What are you fermenting today?

[freemotion]

Wow! what a great thread! I had no idea so many things could be fermented or even how good for you it is. ( thanks to google ) . We have been brewing mead and beer for years , but I never considered the actual benefits of fermenting before. So, just because I dont have enough irons in the fire.. anyone got book recommendations. The chickens are getting bored with what I am reading to them And.. I found that fermenting crocks are kind of pricey.. any recommendations on a less expensive option?

Many of us use recipes from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and I also really like Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz. He is coming out with a follow-up book, too. The instructions in Sandor's book are more relaxed than Sally's, but both are among my all-time favorite books for the kitchen....and for health.

Have you gone through this entire thread yet? There is a LOT of information in it, like a book itself!

 

[Lady Henevere]

Hi, all. I'm brand new to fermenting and tried making sauerkraut and ginger carrots from Nourishing Traditions. They both seemed fine when I put them in quart mason jars (though the carrots didn't fill the jar completely), and I screwed the lids on tight as instructed. A couple of days later, the lid of the carrots is bowed upward and bending in places, and the lid of the sauerkraut is also bowed upward, but not as much. The lid of the carrots looked kind of alarming (I'm sure a mason jar can explode, right?), so I unscrewed the lid a bit to let out pressure, and the carrots hissed and bubbled up from the bottom, like a soda. I have two questions: Have I done something wrong, and if not, have I now messed up the carrots by letting pressure out?

Many thanks for your feedback! (And since I couldn't read all 69 pages of this thread, my apologies if this has already been asked and answered!)

-LH

 

[Wifezilla]

They are supposed to bubble and fizz a bit....kind of like good kimchi you buy at the store. Letting the pressure out is no problem


I started a batch of chive blossom vinegar today. Not lacto-fermented, but vinegar preserved. You use white vinegar and add as many chive blossoms as you can scrounge. Heat the vinegar up slightly, and pour it over the blossoms. Let it sit for a couple of weeks until it turns a really cool purple color, then strain and put in a fresh jar.

 

[freemotion]

Yeah, LH, it is fine, proof that it is working. You really need to read the entire thread, a few pages at a time. It is like a companion book to NT and Wild Fermentation. For free!

I don't put the lids on quite that tightly. Put a kitchen towel over the lid and jar when relieving pressure to contain squirts. I learned this with hot peppers. Hot pepper juice would not be nice in one's eyes! <a hot-pepper-in-the-eye smily!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

And of course the black bean blog that took over the kitchen.
I STILL snicker over that when I soak my beans

Homemade fermented mustard is the BOMB.

 

[freemotion]

Is that where the word expland got started? or just became famous?

 

[FarmerDenise]

I think so

 

[Old Sew'n'Sew]

New here,
Just reading stuff tonight. I make wine, need to rack 3 gal. of concord grape in cellar now. Also have sourdough starter in frig, I'll feed it tomorrow. See what you guys have started.

 

[curly_kate]

Speaking of fermenting, we finally got our first good batch of homebrew in years! The difference was that this time, DH made it & watched over it. The man can cook to save his live, but can make some good beer!

 

[MsPony]

Ive got the current things going bad, and only on page 20 of this thread, what can I do with them?

strawberries
salad mix
tomatoes
celery *dog wont eat it LOL*
cauliflower