Fermentation Diaries: Episode One

Here’s a what’s-cookin-in-the-cupboard summer update. It’s fermented foods!

Kombucha

Sarah and Kelsey started bringing home these Synergy energy drinks (Kombucha) claiming that they bring a cheerful buzz without the caffeine, processed sugar, or high calorie count. It smelled funky, but it grew on me. Think of Kombucha as somewhere between champagne and apple cider, but funky. An unofficial probiotic health drink, Kombucha has health benefits similar to yogurt or other raw fermented foods.

At Whole Foods, this stuff goes for $4.00 a bottle, but one can produce a 1-gallon batch for about $1.50. To produce Kombucha at home, you ferment a jar of black or green tea with the aid of a scoby. The process takes about a week, with 2 days of carbonation time.

Pictured Above: Home made Kombucha. The left jar contains a batch made with “Snow Buds” leaf green tea. The two red-ish bottles on the right are made with black Niligri tea, with some peach puree added.

Yogurt

Inspired to get in to more Mediterranean and middle-eastern recipes, I decided to try producing my own yogurt at home. The plan to use it in sauces, spreads, salads, and baked goods, providing bread a nice textures.

Yogourmet Multi – Used for incubating homemade yogurt while you sleep!

Home made vanilla yogurt, topped with raspberries from Julia’s garden!

Yogurt Cheese

My first batch of yogurt cheese was a success. For the uninitiated, it is very similar to cream cheese, but with a slightly tangier flavor. This morning, I made a blend of basil yogurt cheese to spread on my toast and eggs. Delicous!

Beer?

Though I haven’t made beer since Christmas, I haven’t lost the spirit. I drew up some plans for my basement homebrew space, which is coming this fall. It will be a slick production space, with wine and beer bottle storage to boot. Feel free to save us a case of wine bottles. We will return a few re-filled in due time.