What are you fermenting today?

[thegrandlittlefarm]

Hi Freemotion;

You mentioned fermenting wheat berries for feed; I sprout them for my chickens and I was wondering if you add whey to the soaking liquid. I"ve never added whey and am only now learning about the uses of yogurt whey. Is there anything else you do to ferment the wheat?

You also mentioned kefir in your post. I'm very new to kefir and am eager to learn all that I can about kefir in particular and fermenting in general.

Thanks

 

[Dace]

Fermented ketchup and mustard? Do tell.....

 

[ORChick]

Hi Freemotion;

You mentioned fermenting wheat berries for feed; I sprout them for my chickens and I was wondering if you add whey to the soaking liquid. I"ve never added whey and am only now learning about the uses of yogurt whey. Is there anything else you do to ferment the wheat?

You also mentioned kefir in your post. I'm very new to kefir and am eager to learn all that I can about kefir in particular and fermenting in general.

Thanks

Hi grandlittlefarm, welcome to SS. I'm not freemotion, but I can suggest a few things about kefir. First to learn all about it, probably more than you need or want, take a look at this site: http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/Makekefir.html This fellow seems to know his kefir (though his writing annoys me ). Second, I am conducting a little experiment at the moment with dehydrating, and then re-hydrating some of my extra kefir grains. If it works well then I will be able to share with a few people who might want to start their own kefir production (dried grains should be much easier to send through the mail ). And third, chickens love, love, love kefir!

 

[big brown horse]

Hi Hattie the Hen! Nice to see you over here! You have taught me so much on TEG I know you will have tons to contribute.

Welcome to thegrandlittlefarm also!

O.k. I just tried my fermented almonds which I dehydrated until crispy and they taste so wonderful!

I'm making a ginger beer tomorrow.

I was at a 4th of July party and met the founder of HALES beer. He doesn't pasteurize, or heat up his beers and says they contain tons of vit. B. Who new?

He invited me to his beer pub to show me how it is done. I can't wait! He also informed me about a group here in the North West called "Green Drink" and they are all up to the same things we are. I'm going to google them tonite. If I find out anything interesting, I'll share.

 

[freemotion]

Cool, BBH! Drink your vitamins!

ORChick, thanks for answering that, I am clueless and kefir-less....hope your experiment works!!

And grand, and yes, I just add a little glug of whey to the soaking water and let it sit at room temp for a day before rinsing. Or at least twelve hours if I get behind.

It is obvious to me by the way my critters respond to this that it does unlock many nutrients. If allowed to develop sprouts, it also increased the protein levels, so important for producing milk and eggs and for growing critters. I mostly sprout barley and oats and sunflower seeds for my critters, I also soak the whole corn. I can't get wheat here at a reasonable price for the animals. I do get wheat berries for myself and do soak and/or sprout them.

 

[Wifezilla]

He doesn't pasteurize, or heat up his beers and says they contain tons of vit. B. Who new?

To boil or not to boil your wort or honey when homebrewing has always been a matter of much debate. For mead, I do boil for about 10 minutes...just long enough for the proteins to coagulate at the top so I can skim it off. Hubby was the same way with his beer...just boil it for a short amount of time.

If you don't boil at all, you can risk some ambient wild yeast messing up your brew.

 

[freemotion]

Fermented ketchup and mustard? Do tell.....

Sorry, Dace, didn't realize I hadn't answered you. There are recipes in Nourishing Traditions for both mustard and ketchup. I made the ketchup....the word comes from a Chinese word for fish sauce, and most ancient cultures used it liberally, Americans got tomatoes from Mexico and made tomato ketchup with fish sauce. Ew. So I made the recipe without the fish sauce, so we will see if it works at all without this main ingredient. If it does, I'll let y'all know how I made it.

Fermenting helps the product to hold in the fridge for months without spoiling. So you don't have to make things every few days and play beat the clock....or beat the mold.

The mustard is more straight-forward, you start with ground mustard seed. I had a feeling that dh wouldn't be able to eyeball two cups when he went to Whole Foods yesterday.....it is a good hike from here so we only go when we have to be in the area.....so I sent him with ziplocs in various sizes, already labelled with what I wanted him to get. So fill a sandwich bag and it is about two cups. Well. He asked the teenage boy who was stocking how to determine two cups. The kid, whose idea of cooking probably starts and ends with taking something from the fridge and putting it in the microwave, said the scoop was a cup. So I got about a half a cup of ground mustard.

So I will have to let you know in a couple of weeks how the mustard recipe works.......

 

[ORChick]

Fermented ketchup and mustard? Do tell.....

The mustard is more straight-forward, you start with ground mustard seed. I had a feeling that dh wouldn't be able to eyeball two cups when he went to Whole Foods yesterday.....it is a good hike from here so we only go when we have to be in the area.....so I sent him with ziplocs in various sizes, already labelled with what I wanted him to get. So fill a sandwich bag and it is about two cups. Well. He asked the teenage boy who was stocking how to determine two cups. The kid, whose idea of cooking probably starts and ends with taking something from the fridge and putting it in the microwave, said the scoop was a cup. So I got about a half a cup of ground mustard.

So I will have to let you know in a couple of weeks how the mustard recipe works.......

I just looked at that mustard recipe; I have been using another that I think sounds better to me, course ground mustard with tarragon, but it doesn't use the whey, or fermentation. Next time I make it I think I'll combine the recipes - my ingredients, NT's technique.
Freemotion, an old saying that might be useful for your husband on future shopping trips - "a pint's a pound the world around". It isn't always accurate, but its a good estimation tool. 1 pint = 2 cups = 1 pound, more or less, so he can use the scale in the bulk foods area. I sympathise with you; my husband grew to manhood in a metric country - even after 30+ years in the US there are certain US standard measurements that he cannot manage without tools

 

[freemotion]

Ya, ORC, that doesn't work, either. I said to fill the bag. I showed him a two cup measure. He is a keeper but has his limitations. His willingness to run almost any errand for me, fills my gas tank, picks up feed and shavings with just a mention, so I can stay home and work on my projects and play with my critters more! Smooches, dh!

So, you will have to post your hybrid mustard recipe here if it works out.

Here is the report on the bean paste.......YUMMY!!!! I had a plate of tortilla chips with goat cheddar melted on them, topped with a mound of bean paste and a dab of sour cream.....mmmmmmm! Wish I had some tomatoes and/or guacamole, but it was still a good lunch. DH liked it, too.

But the beans were like a creature from another planet. Opening the jars today was quite an event, I told dh that I wish we'd filmed it and posted it on youtube, it was that amusing. I loosened the bales, just lifted them, and the beans started oozing out in earnest.....think of a soda bottle that you dropped and are trying to open without making a mess, so you just loosen the cap a bit and let some pressure out.....but soda oozes or squirts out anyways. I got about a cup of beans that I was able to rescue and put in a bowl, just from the escaping paste. It was like toothpaste coming out at high pressure, with the occasional spit from one of the jars.

I finally loosened the bales completely by placing a papertowel over the jar (to keep escaping beans sanitary and usable) and covered that with a kitchen towel in case the jar broke....it didn't. I had to wipe down the jars and wash the lids and gaskets once everything settle down. They are behaving themselves now in the fridge.

I WILL make this recipe again and again....I will just allow for LOTS of headspace, not just an inch! And maybe relieve the pressure partway through to avoid this issue.

 

[big brown horse]

I bought dry beans today for this recipe. (I'm glad you are working out the kinks for us here!)

I am going to make quiche tomorrow, so I am going to prepare the crust tonite. I had to buy more yogurt for whey!! With all the whey I am using, my yogurt is getting thick and dry!!! Soon it will be queso fresco!