Fermentation

christeb

After getting Katz's "The Art of Fermentation" a few months ago, I've been busy turning my house into a fermentation lab.

My regular brews and fermenting foods are kraut, sourdough bread (still trying to perfect), kombucha and water kefir. I've also just started trying to make ginger beer, and am at the "ginger bugs" stage.

Other creations include carrot juice kombucha, and I put some sourdough starter into my overnight soaking porridge too.

Since starting with kombucha last Summer, I haven't had anything resembling a cold, whereas I'd usually get 2-3 every year. I generally feel great too.

Oh and not that I'm into fads or anything, but fermentation is one of the Top 10 food trends for 2013 according to the NYT

So who else does it? Any amazing fermentation recipes to share?

Krusty_Clown

Have a look at the 'Home Brewing' sub-forum. All sorts of interesting this bubbling away in there. More interested in the beer side of things myself, but would like to try a batch of ginger beer.

ASJ112

Check this guy out on twitter, he posts some pretty in-depth research on fermentation.

https://twitter.com/benreade


The book Modernist Cuisine should have some good information on this too.

christeb

ASJ112 wrote: »

Check this guy out on twitter, he posts some pretty in-depth research on fermentation.

https://twitter.com/benreade


The book Modernist Cuisine should have some good information on this too.

I'm all over Ben and his fellow labmates on twitter - their blog is amazing

http://nordicfoodlab.org/research/

@K_C I'll check out the sub-forum, thanks. Although it must be said, my ginger 'beer' will be of the soft variety.

Thud

you tried making kimchi?

what yeast or recipe did you use for the Ginger beer?

christeb

The ginger beer starter is a 'ginger bug'. Basically whole grated ginger mixed with sugar and water. Mix every time you pass it and add some more ginger and sugar and water every day until it starts bubbling. Similar to cultivating a sourdough starter.

Separately, boil 2L water with ~5 inches of grated ginger, then simmer for 15 mins. Strain, and add 2L of cold water and 2 cups of sugar to the mix. When the temperature is cooled sufficiently, then strain in the bug starter, and it should be ready to bottle in ~3 days time after you leave it to ferment in a warm environment (I use a hot press which is ideal at around 28 degrees).

That's the theory anyway, I'll report back with results! Seemingly this is a vigorous fermentation, so chill after bottling or explosions could result.

I haven't tried kimchi yet, but will pop into the Asia Market to get some fish sauce and chili powder so I can attempt it soon.

Honey-ec

I love sourdough but I just cannot get my head around the whole "keeping the starter going" thing, despite having it explained to me in detail by a baker.

So, I have to start from scratch every time, which means it takes a week to make the bread, which means I very rarely bother.

christeb

It's not as big a deal to maintain as you think. Simply stick it in the fridge when you're not using it, and take it out a day before you want it - add a little fresh flour and water and it should start bubbling again within a few hours.

It won't last forever in the fridge, but up to 2 weeks should be fine. See "Bread Matters" by Andrew Whitley for more. There needs to be a rhythm to your bread making - one loaf every week seems to be the most convenient.

Honey-ec

christeb wrote: »

It's not as big a deal to maintain as you think. Simply stick it in the fridge when you're not using it, and take it out a day before you want it - add a little fresh flour and water and it should start bubbling again within a few hours.

But are you not essentially diluting the starter every time you do that???

christeb

No - you've got to imagine that the starter is a culture of live bacteria and yeast, so adding more flour and water, while removing it from the fridge, will "awaken" it from a stable state. It doesn't matter what size your starter is, once it's bubbling nicely then it's ready to use. You have to keep it fresh by stressing it and making sure it's always bubbling, otherwise too much alcohol will form on top and the culture starts dying due to lack of fresh "food" (ie flour).

Another way to decrease activity and make it more stable it to thicken the starter. This means that the culture cannot move around the mixture and therefore won't be as active.

I skipped last week, need to make amends this week !

Krusty_Clown

Sounds a little like Herman friendship cake, which my daughter brought home a couple of months back. A lot of effort, but yielded some lovely cakes for a couple of weeks, before interest waned and Herman was unceremoniously thrown in the bin. So much for life-long friendship!