Category Archives: Lacto-fermenting

Guest Post – Rejuvelac, the easy-to-make probiotic

Posted on April 2, 2010 by Annette Cottrell| 14 Comments

This guest post is by Auburn in Southern New Hampshire.

Thanks to Wardeh I learned about the benefits of water kefir. I tried to find water kefir grains locally but couldn’t so I wound up ordering fresh grains online from the kefirlady with great results – the grains are growing fast, healthy and produce a nice soda-like drink but I’ll have to wait a few more weeks for the grains to yield a half a gallon per brew.

Two weeks ago, a nice lady from New Mexico introduced me to rejuvelac. She has a history of malabsorption leading to underweight, and went through an anti-candida treatment about a year ago. After adopting a traditional diet and adding daily raw live non-dairy fermented probiotic drinks like kombucha and rejuvelac, her digestion has improved markedly.

I don’t keep my house warm enough during the winter to brew kombucha successfully. It does well in the summer but it just takes forever the rest of the year so water kefir and rejuvelac are the easiest fermented drinks for me to make.

So what’s rejuvelac? It’s a very healthy drink you can make from grains. Rye and wheat berries, and quinoa produce the best results.

From Wiki: Rejuvelac contains eight of the B vitamins, vitamins E and K, and a variety of proteins, dextrines, carbohydrates, phosphates and amylases. It is rich in enzymes that assist in digestion.

I’ve been making it as per these basic instructions I found online:

- Soak a 1/2 cup of rye berries for 8 hours in filtered water in a glass jar.

- Drain, rinse, drain again and let the berries sprout.

- Then rinse again and fill the jar with two quarts of filtered water.

- Cap securely with a piece of cheesecloth and leave on the counter, away from direct sunlight, for a day or two.

- Strain (I suppose fruit juice could be added for flavour at this point, haven’t tried that) and refrigerate.

I find the resulting drink quite nice. It looks like lemonade and tastes kind of plain, can’t describe it – it’s an OK taste, though.

However, soaking with water doesn’t address the phytic acid problem so now I’m adding whey to the first step and letting the rye berries soak for a full day, after that I rinse them and let them sprout.

The rye berries can be reused a couple of times.

All sites I checked say to discard the “spent” berries or feed them to chickens. I don’t have chickens and hate to throw food away so I just cooked the berries in a little water until tender, about 5 minutes, I think. Added butter, some raisins, a bit of raw cream, pecans, walnuts, banana slices, and raw honey off the heat.

The hubby and I liked the new breakfast concoction a lot.

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Posted in I'm Looking for You, Lacto-fermenting, Local Grains - Where to Get Them and What to do with Them, Recipes for Seasonal and Local Foods, Rejuvelac

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Lacto Fermentation Blog Carnival and My Food Preservation Strategy

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Annette Cottrell| 36 Comments

I tried a few lacto-fermented foods in 2009 but I really plan to focus on fermenting things more this summer instead of canning.  It uses less energy, takes less time, and leaves more of the nutrients intact initially.  I say initially because over time they will oxidize which also happens when you can foods.  Freezing seems to be the most nutritious long term storage for foods.

My 2010 strategy, however, will be to put up fewer things and focus on truly eating seasonally.  When I do put things up I will focus on using lacto-fermentation first and plan to have a 4 month supply to carry us over to the next season of crops.

For instance, I had to harvest all the winter crops this month in order to start the spring/summer things.  This leaves us with lots of overwintered cabbage, kale and carrots in the fridge and none of those things will keep longer than a few weeks but it will be 6-8 weeks before the next round of things come in.  By fermenting the cabbage and carrots I can get them to last for months.

Lacto-fermentation was the earliest form of food preservation and we still have carryovers today in the guise of deli pickles, saurkraut and kim chee.  These very traditional foods are frequently made using vinegar today but the tastier and healthier forms were fermented rather than pickled.

If you don’t have a blog you can still participate by emailing me your entries which I can post and link to for you or by adding them in the comments. And if you do have a blog please link back to this entry when posting so we increase the number of fermentation experiments and get new ideas.

I’m excited to see what everyone has fermented!

Let me introduce you to my friend Mr. Linky.

Simply enter your name with a brief description of what you fermented like this (Sustainable Eats – Lacto-fermented Salmon) and then link to your blog entry where you’ve blogged about your fermented food. Mr. Linky is easy. And thanks so much for participating!

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Lacto-Fermented Fish

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Annette Cottrell| 9 Comments

That’s right.  I went jiggy this time.  When I first considered this part of me was a little grossed out.  I remember when I was living in Sweden the jokes everyone made about cans of fermented fish exploding and how nasty the smell was.  And yet for some reason when I ran across the Nourishing Traditions recipe for fermented fish I just had to try it.

I’ve long been a big fan of pickled herring and adore seafood of any kind so this wasn’t a huge stretch for me but it was a huge leap of faith.  Would you eat fish that had sat out on the counter for 24 hours?  Normally I would not but I have developed an amazing sense of trust in Sally Fallon so when she says it’s ok to eat something I’m willing to give it a gander.  I’m referring to the book Nourishing Traditions by Sallon Fallon where this recipe hails.  It’s not at all fishy or vinegary and has mellowed remarkably over the course of a week.  It’s the perfect mid morning snack with some homemade crackers or rye bread too.

I used Loki salmon fillets which have pre-frozen so as not to worry about any parasites since this fish is not heated, it is fermented.  That’s right.  Fermented.  Because the salmon fillets are already boned all you need to do is a quick skinning and you’ve got a fast barbecue, pan seared or fried meal on the table in minutes.  They thaw quickly when the package is submerged in cold water and you can throw a 20 minute salmon chowder together.  Can you tell I love having these on hand?

Once the garden is planted I plan to take advantage of the first of the season dill and leeks and make some salmon sausages and patties to freeze for quick barbecued spring dinners so if this fermented fish trip doesn’t float your boat stick around and something fishy is sure to move you during the month of April.

Fermented Salmon adapted from Nourishing Traditions

    1 pound salmon fillet, skinned and cut into bite sized pieces
    1 cup filtered water
    1/8 cup uncooked whey
    1 tablespoon honey
    1 tablespoon sea salt
    2 slices of lemon
    1 bunch freshly snipped dill
    2 bay leaves
    8 crushed black peppercorns
    2 crushed whole allspice corns

Preparation:

Combine the water through the salt
Pack the fish and herbs into a clean quart sized jar.  Pour the liquid mixture over the top of the fish, being sure the fish is completely submerged in liquid.  Add more water to cover if necessary.  Be sure there is at least an inch of headspace at the top of the jar because fermented foods will bubble.  Cover the jar tightly and keep it at room temperature for 24 hours before putting it in the refrigerator.  The fish will keep for 2 weeks.

Not only do you get all the health benefits of eating fish with this handy snack but you also get all the probiotics that lacto-fermentation has to offer.  This snack is tasty, convenient and good for you.  I hope you muster up the nerve to try it!

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Posted in Lacto-fermenting, Recipes for Seasonal and Local Foods, Salmon

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Lacto Fermentation Blog Carnival

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Annette Cottrell| 25 Comments

Brook inspired us with her lacto-fermented salsa so much that I’m doing a lacto-fermented blog carnival. Next Friday, April 2 I’ll try to figure out how to use Mr. Linky so anyone with a blog can participate with some link love. If you don’t have a blog I’d love for you to write a blog entry anyway and I’ll post it here then link into it for you.

I’d also love any links to other blogs with recipes that you’ve tried so that we can compile them all in one place.

Lacto-fermentation has been around for millenia and is nothing to be feared. Have you ever eaten real saurkraut or kosher dills? Lacto fermented. Cheese? Lacto fermented. Wine and beer? Originally lacto-fermented. It’s a wonderful, healthy way to preserve foods using no energy or special equipment.

So, do some googling to find recipes and get fermenting already! And please help me spread the word so we can get as many lacto-fermented recipes as possible.

Some Lacto-Fermented Recipe Ideas:

Lacto-fermented salsa
Lacto-fermented orange marmalade
Lacto-fermented beet kvass
Lacto-fermented soda
Lacto-fermented hits and misses by Millie
Lacto-fermented ketsup by Ren
Wardeh’s lacto-fermented turnips and beets
Sandorkraut’s Blog about wild fermentation, complete with support forum

My Favorite Books with Lacto Fermented Recipes:

Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods

Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats

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Guest Post – Lacto Fermented Salsa

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Annette Cottrell| 26 Comments

A few weeks ago reader Brook mentioned her lacto-fermented salsa which I zeroed right in on. I’ve done some lacto-fermenting this year, namely beet kvass, carrots and dill pickles. But when Brook mentioned she had made tomato salsa last summer that was still good after 6 months I knew I had to have her do a post about it. My goal this year is to can less and put up more. Lacto fermentation is a great way to do that. Without further ado, here is Brook’s post.

Enough About the Salsa, Already!

Adding something from your summer garden to your winter meal is a treat. Whether pulling blueberries from the freezer, or opening a jar of honey peaches, it brightens your plate and your day. I feel this way about the salsa I have sitting in the refrigerator. Last fall I decided it was time to try lacto-fermenting something and salsa was my first try – and a successful first try, at that! I always have something fermenting in my kitchen – from everyday sourdough to beet kvass. My husband lovingly calls it the hippie tower – the dinner plates covering bowls and then stacked on top of each other to save valuable counter space. But the salsa, it really knocked my socks off! It is March! How can I still be eating something that has been hanging out in my fridge since September?

Lacto-fermentation is centuries-old practice of preserving food. Whey from milk or yogurt, added to fruits or vegetables helps to produce lactic acid, a natural preservative. This lactic acid prevents harmful bacteria from growing, allowing the food to be eaten months later. And unlike canning that actually depletes fruits and veggies of intrinsic nutrients, lacto-fermentation adds significant nutrient value to foods. This process turns an already vibrant condiment like salsa into a super food – adding beneficial enzymes and thousands of friendly bacteria that aid in digestion and help to boost immunity.
The nice thing about this salsa is that you don’t need a specific recipe. You can use your favorite fresh salsa recipe and just add a step to ferment it. I didn’t really have a recipe going into this – I used what I had around – generally what Fall has to offer. I had a pile of tomatoes ripening on the back porch and the rest of the ingredients came from my CSA. You can follow this basic method:

To your food processor, add garlic cloves, onion, and a generous bunch of cilantro and process until the garlic and onion are minced. Slice the tomatoes in half and squeeze most of the watery juice into the sink or save it for another purpose, leaving the meaty part of the tomato and the skin. Then, add these to the food processor along with a seeded (or not) jalapeño, the juice of a lime, and sea salt and blend until the tomatoes are close to uniform in size but still a bit chunky. Transfer all of this mixture into a large bowl and add the whey. I used approximately 2 tablespoons of whey per 4 cups of salsa. Stir the whey into the salsa really well. Now, pour the salsa into very clean jars and cap tightly, leaving about 1 inch between the salsa and the top of the jar to allow for expansion of the juices. Let the jars sit on the counter for 2-3 days and then transfer to the fridge. That’s it! One extra step, and now you have salsa to last through the dark days of winter.

Knowing what I now know about lacto-fermentation hasn’t stopped me from expecting a foul smell or to see mold growing each time skeptically I open the jar. And I think my husband is half smiling, half rolling his eyes every time I say “Look at this, salsa. I made this way back in September! No, really, come look at it. It’s still perfect!” He’s heard it over and over again. This is a simple, yet tried and true way of preserving what nature has given us and it continues to amaze me. It’s led to experiments with fermenting many other things like sauerkraut, kimchi, and beet kvass. I’m down to the last half jar and it feels bittersweet. The salsa is gone but, I’m excitedly anticipating the arrival of my tomato plants from Territorial so that I can start the process all over again.

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Posted in Lacto-fermenting, Preserving Food, Tomatoes