What are you fermenting today?

[big brown horse]

Wow, all of you have been so busy! I admit, I know nothing about fermenting.. aside from making yogurt and chevre. My yogurt is always far too runny to bag any of it, I've debated putting arrowroot powder or corn starch in it to make it thicker - I hate runny yogurt.

BBH, do you buy your yogurt then hang it? How much whey do you get and how long does it take?

Free, have you ever made chevre? I never did like the taste - I'm just not a chevre person - but got a nice amount of whey.

Blackbird, I should hang the yogurt to get more whey out of it. I have in the past, but I like to eat it in my yogurt too. So what I do now is scoop out my yogurt so it forms a nice steep hill in the container. Then some of the whey that night runs out and ends up at the bottom of the yogurt hill. That is what I give my chickens or use to ferment my almonds or what I will use to make that pie crust. I suppose it is the lazy gal's way to get whey!

ETA Woops! Called you Amos again!!!

 

[freemotion]

Yep, I have three batches of chevre in the fridge now, all partially eaten, that I am experimenting with aging and mold ripening.....got some nice white fuzz on them. I am tasting at various stages.

Mozzarella and cheddar give a huge amount of whey. I took some from my recent batch of mozz before I made ricotta, because that process pasteurizes it. I use a cool mesophilic culture for my cheddar, so it stays cooler and is very live with good bacteria...but I get about three gallons, so most of the whey ends up in the compost pile. The chickens turn their little beaks up at it while bugs are in good supply.

When I was using store-bought yogurt, I would put it in a collander lined with a square of t-shirt material in a bowl for a couple hours on the counter, then tie up the four corners over a spoon handle, and hang it on a pitcher and stick it in the fridge over night. Lots of whey and nice, thick, sweet yogurt the next day.

I have been saving cream for 3-4 months now, in the freezer, I think I have almost 3 quarts! I often use what I skim, for example, in a quiche or when I serve kahlua or coffee to guests. It seems pretty heavy, but I only get 2-3 tablespoons per gallon of milk.

 

[Blackbird]

Interesting..

I have about a quart of cream in the freezer that I collected a couple months ago, but never did anything with it - yet.

I read you can pour goat milk in a shallow tray of sorts and put it in the fridge for 24 horus, then skim the cream off and supposedly you can get a lot more that way, but I haven't done that yet. Sounds like too much work, but it would be worth it I'm sure. I'll def try it next time I try to make butter. If I can find fridge space.

I'm fairly knew at this whole dairy food thing. I've got yogurt and chevre down good, but I can't find any good recipes for mozzarella, ricota, or anything else and I'm scared to try hard cheeses. Wanna share your recipes Monique? I can call you that right?

 

[Henrietta23]

I think I am fermenting blackberries...forgot I had them in the fridge I might put them with the fermented strawberries, that I also forgot and see what we'll get

I've got some cherries you can throw in there too....

 

[freemotion]

Interesting..

I have about a quart of cream in the freezer that I collected a couple months ago, but never did anything with it - yet.

I read you can pour goat milk in a shallow tray of sorts and put it in the fridge for 24 horus, then skim the cream off and supposedly you can get a lot more that way, but I haven't done that yet. Sounds like too much work, but it would be worth it I'm sure. I'll def try it next time I try to make butter. If I can find fridge space.

I'm fairly knew at this whole dairy food thing. I've got yogurt and chevre down good, but I can't find any good recipes for mozzarella, ricota, or anything else and I'm scared to try hard cheeses. Wanna share your recipes Monique? I can call you that right?

Sure ya can! That's my name!

I find that I can get the cream off better if I fill my gallon jars up to almost touching the lid, and let it sit undisturbed for 3-4 days. Then I skim it with a plastic measuring tablespoon. I had a terrible time at first, because I just couldn't see the creamline. Then I figured out that I could just feel for it with the spoon. With the last spoonful or two, I can get milk and cream in the spoon, then carefully pour off the milk.

I use the mozzarella and ricotta recipes on www.fiascofarm.com's website, along with the chevre and the St. Maure, which is basically chevre with mold added. Every few times I make it, I can print out a more and more edited version of the instructions. It came out good 2 out of 8 attempts, but the cheese was great even if it wasn't mozzarrella. It was an eating cheese, as it didn't melt on a pizza if it didn't stretch. It is also good in a casserolle or quiche as a filling if it doesn't stretch, just use perfect mozzarella for the top that you want to be melted, browned, and stretchy when you take a forkful!

My cheddar recipe comes from Rikki Carroll's book, Cheesemaking. It is more time-consuming, needs more babysitting, than the mozzarella, but the results have been more consistant for me. It is too long to type here, but fiascofarm's recipes should keep you busy for a bit.....Any cheese recipe can be multiplied or reduced, so I have a five-gallon pot that fits nicely inside my canner, so I always make a four-gallon batch. It is the exact same amount of work as a one-gallon batch.

My last batch of mozzarella was the best, and I warmed the milk in a sink of hot, running tapwater instead of in the double boiler. I wonder if that made the difference. We will see when I make another batch.

 

[freemotion]

Oh, yeah, what am I fermenting TODAY? I am trying a new invention....fermented salad dressing mix. I have a pint of fresh herbs along with some flavorings like garlic and onion powders, salt and pepper, that I like in my salad dressing, in a quart jar with some whey. No recipe from the book, I just got brave. If it works, I will post what I did. I hope to use it by shaking a spoonful of it up with oil and vinegar for a quick garden salad dressing, Italian-style.

The ketchup was nasty. I made changes to the recipe, though, maybe it really does need the fish sauce. It will live in the back of my fridge until I decide whether to add fish sauce (if I can find or make some) or toss it! It smells like lame spaghetti sauce....

 

[freemotion]

At almost the two-day mark of fermenting at room temp, the salad dressing mix smells yummy! Salad tomorrow! I'll give the recipe if it is good.....

 

[HiDelight]

I am going to jump right in and tell you I am making ginger beer

ginger and water leave on the counter for a few days until is sparkles just a little ..strain and chill ..enjoy with a spritzer and sweeten if you like ..I like it sharp and dry myself ..it is not alcoholic but it is very very good for your tummy

 

[Wifezilla]

That sounds simple enough! I might have to try that.

Mead update...still bubbling

 

[ORChick]

I am in the middle of making my first ever raised-only-with-sourdough bread. I've been baking bread on and off since I was 17 - a long time ago - and have been messing about with sourdough almost as long, but have always only used it as a helper, and flavor enhancer, letting commercial yeast do the "real" work. So last evening I mixed up the dough, and set it to rise overnight - or 12 to 15 hours, as the recipe advised. This morning, after 13 hours, it was at the top of the bowl, and thinking about taking over the countertop - it looks as though my sourdough is even livelier than I thought ! I formed 2 loaves, and they are rising now - 6-7 hours, but I will be checking sooner! I am so pleased with myself that I have got over this hurdle; I have been hesitant in the past to put the work and time into it, and then possibly produce something akin to a doorstop - but I am hopeful that this will turn out well .