first batch of kraut

2008-10-15T16:58:16Z

i've got about three gallons going, and it's been over a week. i decided to try a bit to see how it is. six hours later, and i've got the most painful gas of my life... oh god the agony! what did i do wrong? at least i didn't feed it to anyone else

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 5 replies

Homemade Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

2008-10-08T00:18:57Z

Hi,
I have just tasted my raw gravestein apple cider vinegar that has been brewing and fermenting for the last year.
It is fabulous. Yesterday in my herbal class, we made nourishing herbal vinegar from this. What a delight to share.
I am really going more fully into fermentation experiments. I have some questions that perhaps some of you know the answers to.
Recently I read something about fruit flies and their ability to aid in fermentation. I cannot remember where I read this and have been wondering if I really did read it or not. Does anyone know about this?
And.....the first time I strained my raw vinegar, I took the vinegar mother off. I had some wild rose hips infusion. I added a whole bunch of sugar to this and put the vinegar mother in this. This has been sitting for about six months. I just strained it. It had mold on the top. I threw out the vinegar mother on this because of the mold, but kept the rose hips ferment. It tastes okay but not really acidy like the apple cider vinegar.
Do you think I should have added even more sugar?
Any suggestions would be helpful.....and thanks.
Peace, Julie

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

chutney....

2008-10-05T23:14:05Z

i am making several chutneys from my garden- some recipes out of nourishing traditions cookbook and some not. can i add whey to ANY cooled chutney and proceed to ferment for a few days?

for example, i am making a cooked chutney with fresh figs. could i allow this to cool and then add whey and let sit at room temp for 3 days?

i dont see why not but i may be missing something here.

(i am also posting this on nourishing traditions tribe)

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

fermenting in a mason jar

2008-09-26T01:22:00Z

I was recently talking to my cousin about making sour kraut. He has made a lot of it an he suggested instead of using a weight and a plate in a crock to just do it in a quart mason jar, he said that this would create the same anaerobic environment needed for fermentation . he said to pack in the cabbage leaving some space at top, then top it off with a bit of water. I don't remember if he said to screw the lid on tight or to leave it a little loose. So I made kraut like this, and put the lid on tight, it seems to be fermenting quite quickly, I have been opening the lid daily to let off the gasses. There are a lot of bubbles in the cabbage so I have been packing it down with a wooden spoon every day or so. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on fermenting in mason jars. I seems to be going well and is quite a bit simpler than using a plate and skimming off the scum. I also made some beautiful kim chi this way, it seems to be doing quite well, though I just made it 5 or 6 days ago I tasted it yesterday and it is delicious. I love this simple way of fermenting, would love to hear of others experiences.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 3 replies

tempeh alternatives

2008-09-25T16:39:57Z

This weekend for traveling I made some brown rice and stored it in ziploc and formed it into a nice roll with no air in the bag, kinda like the same technique to making nori-maki. And looking at it on my counter I got to thinking that it sure would make a pretty tempeh roll.

But I wonder, can you make tempeh with something other than soybeans? Will other legumes work, like black beans, chick peas or kidney beans? Could you do it with brown rice? Quinoa?

These are the things my tongue thinks about.

Possibilities? I'd appreciate your much learned feedback.

Thanks, skooter

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 5 replies

Pictures

2008-09-22T14:48:52Z

I would love to see some more of what bubbly magic you are all creating...

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

Has anyone here pickled greenbeans?

2008-08-23T01:25:38Z

Actually, I have a surplus of scarlet runner beans that I was thinking of pickling. I love pickled greenbeans. I usually do lactofermentation. Will it work with beans?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 7 replies

raw yogurt....

2008-08-21T19:29:38Z

is there a way to make yogurt from raw milk and have the end product be raw yogurt?

could you heat the milk to below 118 degrees (which would kill the enzymes in the raw milk) and then incubate it at a low temp?

anyone have any experience with this?

thanks!

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 6 replies

Milk Bacteria Cultures from Finland, Sweden and Miso Culture

2008-08-18T22:51:30Z

Hello Everyone,
I found this great website in my search for Viili a milk bacteria culture from Finland.
http://www.gemcultures.com/index.htm
The only thing that I don't agree with them on is their opinion about using raw milk.
I think they may be misinformed about it.
Peace, Julie

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 7 replies

Green Tomatos

2008-07-31T17:25:54Z

I just bought a bunch and am looking for pickling ideas. Spicy would be nice.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

looking for kefir grains in Berkeley

2008-07-11T04:55:34Z

Hello. Have just recently started to ferment veggies and make yogurt. Looking for kefir grains so that I may give that a try too.
Thanks.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

breastmilk yogurt

2008-07-10T23:26:55Z

Is it possible to make yogurt with breastmilk? We're not big on dairy product so i tough it would be a great alternative...

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 6 replies

my first mommy (several questions)

2008-06-29T21:14:20Z

so I received my first kombucha mom and she isn't in a very pretty state. She isn't a whole "pancake" but more like a kombucha that fell apart. is this going to change? will she get better?

also, there was mold on the top of the tea but none that I could see on the kombucha. should we just throw out the whole batch and make new tea? is the kombucha going to be ok? do I really need to get a pH tester?

my tea doesnt taste very vinegary just really sweet. the person I got the strain from claims that it's because her strain was a little weak and she thinks the black tea doesnt work as well as the green.

i'll probably have more questions later but if anyone can help with these I greatly appreciate it!!

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 3 replies

Red Bull is now making Kombucha

2008-06-29T19:51:56Z

Under the Carpe Diem brand. It's like that Wal*Mart organics conundrum. On one hand, mainstreaming means more people benefit. On the other hand...eeep.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 20 replies

Alternative sweetners in Kombucha process

2008-06-18T22:35:45Z

Hey all. I just tried substituting the sugar in Kombucha for Maple syrup. I followed the rest of the process the same way I always do. It didn't work out. It's extremely light in color, and just not getting effervecent at all. What gives? Can i use honey or syrup instead of Raw sugar? Thanks.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 7 replies

yogurt culture-where can I get live culture?

2008-06-18T22:25:05Z

Hi,
I would really like to find some yogurt culture that I can use over and over.
I usually just get the plain goat yogurt from the store that has good culture in it.
I think it would be wonderful to be able to make yogurt and use some of that to make more.
Anyone know where I can buy some?
Thanks,
Julie

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 13 replies

Fermented food for every meal

2008-06-18T22:11:43Z

We are new to the tribe, and have recently become interested in being able to ingest some fermented food with every meal.

Will shortly browse historical messages.

Kindrick

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 5 replies

vinegar mother?

2008-06-13T21:58:02Z

Hi! I'm a newbie to this tribe. My previous experience with fermentation has been a brief stint as a yogurt maker, and as a brewer of kombucha. I am thinking of playing around with making some vinegar. I have read that you need a red wine "mother" to make red wine vinegar, a white mother for white vinegar, etc.

I have leftover red wine which is going south, and although I do not have a red wine mother, i have a huge thriving mother in the end of a bottle of cider vinegar. Does anyone know what happens if you mix the two? Would it work? Would it make something between red and cider vinegar, or would it just be nasty? Please let me know if you have any thoughts/experience in this department.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 1 reply

Free pepper fermentation handbook online.

2008-06-06T21:25:54Z

Greetings fellow fermenters: I just finished uploading the new free version of my handbook of pepper fermentation
Pepperoncini, Pimentos and Hot sauce: simple methods for making authentic fermented peppers at home

Here is the URL: http://paleotechnics.com/Articles/Pepperoncini.html

it is in HTML format.

Hope you enjoy!

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 7 replies

Catching some sourdough culture, and simple Russian black bread

2008-05-31T05:32:56Z

Sourdough is a wild-caught yeast that can be used to make bread. You can use it for adding a fermented flavor to the bread while using some regular storebought yeast to do the leavening, or, if you're lucky, your strain of yeast will be so vigorous that it'll rise the bread enough to not need any additional storebought yeast. It's worth experimenting with different sources of sourdough yeasts so that you can find the best one.

There are many ways to capture the yeast. Here are just a few:

the bloom on the skins of grapes, cherries, plums, etc, is a yeast that works well for leavening and flavoring breads.
Soak some fruit in warm water, with a few spoonfuls of flour in the water, in a thermos or in a jar that's sitting in a picnic cooler full of warm water, overnight. Remove the fruit and keep fermenting the flour/water/yeast mixture for another week. I usually add fresh flour to it every few days, and some more water, to keep feeding the yeast new sugars. Anyway, eventually it'll start to smell like nicely fermented sourdough, though don't expect that to smell like bread made from storebought yeast- it's definitely 'sour'.

You can also capture sourdough yeasts just from the air by setting a bowl of flour-water batter in a warm place in your kitchen. if the kitchen has a history of bread baking, the cooking mythology says that some of those yeasts from the prior breads are supposedly floating around for you to catch. I've considered sneaking a bowl of flour into the back of a commercial bakery once get some of these yeasts.

I usually make my sourdough starter the Russian way- get some organic, non-heat-dried caraway seeds (like Frontier spices), soak the seeds in warm water in a thermos for 24 hours. then I strain and throw out the seeds, and mix the water with rye flour and let it ferment for a week in a warm place. The seeds have wild yeasts on them. The exact variety of yeast varies wildly in this method and sometimes I've gotten a really vigorous strain this way.

Caring for starter:
Once you've captured a starter yeast, you can keep it going indefinitely.
I usually store mine in the fridge, and have done so for months at a time with no care. Most cookbooks tell you to pull it out of the fridge once a week and re-feed it to keep the microbes from dying. The way that this works is that you add some flour and water, and let the starter sit in a warm place for a day before re-refrigerating it. I sometimes just add flour to the cold jar of starter and put it back in the fridge without re-fermenting it. All of this seems to work. Theoretically it should also work to dry some out and then use it dried in the future to start more starter if youre taking a break from baking bread.

Using the starter:
Recipes for bread are always approximate since flour varies wildly in moisture from one grind to another. I also found that the 'pumpernickel rye' flour sold at Berkeley Bowl and elsewhere doesn't seem to work as well as their regular rye- not sure what the difference is, might be a coarser grind.

I always improvise my bread, and tend to make rye-only bread that I can't buy easily in stores, but the formula looks something like this. It'll make a dense loaf that doesn't rise as high as a rye-wheat blend will, but resembles a large version of one of those cocktail bread pumpernickel things, especially if you use a lot more oil:

8-10 cups rye flour (or half rye half wheat, which makes a higher-rising bread)
salt
1 spoonful of honey or malt syrup
1 cup of starter. You can use more if your starter isn't a good riser, or you can use some starter and some commercial baking yeast.
2 TB flavorful oil such as olive oil or butter or coconut oil
Russians usually use butter and eggs in this dough also (I might be confusing the eggs part with another dough for filled pirogi, though ,so don't shoot me if I'm wrong) .
add lukewarm water and knead in till the dough is right

knead, knead, knead, knead. A mixer is immeasurably helpful here.

Put in an oiled bowl, cover with a towel, put in a warm place, and let rise till it substantially rises (it probably won't double like a wheat dough, but should expand by half again).

make loaves (I think 8 cups flour makes two loaves) and put into oiled loaf pans. Let rise again till it gets another 1/3 higher (or so)

Knowing how long to knead the stuff is tricky- all-rye dough is notoriously sticky and doesn't act like wheat dough at all. It'll never get to the point where it pulls away from your fingers if you're hand-kneading, unless you use part wheat/part rye. I joke that for this bread, you make rye glue and then bake it into rye bricks. Lately I've been experimenting with adding in wheat gluten to make it more stretchy and less sticky and help it rise better.

I can't remember how long I bake these bricks at . I use 375 and if it looks like it's cooking too much on top, I turn it down. The exact time seems to vary wildly depending on how much water I used and how well it rose and presumably dried out. I think it's something like 1 hour, but really can't remember since I improvise this recipe at this point.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 3 replies

must see anime (lots of fermentation)

2008-05-29T22:04:20Z

I think most people in this tribe would be interested in
seeing a Japanese animation, Moyashimon (Tales of Agriculture), where bacteria and fungi are
funny characters.

For more info go to: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moyashimon

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

Yo-gourmet cultures live?

2008-05-26T19:18:32Z

I bought some Yo-gourmet brand cultures to make yogurt but noticed once I got it home that it didn't actually say they were live.

I have read that if it doesn't say "live" cultures, they probably aren't, but I'm under the impression you can still make yogurt even if the cultures aren't live. Is that correct?

The main reason I learned to make my own yogurt is for the health benefits, with expenses being a close second reason. Do y'all think I should worry about Yo-gourmet yogurt being "dead"?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 4 replies

Kombucha newbie needs advice!

2008-05-26T06:01:20Z

I am extremely interested in making my own kombucha. I'm not sure where to get a starter or anything about doing it really... advice? Pointers? I will appreciate any and all responses! Thanks!!!

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 9 replies

raw fermented foods and pregnancy

2008-05-23T23:56:31Z

hi!
i was wondering what your opinions on raw fermented foods and pregnancy? people always say to avoid raw foods during pregnancy, ie raw cheese, raw fish etc.

i can imagine not eating my ferments for 9 months.

watchy'all think?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

beet kvass

2008-05-22T18:40:33Z

so i made some beet kvass, the rinse kind- just added more water to the end of a batch and let it ferment, and it got moldy. not colored mold, just white chunks. can i scoop it off and drink it, or should i throw it out? i used whey from raw colostrum kefir, maybe that's why? i've never had this happen before, but i usually just use pasteurized yogurt whey. it's now been fermenting for a week. i'd hate to throw it out if it's still good, and would normally just taste it, but i'm 7 months pregnant and a bit more cautious...

thank you much!

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 1 reply

Agave nectar

2008-05-20T04:43:00Z

Does anyone think it's possible to make kombucha with agave? Has anyone done it? I would love to know? Also if anyone has anything to say about brewing with ginger tea that's be great too.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 5 replies

sourdough picture and tara culture.

2008-05-01T03:03:26Z

Greetings. I just posted a photo of my sourdough, which we recently found flowing out of the crock it was in. It is a fun photo. This cutlure was started from grapes that we grow and has been quite lively!! Makes great bread, pancakes and waffles to name a few things. Thought it might make some of you smile.

Also I notice that someone posted a picture of a tara culture in 2006. I kept this cutlure many years ago and somehow it got lost in the shuffle. I wonder if anyone has a tara culture and if you would be willing to share some.

Blessings
Linda

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 4 replies

Got a good ginger beer recipe?

2008-04-28T22:28:39Z

Something pretty simple and definitely spicy? Please share it with me! Thanks~

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 3 replies

non dairy kefir

2008-04-21T23:43:34Z

can kefir be made non dairy i cant find a recipe anywhere?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

frermented lemons

2008-04-11T17:29:09Z

What yummy creations do you make with salt cured lemons?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 9 replies

metal and kraut

2008-03-29T21:53:18Z

this is kinda a dumb question, but can i use a stainless container for the smashing and mashing part of the sauerkraut process? i am going to ferment in glass jars...

the reason i ask is i am used to making kombucha and i know IT cant touch metal in the process.

thanks!

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 13 replies

easiest kraut-like ferment- kimchee

2008-03-17T03:34:48Z

For years I"ve been making kimchee, and I think it's a bit easier than kraut. Kimchee is fairly fool-proof because it relies on making a brine of known salt proportions to protect the cabbage (or whatever vegetable) from the wrong microbes, and it's easier to get the amount of salt right even if you don't know how much (by weight) cabbage you're really working with- you just pour brine over it till it's covered. YOu generally dont get molds or other undesirable things growing in or on kimchee during the processing, unlike kraut (I think), because the kimchee is easier to keep submerged in brine.

you can kimchee lots of different vegetables. Cabbage is a nice crunchy texture of course. In traditional kimchee the dominant spices are ginger and garlic and very hot peppers. I've done very untraditional kimchees red cabbage, a little bit of turmeric, and a beet thrown in for good color. Eye candy!

Besides Korean kimchee, other cultures made ferments using brine to easily preserve vegetables- for example, Russians and Ukrainians brined many different vegetables (those Jewish refrigerator cuke dill pickles are brined rather than heat-processed like American canned pickles are) and Russians even brine-preserved fruits like watermelon and apples.

step 1:
-small head of cabbage
-half a large daikon

slice cabbage into small pieces (I just put it through the food processor) and cut the daikon into half-moons: slice it in half lengthwise and then slice the halves.
soak for 24 hours in a brine with the following proportions of salt/water:
4 cups water
3 Tb salt
if you need more than 4 cups water then retain the same proportion of water/salt.

Krauting 101: you need the salt to inhibit the wrong bacteria (think compost bacteria) and to encourage the salt-loving lactobacillus and other sauerkraut/kimchee bacteria.
If you don't like salt you can always rinse the kraut before eating, though it wont' resemble Korean kimchee anymore if you do this because the spices will rinse off also.
If you use too little salt it'll compost. Yeck.
if you use too much salt then it'll be inedible and no amount of rinsing will save it (ask me how I know)

soak the cabbage and daikon for 24 hours in the brine, in a bowl with a tight-fitting plate on top to weigh it down. That'll make it shrink a little so you can squeeze it into jars more easily.

Step 2:
Then:
Drain most of the brine off into another bowl
mix the following condiments into the cabbage:

several Tb of grated ginger
several cloves of garlic
several scallions cut into little bits
1 Tb cayenne pepper or several hot peppers minced
1 Tb sugar

For some reason I believe the hot pepper gets less hot after fermenting, but I could be wrong.

Mix all this with the cabbage and pack some big glass jars with it.

The cabbage wants to float to the top after a while and that's where the evil compost bacteria will get it.
I weigh the cabbage down by stuffing a ziplock bag into the jar, and filling it with brine (rather than water, in case it leaks!). Sometimes I stick a pint beer glass down on top of the ziplock bag to keep it all in the jar.

Let ferment for 3-7 days, it'll have a slightly off flavor earlier on and should stabilise to a nice sauerkraut tang a few days later.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 6 replies

yogurt and curd

2008-03-08T07:56:27Z

this came up in the other thread and seemed to be enough of a tangent to merit its own thread.

yogurt is made by innoculating warm milk with cultures.

curd is made by curdling warm milk, like with lemon juice, vinegar, or rennet.

i have never heard of indians making lassi with curd, but would love to know more about this if it is true. when i think of curds and india, i think saag paneer. panner is a fresh indian curd cheese.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 13 replies

Buckwheat sourdough pancakes

2008-02-29T19:57:09Z

My latest favorite breakfast carb (which I'm not supposed to be eating but it's so hard to stay away) is sourdough buchwheat pancakes:

Get yourself some sourdough starter. You can look on the web for easy instructions to capture your own, or you can buy a packet at some health food stores, or get someone to mail you one (also look on the web or even here in the tribe, we might have an instructions thread already or someone might be willing to share theirs. I'm terrible at getting to the post office so I won't offer to share).

Then, get some buckwheat flour, and some wheat or rye flour (optional), put in the starter and enough water to make a runny pancake batter, and let it sit overnight in a warmish spot in the kitchen. It'll ferment and make a really good yeast-based buckwheat pancake batter by morning. You then have to remember to save some to use as starter for the next batch. Usually the batter is yeast-powered enough to rise on it's own when you make the pancakes. If you find that they don't have enough oomph to rise, then take the rest of the batter, add some baking powder, and keep going. The exact amount of baking powder depends on the amount of flour you've got. I usually just carefully sift some in till I see bubbling start. if you use too much it'll taste soda-ey.

The only question is when to add salt or sugar. I'd suggest fermenting the batter with just flours and starter, then stirring in the salt and/or sugar right before you fry them- because salt supposedly inactivates yeast. But I've done it the other way with little ill effect.

if you really like your pancakes eggy ,you might want to add the eggs right before frying. But these are really tasty and have a nice texture even without additional ingredients.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 6 replies

tempeh making photo essay

2008-02-29T03:03:21Z

I'm now living with a couple of aspiring tempeh makers (as in, they're hoping to start a business selling it this year). We've been eating tons of the stuff, trading it for other foods amongst the three houses on the property (I traded a half gallon of my kraut and a vegan cheesecake to the tempeh roommates, getting in return a pound of tempeh, a package of coconut curry chickpea stew, and a huge gluten vegan pepperoni log the other day. Dinner Trade Club rocks), and finding it at every potluck attended by these two.

Here's an awesome photo-essay of their kitchen-scale way of doing it at home:
http://troutsfarm.com/In_the_Kitchen/Tempeh/tempeh.htm

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 2 replies

Young Coconut Kefir

2008-02-29T02:58:08Z

Cut and pasted from Kefir_Making@yahoogroups.com. This would be good with coconut water in cans or tetra packs too, I think.

"Young Coconut Kefir
Posted by: "philiprpv" Tue Jul 31, 2007 5:32 am (PST)

I'm fairly new to all this, kombucha and kefir. I love it all. After
reading some info on the web, yesterday I took a tablespoon of my milk
kefir grains and rinsed them for about an hour in filtered water then
dropped them into some young coconut milk (I bought a case of young
white coconuts at 99 Ranch - a local asian supermarket - I blended the
juice from 2 young coconuts along with their tender white meat then
poured my grains into about 3 cups of blended coconut milk.)

I put it aside in the closet for 24 hours and I can say without
hesitation that I had the best drink tonight when I opened it that I
ever had. I mixed about half cup of the fermented juice blend with a
half cup filtered water. The result was fantastic. Bubbly delicious.
I will continue to make this as well as my milk kefir and kombucha,
but this is by far my favorite. It surpassed my wildest expectations!
If you have access to young coconuts, you might want to try this one.
They are white and one end is kind of triangular, where the cut it
when harvesting. The triangle fits perfectly in the sink drain to
stabalize it. I then hammer a clean (new) phillips-head screwdriver
into the flat end (where it has a soft spot). I make about 4 holes
then drain contents into a glass. I then go at it with my Chinese
cleaver and eventually break it in two to scoop out the soft white
meat. A bit of a hassle but after tonights taste test, worth every
bit. In case you've been thinking of trying this, I highly reccommend!"

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 17 replies

Carl Griffith - The Man. The Myth. The Sourdough.

2008-02-01T18:00:34Z

Born in 1919, Carl Griffith wrote that his interest in making sourdough bread started when he was "10 years old and learned to make bread in a dutch oven in a hole in the ground," using the sourdough starter his family brought with them when they emigrated west along the Oregon Trail in 1847. According to his friends, before the advent of the internet, Carl would gladly share his family's starter with anyone who asked, but the earliest record of Carl offering his starter to anyone online, is the following post by Carl, made on July 28, 1994 to the Usenet group rec.food.sourdough:

"I have dried and will mail out a bit of the starter that my family brought west on an Oregon Trail wagontrain in 1847 along with instructions to revive it and a few recipes if anyone is interested ????" Carl.

Carl sent his starter to anyone who sent him a self-addressed stamped envelope for the next number of years, until he suffered a stroke in early March of 2000 and died a few weeks thereafter, at the age of 80.

I talked to Charles Perry and Darrell Greenwood to find out more about how the 1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough Preservation Society -- or "Carl's Friends" for short -- and its website came into being after Carl's death.

"It all started as a memorial to Carl," said Charles, while Darrell remarked that "[fellow Usenet member] Dick Adams came up with the idea and made it happen, including getting the website up and running." Charles continued: "We wanted to continue his tradition. There are probably as many reasons or more why we continue as there are participants in the project. Personally, I prefer to live in a world where people are willing to share information or something useful, such as starter, with a stranger who asks."

And that's pretty much what Carl's Friends have been doing for the past six years. Because they're scattered throughout the US, they keep a central post office box, at which a volunteer bundles the requests and forwards them to another volunteer who is then responsible for growing, packaging, and mailing the starter in the provided self-addressed stamped envelopes -- at a rate of up to 50 a week during the winter baking season.

When I asked Charles what was the most distant request they'd received, he replied with the following:

I have not kept track of all the individual countries where we have sent [sourdough starter], but we have mailed to every continent on the globe except Antarctica. In addition to individuals wanting sourdough for their own personal use, we get requests from teachers, county extension agents, and museums to use in demonstrations or exhibits. We have had correspondence from a leader of an Australian commune who was interested in the back-to-nature spiritual aspect of sourdough, from an Asian chef who was having some difficulty with his starter because of the high temperature in his location, and an Austrian food writer who sent us some Hungarian paprika in exchange for the starter.

And now, chances are, somewhere on Earth tomorrow morning, someone will make a loaf of bread (or pancakes or biscuits or coffee cake) with a sourdough starter brought west over the Oregon Trail in 1847 -- all thanks to just one guy, puttering around on Usenet back in some of the earliest days of the user-friendly Internet, wondering if any fellow sourdough bakers wanted to try out his family's very old sourdough starter.

home.att.net/~carlsfriends/source.html

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 3 replies

Cultured (fermented) veggie recipes?

2008-01-30T02:41:24Z

Greetings!

Does anyone have any favorite femented veggie recipes that they would be down for sharing?

One love,
L

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 1 reply

Probiotics Affect Metabolism

2008-01-16T00:27:46Z

Probiotics Affect Metabolism, Says New Study

The research is the first to look in detail at how probiotics change the biochemistry of bugs known as gut microbes, which live in the gut and which play an important part in a person's metabolic makeup. Different people have different types of gut microbes inside them and abnormalities in some types have recently been linked to diseases such as diabetes and obesity.

For the study, researchers from Imperial College London and Nestlé Research Center, Lausanne, Switzerland, gave two different types of probiotic drink to mice that had been transplanted with human gut microbes. Probiotics contain so-called 'friendly' bacteria and there is some evidence to suggest that adding 'friendly' bacteria to the gut can help the digestive system.

The researchers compared the levels of different metabolites in the liver, blood, urine, and feces, of mice who had received treatment with probiotics and those that had not.

They found that treatment with probiotics had a whole range of biochemical effects and that these effects differed markedly between the two probiotic strains, Lactobacillus paracasei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus. Adding 'friendly' bacteria changed the makeup of the bugs in the gut, not only because this increased the number of such bacteria, but also because the 'friendly' bacteria worked with other bacteria in the gut, amplifying their effects.

One of the many biochemical changes observed by the researchers was a change in how mice treated with probiotics metabolised bile acids. These acids are made by the liver and their primary function is to emulsify fats in the upper gut. If probiotics can influence the way in which bile acids are metabolised, this means they could change how much fat the body is able to absorb.

Professor Jeremy Nicholson, corresponding author on the study from the Department of Biomolecular Medicine at Imperial College, explained "Some argue that probiotics can't change your gut microflora - whilst there are at least a billion bacteria in a pot of yoghurt, there are a hundred trillion in the gut, so you're just whistling in the wind.

"Our study shows that probiotics can have an effect and they interact with the local ecology and talk to other bacteria. We're still trying to understand what the changes they bring about might mean, in terms of overall health, but we have established that introducing 'friendly' bacteria can change the dynamics of the whole population of microbes in the gut," he said.

The researchers hope their new insights about how probiotics and gut microbes interact will ultimately enable the development of new probiotic therapies, which can be tailored for people with different conditions and different metabolic makeups.

Dr. Sunil Kochhar, another author on the study from the Nestlé Research Center, added: "Understanding changes in the molecular events triggered by the so-called beneficial bacteria in the host metabolism is an important prerequisite in our efforts to develop customized nutritional solutions to maintain and/or enhance our consumer's health and wellness at an individual level. The results of this study are highly promising to address personalized nutrition."

Imperial College London (2008, January 16). Probiotics Affect Metabolism, Says New Study. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 15, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/01/080115085347.htm

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

Kombucha baby in Austin for gifting...

2008-01-09T04:59:04Z

I have a lovely set of new babies for gifting if anyone has a new nest for them. I'll come have tea with you to deliver them. Muah, Claire

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 1 reply

Goat's milk yogurt

2008-01-08T19:59:21Z

Is it possible to get goat's milk yogurt that does not contain streptococcus thermophilus?

My better half has been advised to use goat's milk yogurt, but without this particular bacterium.

Kindrick

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

Sandor's workshop

2007-12-31T23:21:08Z

I just attended Sandor Katz's Fermentation Workshop in Berkeley last night. It was a lot of fun, particularly mixing and tamping all those vats of communal veggies, and then getting to take home two jars to ferment. There wasn't very much new information at the workshop, I would have probably learned more from a more advanced workshop around making miso, sake, mead etc., but it was nice to meet him and to hear his very political perspective on food and fermentation.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 1 reply

New layer is thin!!! Advice?

2007-12-31T23:09:28Z

It's my first brewed batch. In it I put a thick mother that is even thicker now, with a small one from previous batch. Now the new layer is so thin after 11 days, I wonder what's up.

Advice/info, please?

Thanks,

Newly fermenting Sarah

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 1 reply

got some kefir grains, and they're DISGUSTING! Help!!!!!!

2007-12-31T07:13:09Z

I love kefir. The only kefir I've had, though, came from plastic bottles that said Lifeway on it.

A friend of mine got some kefir grains recently, and invited me over to play.
We smelled the jar: Gross. We tasted the liquid in it: Quadruple gross- I spat mine back out for fear of food poisoning. Nonetheless, my friend strained out the grains, added them to fresh milk, and let it sit for a while. She said the end product was just like the original liquid- like something gone very, very bad. So she threw it all out.

Yesterday I got some grains from a different local source. Got home, sniffed the jar, and it's just like the other stuff.

Nobody mentioned how putrid the homemade stuff smells anywhere I've read about making kefir...

I would be so excited to make palatable kefir myself from this wonderful local fresh milk we've been getting, but YUCK so far-
Can anyone talk me down?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 20 replies

Kombucha baby in San Diego?

2007-12-28T15:31:12Z

Hello, I am trying to track down a Kombucha baby in the San Diego area. Any help would be appreciated. I would prefer not have it shipped if possible.

Thank you

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 1 reply

CA AB 1735

2007-12-21T14:09:54Z

please let me know if you can read those other listings i posted; i can't!

if you haven't heard about CA's new law, AB 1735, which will make it impossible for Californians to buy raw milk,
please read my blog here on tribe. even if you don't eat dairy, or raw dairy, this bill affects you.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 1 reply

ginger beer and exploding bottles?

2007-12-16T02:24:45Z

I'm about to bottle my first ginger beer, made with a ginger bug, and I've heard a lot about the danger of exploding bottles. I do plan to sweeten it with honey which I hear slows fermentation (though I used white sugar for the bug) and I was wondering if anyone has experience or insights on this. The thought of an exploding bottle makes me nervous. I am following the NT recipe except for using honey.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 14 replies

Sourdough gingerbread?

2007-12-15T21:56:11Z

Hello!

I've got a couple different sourdough starters going on right now. A brown rice flour sourdough, and a "ginger bug" that I read in "Wild Fermentation."

My question is, how would sourdough gingerbread work? Should I add the ginger bug in, and let it sit, or am I better off with using the regular starter? I think that the ginger bug would work wonderfully, but I've never used this before.

What do you think?

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 1 reply

Harsch crock

2007-12-06T22:12:47Z

Just made a first batch in my new Harsch crock.
Excellent device! What was I thinking in getting the
2 GAL size though? The weight is considerable.
So I reccomend the 1 gal size for easy manuverability.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 3 replies

Honey wine a bust

2007-12-01T21:11:48Z

So I tried to make honey wine according to the recipe from Wild Fermentations. After many days of no activity (the yeasts are supposed to make the starter solution bubble), a white culture developed on the surface of the liquid. I left it alone, thinking maybe that was OK. When I got back from traveling the other day, hairy mold had formed on the top, and definitely did not look OK. Into the compost it all went. Sigh.

I'm going to do this again, but will introduce champagne yeast into the mixture. I don't think my fermentation room was hospitable enough for all those ambient yeasties to hang out in.

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 7 replies

Do you like wine?

2007-11-25T05:31:43Z

Come check out our new wine tribe: http://tribes.tribe.net/socalwinesnobs

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 0 replies

kefir grains vs. "packets"

2007-11-19T06:04:13Z

we have been getting pretty heavily into cultured dairy at my house this fall, and in addition to regular yogurt making we have been experimenting with kefir, something i have never made before. so far, we have just done a few batches using little packets of "starter" to culture them, as we have not been able to find any grains locally. they have all turned out fine, but i don't want to keep buying these packets. does anyone know if there is any way to "grow" re-usable grains from them? so far there has been nothing to strain out. anyhow, i'd love tips on the subject and on kefir making in general.

and, before i shell out the money to order some grains from GEM cultures, is there anyone who has some grains to share? i'm in the boston area if anyone local wants to trade, or i'm happy to get something in the mail. we can offer herbal tinctures or kombucha mothers in trade if anyone would like.

thanks!

posted in Fabulous Fermentation - 13 replies