What are you fermenting today?

[FarmerDenise]

SO and I just had a big fight about canning jars, he claims that I took over on his I told him his are gone because he keeps giving stuff away in those jars, I usually transfer the stuff or only give them to people who either have given me jars or are good about returning them. He uses a special type of jar and I make sure I don't use them, so I told him to go check the cupboard and proove to himself that none of "his" jars were in there.

Looking at this thread reminded me to remove the scum from my pickles in the crock on the counter. I added a little bit of sugar to my sourdough today. I plan on making buns with it tomorrow.

 

[Catalina]

Am I supposed to remove the white 'foam' off of the fermenting/brining pickles every day?

What if I forget?!

I don't remove it every day. Actually I remove it right before I move the pickles into the fridge for eating.

Ahh! Thank you! I'll stop worrying about it then.

 

[freemotion]

Don't mess with my canning jars!!

I just had a MAJOR fermenting failure! My huge batch of black bean paste....4 lbs of beans.....nasty! Half the jars (one batch) have a whitish slime on top and smell bad. The other half have white furry mold starting...they smell very good, so I will scrape the mold off and hope for the best. There is a lot of white mold in the yard and on my plants, so I wonder if it got into the air of my kitchen and onto my beans. It has also been ridiculously hot here. If I do some more while it is hot, I will put them in the cellar so they will be closer to 72 while fermenting.

I don't think the mold will DARE to grow on my hot pepper mix!

 

[unaspenser]

Okay... I'm totally new to the idea of fermenting anything besides sourdough bread starter, and I'm a little daunted about reading this whole thread. Can any of you experts point me to a website or book with more info?

 

[big brown horse]

Okay... I'm totally new to the idea of fermenting anything besides sourdough bread starter, and I'm a little daunted about reading this whole thread. Can any of you experts point me to a website or book with more info?

I've seen a cute book on fermentation on Amazon, I can't remember the exact title, but the book is black with neon lettering on the front. Try a search.

I'll look around and get back to you.

Sauerkraut and Pickles have been the easiest for me. I love both, but the pickles don't last very long around here!

ETA: Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods by Sandor E. Katz and Sally Fallon

 

[ORChick]

Two other useful books on the subject are "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon (there is a thread here just on this book), and "The Joy of Pickling" by Linda Ziedrich - she has one chapter just on fermented pickles, and another devoted to cabbage, both fermented, and with vinegar. As well as information and recipes for pickling just about everything else, though not necessarily through fermentation.

 

[freemotion]

Once you are comfortable with the principles, you quickly learn how to convert recipes to fermenting. I have enjoyed getting new ideas here and recipes, and learning and sharing my own lessons. Stinkin' bean paste! I love that stuff, it is so disapointing to lose a batch. Good thing it is cheap. That is what I love about fermenting. Easy and cheap and delicious and healthy. What more could you want?

 

[FarmerDenise]

I'm using my sourdough starter to make buns today. Another experiment. I'm using the regular recipe, but substituting the sourdough for the yeast, I also adjusted the liquids. We'll see if SO likes the end result. I'm using regular unbleached white flour.
My sourdough is not very sour, so I think it will work ok.

 

[freemotion]

I completed my pie crust experiment, and it was a success. I needed that after the bean failure!

On August first, I froze four pie crusts that I'd made from freshly ground wheat, butter (out of lard until....um....soon, I think!), egg, and a mixture of whey and water and sea salt. I let it sit for a day, then rolled it out and froze it, folded in quarters and layered with waxed paper to keep it from sticking to itself. Froze each one in a ziploc and put the ziplocs into a small cardboard box to prevent breakage in the freezer.

Yesterday we went to look at bucklings and stopped at an orchard to buy some seconds peaches, and I made a pie by peeling and slicing the peaches into a glass pie dish, sprinkling a couple of droppers-ful of stevia extract over them, and topping them with one crust, fluted the edges, and baked it at 375 for 40 minutes.

We ate the whole thing in one sitting. That is my policy with pie. And my reason for only one crust!

I consider the experiment a success because it was quick and easy....that pie was in the oven in less than 10 minutes. The crust cracked a bit where it was folded when I unfolded it onto the peaches, but those cracks became the vents. I will be doing this one again and again!

 

[big brown horse]

I completed my pie crust experiment, and it was a success. I needed that after the bean failure!

On August first, I froze four pie crusts that I'd made from freshly ground wheat, butter (out of lard until....um....soon, I think!), egg, and a mixture of whey and water and sea salt. I let it sit for a day, then rolled it out and froze it, folded in quarters and layered with waxed paper to keep it from sticking to itself. Froze each one in a ziploc and put the ziplocs into a small cardboard box to prevent breakage in the freezer.

Yesterday we went to look at bucklings and stopped at an orchard to buy some seconds peaches, and I made a pie by peeling and slicing the peaches into a glass pie dish, sprinkling a couple of droppers-ful of stevia extract over them, and topping them with one crust, fluted the edges, and baked it at 375 for 40 minutes.

We ate the whole thing in one sitting. That is my policy with pie. And my reason for only one crust!

I consider the experiment a success because it was quick and easy....that pie was in the oven in less than 10 minutes. The crust cracked a bit where it was folded when I unfolded it onto the peaches, but those cracks became the vents. I will be doing this one again and again!

God I love pie!!!!! Sounds scrumptious Free!