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/
CLICK ON THE TIN PIE SAFE!
(If you are unsure, its on the left!)
Bkmk ferment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebrewing
"Beer has been brewed domestically throughout its 7,000-year history, beginning in the Neolithic period in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), Egypt and China. It seems to have first developed as thick beers; during this time meads, fruit wines and rice wines were also developed.
Women brewers dominated alcohol production on every occupied continent until commercialization and industrialization of brewing occurred. The tradition of brewing being in the domain of women stemmed from the fact that brewing was a by-product of gathering, and often considered a part of baking. " (more at link!)
Malting barley took place in an Ost house. Harvested barley was lined in rows on stone floors and soaked in water to start germination and promote conversion of starch to sugar. The rows of barley were periodically turned for a day or so and were then turned and roasted on heated trays to stop germination and dry the barley. In some cases malted barley was roasted longer to caramelize the sugar to produce a darker beer.
In colonial times barley was not as common and involved additional steps--such as malting--so was not as commonly brewed. In the United States cider was something that was fermented on many farms as most farms had apple trees. Cider was used as drink or further fermented to make vinegar.
Some resources for brewing beer and cider at home! (Too much to post here! Some of this is pricey! )
https://www.northernbrewer.com/blogs/new-to-brewing-start-here/How-to-Brew-Beer-Homebrewing-101
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/
https://store.bellsbeer.com/pages/homebrewing (They have a store in Kalamazoo!)
Do a search to find more!
Lactofermented Vegatable Escabech
If you’ve been to an authentic taqueria, you might have seen large containers of pickled vegetables (and sauces) which you can enjoy as condiments on your food or simply on their own. These might be whole or sliced pickled jalapeno, carrots, onions, cauliflower, radish, or a mix of some of these.
However, in my experience restaurant and store iterations of escabeche are always marinated or pickled in a vinegar brine. With just about any traditional, national pickled dish with a long history (like cucumber pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, etc.) I think it’s important not to assume the original version was made this way. And even in the case of certain things that always were and are vinegar pickled, then I start to really want to know what it might taste like lacto-fermented instead. (This led to other recipes here such as this fermented chimichurri.)
(Instructions at the link!)
