How To Ferment Almost Anything At Home (+10 Recipes To Get Started)
Getting more value from your garden produce or farmers’ market haul is always the goal, and few kitchen hacks have a higher return on investment than fermenting.
Small batch fermentation is a simple preservation strategy that boosts both the flavors and nutritional value of your vegetables.
Fermenting 101: Understanding the Basics
This time tested method of food preservation is most likely a happy accident of history.
Laborers likely packed fresh produce in pots with salt and came back weeks later to discover the fermented result. Most cultures with abundant salt supplies had a tradition of fermenting, from sauerkraut in Europe to kimchi in Korea and soured grain dishes across Africa.
Though the specifics can vary, the process is simple.
You’ll rough cut your produce of choice to release juices and increase surface area. Next you’ll add in salt or brine, which draws moisture out of the vegetables while inhibiting spoiling.
Let everything mingle together in an oxygen-free environment so the lactobacillus bacteria can do its job of digesting the natural sugars and transforming them into lactic acid. This acid creates a distinctive tangy flavor while preventing harmful microbes from getting established.
You can enjoy the end product immediately or store it in a cool place for future enjoyment. Refrigeration will stop the fermentation process—any ferment left on the counter will continue to soften and sour.
But why should you ferment in the first place? Let’s explore its advantages.
https://www.ruralsprout.com/home-fermenting/
Wife made a batch of crockpot applesauce as an experiment this afternoon...mission successful...now to load up on apples from East TN and western NC orchards over the next few weeks.
'Give us this day'...let's eat!
Our humongous Brown Turkey figs are getting ripe - the bush is loaded this year. I just went out and ate 10? Might have been 12 - picked ‘em off the bush & ate them right there. It was late enough that all the bees were gone except for one that buzzed me a couple of times. I love figs - SO good. Now I don’t have room for dinner. :-)
A week ago, last Wednesday, I snagged a whole brisket for "only" $3.98/lb. Last Friday, it went into a corning brine, after I separated the flat (seen here) from the point.
The pastrami is now ready.
Applewood smoked it 4 hours yesterday; then finished it in the oven overnight for about 6-8 hours. It was set about 200F & the door just barely cracked; and a pot of water was under the tray it was on. (had to guesstimate: lowest setting on the dial is 260F.
Rested it in the fridge all day, today. Tonight, it got the Mrs. AR Seal of Approval.
Tomorrow, I'll divide up, package, and freeze the point end of the brisket, that is still in the corning brine, as either 2 or 3 pieces of corned beef.
Poorboy’s Apple Wine (This can be done with any 100% fruit juice. I just use apple juice because it’s cheapest and I don’t mind the taste)
6 - 64 fl oz bottles of apple juice (100% juice or juice from concentrate - no preservatives, corn syrup or HFCS - added ascorbic or citric acid is ok because they’re naturally found in fruits)
1 clean, empty 64 fl oz bottle
Pour off from each bottle as much as you can fit into a 1 cup glass/Pyrex measuring cup(approx 9.1 fl oz and pour into the empty bottle
This will give you 7 bottles with about the same head space 9.1x6=54.6 poured into empty | 64-9.1=54.9 is how much is left in new bottles after pouring off 9.1.
Add 1 cup sugar to each bottle, cap it and shake until sugar is dissolved. Usually requires a second shaking.
Add 1/2 tsp of Fleischmann’s Active Yeast(red packet or jar) - cap it and give it a quick shake
Store in cool dark place for a minimum of two weeks WITH CAPS LOOSENED. The caps should be just loose enough to wiggle them a little and/or squeeze air out of the bottle. If the cap is too tight, pressure will build up and the cap will blow off violently and spew juice/wine everywhere. I always check the bottles in a few hours to make sure they’re not bulging and I’ll check them again a few hours after that, especially if I had to loosen any caps.
The pouring off of approx 9.1 fl oz and ending up with the same head space in all 7 bottles is a practice makes perfect thing. I get pretty close these days. There’s a little ridge on most of the rim on the inside of my Pyrex measuring cup and if I fill it until it’s just at the bottom of the ridge, it’s perfect.
Solids/sludge will settle to the bottom so careful movements and careful pouring are required. You’ll end up with 3/4 inch remaining in the bottle to avoid the sludge. That stuff can be tossed.
Once a bottle is in the fridge and cold, the cap can be tightened. The fridge is also how you “cold crash” it to stop fermentation which is useful to prevent it from getting stronger or stopping it when the taste is right for you.
Dollar General sells their store brand of apple juice for $2.95 per 64 fl oz bottle. You end up with 3.5 gallons of wine with an ABV of 10-11% for around $20.
3.5 gallons is 448 fl oz for $20
A 30 pack of Natural Light is around $20, is 360 fl oz and 1/3 of the ABV
Cheap beer is 3-4 times the price of the wine by ABV per fl oz. In layman’s terms, it’s a cheap buzz.
Since the wine is fairly strong, it can be mixed with any clear carbonated drink to make DIY wine coolers. You could also mix it with caffeine containing sodas to make your own alcohol zoom zoom drink. A poor man’s Red Bull type drink.
I just pour some in a half pint canning jar that’s jammed into a coozie and drink both beer and wine at the same time, alternating sips.
The extreme weather this summer has made it hard on the tomato plants. Between people stealing the ripe tomatoes, soil problems, extreme weather (like I said) and blossom end rot, there have been no edible tomatoes this summer. The plant has been pulled up and thrown away. In it’s place lettuce seeds have been started, as well as peas. The blossom end rot problem had been solved by adding calcium to the soil. And spraying the tomato leaves with a calcium spray. That was an inexpensive fix. Antacid tablets are water soluable. I have plenty of them for my digestive problems. On the plus side, coleus, dianthus, caladiums, and petunias have done extremely well. Snapdragons are starting to bloom again as temperatures and humidity levels have been dropping. Looking forward to my fall crops.
I've gotten to a place with the canning that I'm able to take a break for a few days. I ran another 9 1/2qts of green beans and five pints of okra pickles last week. Might do more okra pickles but I'm good on green beans for now.
The sweet corn is over a foot tall now. Some of it is sideways because of the pounding it took Sunday, but it will stand back up soon enough. The cabbage we seeded last weekend is up. I'll give that a couple or three weeks to size up then stick it out in the dirt to finish.
After two years of trying I finally got the kimchi recipe that my buddy's Korean Granny-In-Law has used for the last 70-ish years so I'll be trying a batch of that when the fall cabbage is ready.
I noticed over the weekend that the doodlebugs have taken up residence in my greenhouse. Wasn't expecting them quite so soon but I'm glad to have them.
I also realized that I've been negligent providing welfare kitty updates. I named the tortoise shell Laney (cuz I found her in the lane. lol) and the tabby is Oliver. Both are doing well and just about ready to go for their first vet check.
