What are you fermenting today?

[freemotion]

Can't wait to hear how it comes out! My first batch of sourdough, made from wild yeast and a two week ferment, was so yummy. We eat so little bread, though, that re-using it for the next batch and the next batch....it got unbearably sour. But I now use the artisan bread recipe, add whey, and ferment it in the fridge where it doesn't get too sour. Conditions and wild yeasts vary from location to location. I bet yours will be wonderful.....you are closer to San Francisco, famous for sourdough!

I am working on a batch of yogurt now, put a batch of salad dressing mix into the fridge yesterday. Since it was quite the success, here is how I did it.....sorry, no measurements.

Garden Salad Dressing Mix

One pile of fresh basil, another pile of fresh parsley, about the same size as the basil pile. Each pile filled the salad spinner twice (that's four spins for all these herbs) loosely, no packing down.

A handful of fresh oregano and a bigger handful of fresh scallions.

1.5 T each of sea salt and onion powder, maybe more
1 T each of black pepper and garlic powder, maybe more
4 T whey, maybe less

Puree in the food processor, coarsely if possible. This filled a quart jar slightly more than halfway. Ferment at room temperature for 2-3 days, then store in fridge.

To use, add a glob of the herb mix to a cruet with some oil and vinegar, shake! Adjust seasonings, if desired. If you are used to storebought dressing, add a bit of stevia extract to sweeten it a bit.

You may use fresh, raw garlic and onions, I find them too strong for my taste, though. I never eat them raw in anything, so don't go by me!

I will be starting my diced, fermented garlic experiment soon, as I just scored 15 bulbs of organic garlic for just under $3 today. Will keep you posted.....I hope to banish the Costco jar of diced garlic from my fridge forever! And still have the convenience of the jarred garlic.

 

[TanksHill]

Ok Free, I am being lazy and did not want to read the whole thread. I lost you on about page two. Whats the gist of the whole fermenting thing. Is there added health benefit from eating fermented foods? Or is it just a method of preservation?

I know I should go back and catch up but there's never enough time...

thanks, gina

 

[Dace]

Hey Gina...yes there are health benefits and I am looking to learn more as well......a whole new big fun experiment!

Free...I would like to better understand as well.....

edited to add.....I read a little about raw milk and wanted to buy some but hubby flipped. Can you explain the bene's of that as well?

 

[freemotion]

OK, Gina and Dace, in a nutshell.....traditionally fermented foods, made correctly and at home (not prepared for storage and shipping like commercial copycats and completely killed) are live foods, teeming with good bacteria and the wonderful nutrients that they produce. Very healing and health-supporting. ALSO a great method of food preservation. So two benefits.

An example: You know that yogurt is good for you, the live cultures are great for your digestion. One brand even claims to be unique in it's ability to stimulate the colon. It is the live cultures that aid the digestive tract. Yogurt is a basic fermented food. Other fermented foods have other wonderful beasties in them.

We should have about four pounds of good bacteria in our digestive tract at all times. A round of antibiotics will kill them off, and it can take months or years for them to get into full swing again. The typical American diet is very unfriendly to good bacteria and promotes the bad beasties. Kinda like the CAFO cows and corn vs grass-fed, and the new killer strains of e-coli that we now have to deal with. American supermarkets are like CAFO feed troughs. Promoting dangerous conditions in our bodies.

Fermented stuff can help your body get back into balance much more quickly, and help it stay there. Even emotional stress kills your good bacteria. Who can avoid that in this day and age?

Kombucha was looked at more closely after Chernobel (sp?) when there was a community that had no cancer. Scientists investigated closely to see what was different in that community. They had clung to the old ways of taking some fermented foods every day, and kombucha was the most common.

Vitamin C levels in home-made sauerkraut are TEN TIMES what is in the ingredients you start with! How's that for taking your vitamins, and your enzymes!

Here's another good thing....when you eat a meal of only cooked foods, the food tends to sink to the bottom of your stomach, and the acid floats on the top, in spite of the churning of the stomach muscle itself. So digestion and nutrient availability can be quite limited, and the chances of experiencing GURD skyrocket. But if you take in a little of a fermented food with a cooked meal, you change this whole situation. That is why so many foods that are condiments even today were originally fermented foods. Pickles, chutneys, relishes, ketchup, mustard, etc.

Live fermented foods cannot be produced on a commercial scale with the huge profit margin that the food giants want, and they cannot be consistant from batch to batch...these are live foods with a personality! So recipes were developed using vinegar to get the sour taste and maintain consistancy from batch to batch. Also, the canning process will kill any live ferment. There are very few live foods available commercially, and they are expensive for just this reason. So a little bottle of kombucha can be $4, and a pound of good miso can be $10, if it is alive by the time you get it.

The beautiful thing is that fermented foods are so easy and cheap to make at home, and so nutrient-dense and a great complement to any meal. You can experiment and see what you like and don't like, and still have plenty to choose from.

Grains are a whole different story, though. And it is after midnight, so I will explain that tomorrow! Nuts and seeds, too. Nighty-night!

Oh, and milk.....tomorrow!

 

[Dace]

Free, that was an awesome explanation. I just read it to hubby and we are patiently waiting for the next lesson.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Hi freemotion

Thank you so much for your explanation! It really helped me understand more clearly what you are all talking about -- I have been reading the thread for the last couple of weeks. I too look forward to Part 2. later on today (it's morning here in the UK).

Hattie

 

[big brown horse]

Yes, thank you for sharing your information with us!

 

[ORChick]

Thank you, free, for that explanation. You made it a lot clearer than I could have had I been tempted to try . And thanks too for the herb mix idea; the herb garden is busy doing its thing, and this way I'll have a better chance of keeping pace with it.

The bread turned out very well, if I do say so myself. My sourdough starter was given me a few years ago by a friend, and he claims it is a direct descendent of a starter "caught" in Alaska in the 1890s - how's that for having a bit of history sitting on the counter? The bread recipe was modeled on a SF sourdough, though I used some whole wheat (not much, as DH would rebel), and did indeed have a SF sourdough taste and texture to it. It spread out a little more than I like, but that is my fault as I make my bread on a pizza stone, and not in a pan with sides. Certainly worth doing again .

 

[freemotion]

Whew, my arms are gonna fall off....just cut a bunch of hay with the scythe, need a break! So here is some stuff on grains and fermenting/soaking....

Seeds have germination inhibitors in their seedcoats, to prevent the seed from sprouting until conditions are right for proper growth. Soaking for a period of time inactivates these. You gardeners know this to be true, you need to keep the soil moist until those seedlings appear, and things like peas and beans do better with an overnight soak before planting. They have stronger inhibitors.

These substances also prevent digestion in the human digestive tract. They also are "anti-nutrients," preventing the absorption and utilization of important nutrients. Some, such as those found in soy, are hormone disruptors.

If whole grains bother you but white flour doesn't, this is why. The bran is removed, and with all the processing of white flour, few of the inhibitors remain.

Traditional cultures all fermented their grain products for two weeks. A typical example is sourdough, which takes two weeks to develop. The recent MEN artisan bread method is very exciting to us fermenters, as the method is perfect for what we are trying to achieve. You can let the dough sit in the fridge (after fermenting on the counter for a few hours) for two weeks before using it. Replace some of the water in the recipe with whey.

A minimum soak is 12 hours, better is 24 hours. Many recipes can be adjusted to accomodate this soaking period....check out the thread, "What are you fermenting today?" for some ideas. Some recipes that don't lend themselves well to soaking can be made with flour from wheat that has been slightly sprouted and dehydrated before grinding. A lot of work, but worth it for someone with sensitive digestion who wants a specific recipe.....maybe flaky biscuits, for example. Or if you didn't plan ahead, and want to make some pancakes. If you have some sprouted and dried wheat prepared, you can grind that up and make your recipe quickly.

No more "quick soak method" for cooking up dry beans. Use the maximum 24 hour soak, and add some whey to the water. In the absence of whey, use a little ACV. Whey is much better, because of the action of the lacto-bacteria. These beans won't be gassy. I always have plenty cooked up in advance and frozen or canned for quick recipes.

Lentils and flax don't need soaking. Nor does rice.

Oatmeal can be set up in a pan the night before, and a bit of yogurt added, let it sit at room temp, covered, overnight and then cook as you normally would in the morning.

I lactoferment grains for my animals, except the chickens in summer, since they are not eating much grain. When I am not soaking the whole grains for them, I am sure to use at least three different grains, to avoid nutrient deficiency from too much of one type of anti-nutrient.

Soy cannot be made safe for human consumption with soaking. Only a long ferment of at least three months will do it. And the hormone disruptors are still present, so this should be a condiment only.....tamari or miso, for example. NEVER give your children soy milk!!!! Why is soy so praised in this country??? Follow the money, my dears...

Nuts should be soaked, raw, and dried in the oven or dehydrator. Check out BBH's experiences in the fermenting thread. I am allergic to tree nuts, so haven't done this. But I have read that people like me, who develop nut allergies later in life, might tolerate nuts prepared this way. Since this has been true with several foods that I am "allergic" to, I may just get brave and try it one day.....cautiously, of course.

 

[TanksHill]

Wow, Free this is great. I am taking notes. I agree with the soy thing. My sil let her daughter live on chocolate soy milk for about two years. When the poor girl started to develope at 8 yrs old she wondered why.

I think that some of these ideas will be very easy to incorporate into daily life. Others may take a bit more work but surly worth it.

I will go back and read the fermenting thread. It seems I missed a ton.

On the oatmeal, how much yogurt to oats and is the water added the night before as well? I have 3 little ones on antibiotics right now for some scary bacterial infection which caused infected ears, throats and sinuses. Not sure where we picked this one up. The oatmeal will be a good way for me to get their tummies back on track.

I have lots of ???? I will move them to the fermenting thread.

Thanks, gina

Oh great job on the hay!!!!!!