The warm weather is a boon to fermentation. It's a great time to try pickling some produce, making sauerkraut, or dabbling in homemade sodas. Of course, adding fermented foods to your diet is a wonderful way to increase the nutrient content of your food, aid digestion, augment your digestive and immune systems, preserve food, express your creativity, and participate in a human tradition dating back thousands of years! I try to eat something fermented with every meal. Fermented drinks aid digestion (unlike most beverages that are often consumed with meals) and can be delicious!
I've been experimenting a lot lately with lactofermentation, a process that introduces beneficial bacteria into a ferment, speeding and stabilizing the process. The most comprehensive book on the subject is Nourishing Traditions (see below). First you need to make the whey, then you use it to ferment all number of things.
Whey and Yogurt Cream Cheese
1 qt. whole milk organic yogurt
Place a colander over a large bowl. Line it with a kitchen towel and pour in the yogurt. Cover. Let drain 8-24 hours. When it has achieved a consistency you like, pour the whey into a small jar and scrape the yogurt cheese off the towel into a container of your choice. Proceed with recipes!
1 qt. whole milk organic yogurt
Place a colander over a large bowl. Line it with a kitchen towel and pour in the yogurt. Cover. Let drain 8-24 hours. When it has achieved a consistency you like, pour the whey into a small jar and scrape the yogurt cheese off the towel into a container of your choice. Proceed with recipes!
Lactofermented Raita
An especially probiotic, digestable version of the Indian condiment or salad.
3 organic cucumbers, halved, seeded and sliced
1-2 organic tomatoes, diced
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro and/or mint
2 tablespoons minced scallions
1 t toasted cumin or mustard seeds
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon sea salt (or 2 tsp. if not using whey)
3 tablespoons yogurt whey (optional)
1-2 cups yogurt cream cheese (see above)
In a bowl, combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, scallions, seeds, lemon, salt and optional whey. Mix well, and transfer to a 1 quart mason jar. Weight the top by placing a smaller jar or bottle inside the jar and pressing down so the liquid rises above the solids. Let sit at room temperature for 1-2 days—I day in hot weather, 2 if it is foggy. Then keep refrigerated until ready to assemble. When you are ready to serve combine the vegetables with the yogurt cheese.
1-2 organic tomatoes, diced
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro and/or mint
2 tablespoons minced scallions
1 t toasted cumin or mustard seeds
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon sea salt (or 2 tsp. if not using whey)
3 tablespoons yogurt whey (optional)
1-2 cups yogurt cream cheese (see above)
In a bowl, combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, scallions, seeds, lemon, salt and optional whey. Mix well, and transfer to a 1 quart mason jar. Weight the top by placing a smaller jar or bottle inside the jar and pressing down so the liquid rises above the solids. Let sit at room temperature for 1-2 days—I day in hot weather, 2 if it is foggy. Then keep refrigerated until ready to assemble. When you are ready to serve combine the vegetables with the yogurt cheese.
Heirloom Tomato Salsa
I love fresh salsa used to have a hard time eating all of before it went bad until I discovered the art of preservation through lactofermentation!
4 medium tomatoes, diced
2 small red or yellow onions, diced, or 1 bunch scallions, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded or not and diced fine
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons yogurt whey
¼ cup, more or less, filtered water
Mix all the ingredients except water in a bowl, and stuff into a 1 quart mason jar. Press down lightly until the liquids cover the solids, adding water if you need to so the salsa is submerged. The top of the veggies should be 1 inch below the bottom of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for 2 days before storing in the fridge. Keeps for weeks! Try adding fruit, such as peaches, for many delightlful variations.
Hibiscus and Schizandra Soda
Adapted from Full Moon Feast by Jessica Prentice. I've been drinking this with dinner recently, as a liver-supportive alternative to wine. The hibiscus is high in vitamin C and the schizandra is a liver protectant and adaptogenic herb. The flavor is sophisticated.
¼ cup dried hibiscus flowers*
¼ cup schizandra berries (wu wei zi in Chinese)*
½ cup agave nectar or maple syrup
½ cup yogurt whey
½ organic lemon
Place everything into the bottom of a 2 quart mason jar. Fill to the top with filtered water and shake gently to mix. Let sit in a warm place for 2 days, then strain into two 1 qt bottles (like those that may have housed mineral water) with screw caps and ferment for 2 days more. Chill and open carefully (contents may be very fizzy). Enjoy!
*Find these in bulk in the herb section at Whole Foods or Rainbow, or head to Llasa Karnak in Berkeley.
Beet Kvass
Adapted from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. A blood cleansing drink, more medicinal than culinary, but worth trying.
Beet Kvass
Adapted from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. A blood cleansing drink, more medicinal than culinary, but worth trying.
2 large or 3 medium organic beets (chiogga beets give a wonderful color)
1 t. sea salt
¼ cup yogurt whey
Filtered water
Scrub and dice the beets finely. Place in a 2 qt. jar and add the salt and whey. Stir and leave in a warm place (like the top of a refrigerator) for 2 days, then store in the fridge. Drink 1-2 cups a day to support detoxification. When you have about a cup left in the bottom of the jar, you can refill it with water and make a second batch by leaving out at room temperature again. After the second brew, compost the beets. You may reserve some of the liquid as an inoculant (instead of the whey) for the next batch with fresh beets.
1 t. sea salt
¼ cup yogurt whey
Filtered water
Scrub and dice the beets finely. Place in a 2 qt. jar and add the salt and whey. Stir and leave in a warm place (like the top of a refrigerator) for 2 days, then store in the fridge. Drink 1-2 cups a day to support detoxification. When you have about a cup left in the bottom of the jar, you can refill it with water and make a second batch by leaving out at room temperature again. After the second brew, compost the beets. You may reserve some of the liquid as an inoculant (instead of the whey) for the next batch with fresh beets.
Resources:
Fallon, Sally. Nourishing Traditions. New Trends Publishing: Washington, DC (2001).
Katz, Sandor. Wild Fermentation. Chelsea Green: White River Junction, VT (2006).
Prentice, Jesssica. Full Moon Feast. Chelsea Green: White River Junction, VT (2006)
http://kefirlady.com/. Homey website and source for kombucha scobys and kefir grains by mail. You can ferment beverages with kefir grains and they are even more durable probiotics in the gut than the yogurt-based kind. I've just started drinking kefir daily--will report soon on the effects. A well-known candida fighter.
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