corn relish (fermented!)

I CAN’T WAIT to try this recipe from Sandy Katz!

4 ears fresh sweet corn, kernels cut off of the cobs (or about 2 cups canned or frozen)
4 hot and/or sweet red peppers, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 pear, cored and chopped, or other seasonal fruit
2 teaspoons salt

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Use your hands to squeeze them with some force for a few minutes. This will bruise vegetables and release juices. Do this until the mix is moist enough that when you squeeze a handful liquid drips down, as with a saturated sponge. Taste and add salt as necessary.

2. Stuff vegetables into a wide-mouth quart jar or other vessel. Seal the jar loosely so carbon dioxide pressure that will build during fermentation can escape. Ferment about two days in a warm environment, three or four days in a cooler spot. Once fermented flavors have developed, move to refrigerator until ready to serve; if you let it continue fermenting, sweet flavors will disappear altogether and the relish will become extremely sour. If surface growth develops (unlikely in a mostly full jar), skim off, discard, and enjoy the relish beneath it, protected from the mold.

+

recipe by Sandy Katz, published in the New York Times

herbs de provence kefir cheese

1. drain homemade kefir in cheesecloth for 8 hours (caution – pets will go crazy for this).
4-24 hours will produce a range of consistency from sour cream to cream cheese or farmers cheese.

2. mix with a pinch of salt and a good amount of herbs de provence (savory, fennel, basil, thyme, and lavender,) or your favorite herb blend.

refrigerate, and let flavors mingle for 2+ hours before eating.

+

from cultures for health

+

it’s wonderful! if you culture kefir, i highly recommend doing this with your leftovers (if you have any!)

Apfelwein

in case you were wondering what i’m doing today:
detoxing from last night by drinking tea and eating locally grown fruit, picking up the prize for the writing contest i won, and spending the money on a carboy, airlock, and gallons of juice.

+

EdWort’s Award Winning Apfelwein Recipe (German Hard Cider) Apple Wine Recipe

+

Placed 1st in the Cider & Apple Wine category at the BJCP sanctioned Alamo Cerveza fest (out of 11 entries) and took 2nd place for Best of Show for the main category of Meads & Ciders (out of 50 entries).

+

5 Gallons 100% Apple Juice (no preservatives or additives)
2 pounds of dextrose (corn sugar)
1 five gram packet of Montrachet Wine Yeast

5 Gallon Carboy (I use a Better Bottle)
Carboy Cap or Stopper with Airlock
Funnel
Sanitizer

First sanitize the carboy, airlock, funnel, stopper or carboy cap.
Open one gallon bottle of apple juice and pour half of it into the carboy using the funnel.
Open one bag of Dextrose and carefully add it to the now half full bottle of apple juice. Shake well.
Repeat Steps 2 and 3, then go to step 5.
Pour in the mixture of Apple Juice and Dextrose from both bottles into the carboy.
Add all but 1 quart of remaining 3 gallons of apple juice to the carboy.
Open the packet of Montrachet Yeast and pour it into the neck of the funnel.
Use the remaining quart of juice to wash down any yeast that sticks. I am able to fit all but 3 ounces of apple juice into a 5 gallon Better Bottle. You may need to be patient to let the foam die down from all shaking and pouring.
Put your stopper or carboy cap on with an airlock and fill the airlock with cheap vodka. No bacteria will live in vodka and if you get suckback, you just boosted the abv.

There’s no need to worry about filling up a carboy so full when you use Montrachet wine yeast. There is no Kreuzen, just a thin layer of bubbles. I’m able to fit all but 4 oz. of my five gallons in the bottle. Ferment at room temperature.

It will become cloudy in a couple of days and remain so for a few weeks. In the 4th week, the yeast will begin to drop out and it will become clear. After at least 4 weeks, you can keg or bottle, but it is ok to leave it in the carboy for another month or so. Racking to a secondary is not necessary. It ferments out very dry (less than 0.999, see here)

Apfelwein really improves with age, so if you can please let it sit in a carboy for up to 3 months before bottling or kegging, then let it sit even longer.

Six months and it hits its stride. Eight months and it’ll blow your mind.

If you want to bottle and carbonate, ¾ cup of corn sugar will work fine. Use as you would carbonate a batch of beer.

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND START ANOTHER BATCH 2 WEEKS AFTER YOU START THIS ONE.
YOU WILL THANK ME LATER!

GENERAL QUESTIONS

How does it taste?
It ferments quite dry. Some people have tried different yeasts in order to achieve a sweeter taste. It may take you a few glasses to get a feel for the flavor. It is very reminiscent of a sort of apfelwein produced locally in Germany. There really is no comparable product in the United States. It’s drier and less sweet than commercial hard ciders. It gets better with age and at 6+ months, the apple flavor really comes out.

How do you sweeten it?
Many folks back sweeten it with Wine Conditioner. Wine Conditioner is a blend of sucrose and sorbic acid. The addition of 2-4 oz. per gallon adds sweetness and prevents renewed fermentation. It can be purchased as any LHBS that caters to wine makers. Others will use Splenda or lactose (other non-fermentable sugars). Germans who prefer it sweet (or Suß as they say) will add a splash of Sprite or 7up to a glass. This is the easiest method as you don’t have to make a whole “sweet” batch that way.

What is the difference between Apfelwein and hard cider?
EdWort says, “Most ciders are a bit sweeter. Ciders and Apfelwein are about 6% abv, but I like the little boost I give it with 2 pounds of Dextrose. It adds no body or flavor and still tastes like Possmann’s Apfelwein, only it will kick your butt much quicker.”

Is this like Apfelmost / Apfel Korn?
No. Apfel Korn is a german liqeur made from wheat spirits. Apfelmost is spontaneously fermented with fresh-pressed apples or apple juice. It is probably similar, but the results may vary as a result of the spontaneous fermentation. Either way, Apfelmost is most certainly has a lower alcohol content since the initial gravity is not increased by the use of concentrate or corn sugar.

What’s the difference between apple juice and cider?
Cider is made by pressing apples. Juice is then filtered to remove all of the stuff that makes it cloudy.

Can I use apple cider instead?
Sure! You can use whatever you want. However, there is not enough information in this thread to give you any better details as to how it will turn out. I recommend starting a new thread or ask more experienced cider-makers.

What kind of Apple Juice should I use?
Ideally, you want to use 100% natural apple juice with no preservatives. The only acceptable preservative is ascorbic acid, which is a source of vitamin C and does not affect fermentation. Pasteurized juice is preferred, since it will have less bacteria.

How much will this recipe cost me?
5 gallons of Apfelwein can be made for between 20 and 25 dollars.

What else can you do with this recipe?
Makes a great Grog in the winter time. Take a quart in a sauce pan, add some rum, turbinado sugar, and float a cinnamon stick in it and simmer for a while. Serve hot in mugs. It’ll warm you right up.

+

brew diary:

8/21

answers to your questions about lacto-fermentation!

if you used google to get here, i can see your search queries.
creepy, right?
but i don’t want to rant.
i’ll just say that one benefit to a total and complete end to all privacy is…

i can help total strangers with their fermentation issues!

+

+

Q:
someone found my page by googling:
“can you ferment mint”

A:
yes!
fresh mint – whole sprigs of any herb, actually – do ferment. use the open-crock method and they can last all through the winter. find a plate or rock that fits well in your vessel to eliminate problems with floating.

prepared lacto-fermented mint condiments are also delicious. here’s a lacto-fermented mint chutney recipe.

dried mint is a good flavor in lacto-ferments, but i’ve found that adding dried herbs can make them spoil more quickly because they tend to leave floaty bits at the surface. not recommended. but it’s your call!

+

Q:
someone found my page by googling:
“fermented lime juice”

A:
ferment juice the way you would other juices – as a wine. make sure to use or make an airlock to prevent making fermented lime vinegar – unless that’s your goal. if so, just squeeze limes into a jar and leave it out for a day (covered in cheesecloth or a tshirt to prevent bugs) in the summer heat! don’t use bottled lime juice; it has preservatives that prevent what you’re trying to encourage. i’ve never done this. i have used fresh lime juice as a brine in lacto-ferments a TON, and it’s incredible with indian lime pickle or hot pepper pickle.

+

Q:
someone found my page by googling:
“lacto-fermented ravioli”

A:
what?

haha.

i guess you could ferment some flour for a few days and make a sourdough pasta. then you could fill it with lacto-fermented ingredients.

also, whoever googled “lacto-fermented ravioli” please be my friend.

+

Q:
“lacto-fermented pancakes”

A:
definitely!
dosai are ground rice and lentils fermented for a day. the flavor is unique and really delicious.

if finely textured pancakes are more your thing, you can’t go wrong with crepes or american-style sourdough pancakes.

+

Q:
“lactoferment tomatos sweet pepper botulism”

A:
if you’re worried about botulism, use sandy’s open-crock fermentation method. guides exist – like the master sandy katz‘s elegant write-up, and my quick version.

he outlines an “open-crock” method of fermentation that eliminates the problem of anarobic bacteria (the kind that live in closed containers – ie. botulism). basically, that means you can’t get botulism with the open-crock method. and it’s easy!

as for tomatoes and peppers, i think any jarred food from minced garlic to pre-packaged tomato sauce is at risk for botulism. but think of how often you eat jarred food without a problem!

+

Q:
“why lime juice pickle fermented”

A:
because it tastes delicious, it’s good for you, and it preserves.

why NOT lime juice pickle fermented?

+

Q:
“is lime juice good for a slow fermentation”

A:
the refrigerator – or a root cellar – is your best bet for a slow fermentation.

but yes, in my experience lime-juice fermented lime pickles are very slow to ferment. my year-old pickles are intoxicating.

+

Q:
“if ferment is too close to top”

A:
eat a few bites off the top!

+

Q:
“nasty fermented german potatoes”

A:
it’s only appropriate that someone would find me by googling this. believe it or not, i have a recipe for fermented potatoes. i have never tried it, so if you do, please comment and let me know.

+

got a question i didn’t answer?

leave a comment, or try the trusty folks at the wild fermentation forum! (edit 2014: the wild fermentation fb group is surprisingly active and supportive these days.)

or just continue using google!

(there are alternative search engines out there that don’t track your search terms!)

sweet fermented rice pancakes

i’m making pak thong kuih – a lacto-fermented rice dessert.

for the first two parts of the recipe, some of the “starter” is removed. what to do with all that extra yeasty sweet rice?

+

super fast and easy sweet and sour fermented rice pancakes

from goop to plate in less than ten minutes.

ingredients

+ a fistful of yeasty sweet rice leftover from fermenting pak thong kuih (or substitute leftover cooked plain rice – maybe with a little lime juice? i’ll have to try that.)
+ a fistful of mashed sweet potato
+ two pinches of coconut powder
+ one pinch of corn starch
+ one egg (increase corn starch for a vegan version)
+ a pinch each of fennel, cayenne, seasoned salt, coriander, and two pinches of ginger and black pepper
+ a tablespoon or so of date syrup

+

fry on medium heat like any pancake or burger.

+

serve with applesauce

+

i invented this recipe tonight, and i couldn’t be happier with it! hopefully the honeycomb dessert is good so i have a reason to ferment more rice, because this was a quick, easy, awesome snack!

pak thong kuih – lacto-fermented rice honeycomb dessert

you’ll have to see the pictures in the original recipe over at table for 2….. or more to see why this seems so magickal. how do single celled organisms turn rice into a honeycombed dessert? this is amazing!

i just started on this one today!!

+

combine
100gm cooled, cooked rice
½ Tbsp Chinese Wine Yeast ( 甜酒饼，Ragi, sweet type) [i just used a pinch of bread yeast..]
1 tsp sugar
½ Tbsp water
Mix everything together, keep in a covered container (not air-tight!)
Leave it in a cabinet or cold room to ferment for 48 hours.

(note: started 9pm may 5. ready on monday night, may 7!)

+

after 48 hours, weight out 60gms (~1/4 c) &
(use the extra to make some fermented rice pancakes!)

to that 60gm fermented rice, add
100gm (~1/2 c) rice flour
water (just to moisten)

ferment for 16-18 hours
Weigh out 80gm of this & set aside.

(started 10pm may 7, done 2pm-4pm tomorrow)

+

in a separate bowl, combine 220 gm. pure rice flour, 30 gm. tapioca or other starch, and 280 gm. water

in a separate pot, boil 200 gm. castor sugar, 400 ml. water, and 3 blades of pandan leaves tied into a knot (or other flavor). pour half into the fresh water-flour-starch mixture. cool the other half before pouring it in. add the ferment and ferment again for 12ish hours.

+

add a quarter teaspoon of baking soda to a teaspoon of water. take a quarter teaspoon of that mixture and add it to the ferment, along with a teaspoon of oil.

pour into a greased steaming tray and steam 15-20 mins over medium heat, or until a skewer comes out clean.

+
+

5/13
well, i accidentally became overwhelmed by responsibilities and found myself extending the last ferment by a few days. at first, i kept up with it, pouring off the rice wine on top and adding fresh flour. then i slacked. when i finally checked it three days later, it looked hopeless. it smelled like vinegar, and a few fruit flies had somehow made it under the lid kept loose for aeration. i added rice flour and sugar and a few hunks of fresh strawberries hoping to kick-start it. after only ten minutes, the smell was already sweeter and healthier as the yeast woke up. i poured off the rice wine vinegar and fruit flies, added a little cinnamon, and invented some bizarre contraption with a loaf pan in a steamer basket in a pot with a lid on top. i completely forgot the baking soda and oil, so who knows what bizarre consistency or taste will come of this. i’ve been steaming it for a really long time (20 mins at least) and it’s still sort of gooey but tightening up around the edges.

HEY! IT’S DONE!

AND IT’S HONEYCOMBED!

it has a giant hole in the middle with a wrinkled honeycomb pattern coming from it. the pattern almost looks like a grapefruit.

taste:
distinct sourdough flavor. wild! not at ALL sweet. covering the finished product in date syrup is pretty and turns it into a dessert! the sourdough is much more complex and well-developed than i’d thought it would be after just a few days. really wonderful!

texture:
sticky, chewy, jiggly, jello-y, filled with air pockets, awesome, weird, fun!

+

MAKE THIS!