Fermentools Blog
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Fermented Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a quintessential spring vegetable, and we are lucky enough to have a large rhubarb plant already growing in the backyard of our new house. It is perennial, which means it will come back year after year without you having to do much to it, and is often one of the first foods that can be eaten from the garden. It is quite sour and is a flavor that often is an acquired taste. I personally love it!
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Three Common Fermenting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Although traditional fermenting is pretty straightforward, making certain mistakes is easy. It’s important to pay attention, because making these mistakes can affect the quality of your ferment and, potentially, your health.
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How to Make No-Salt Kimchi Recipe
Since salt inhibits the speed of the ferment, without salt you’ll need to inhibit the speed of the fermentation process through other means. By fermenting your reduced-salt vegetables in a cooler environment you can mechanically slow down the speed of fermentation, thereby reducing the need for salt in the ferment.
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How to Make Sour Cream
Sour cream can be made from store-bought, pasteurized cream. You can also make sour cream from raw milk cream that’s been skimmed off the top of fresh cow’s milk. Goat’s milk and sheep’s milk do not naturally separate in the same way as cow’s milk. You’ll need a cream separator to extract the cream from goat’s milk or sheep’s milk for this recipe.
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Is My Ferment Safe to Eat?
When it comes to food, you want to be safe. And when it comes to food preservation, experience is the best education you can get. When I first started canning our food, I questioned everything. I constantly called my neighbor to run over and look at something to make sure I was doing it right. Abigail has the experience. And in this post, she lets you know if your ferment is safe to eat.
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Equipment for Fermenting Vegetables
Having the proper equipment for fermenting vegetables is critical to success. Why? Because you need to keep your food submerged below the level of the liquid. The first time I tried to make sauerkraut, I didn’t know that. Fail. After I learned this truth, I tried to make fermented pickles. Keeping the cucumbers under the brine level...
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Why Home Fermented Foods are Better than Store Bought
Many years ago, a friend told me of a book she found in the library. She enjoyed it so much, she bought her own copy. The book was Better than Store Bought by Helen Witty and Elizabeth Schneider Colchie. Reading that book was the first seed planted in my mind that I could make my own food, without relying on bottles, can, and boxes from the grocery.
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Why Use an Airlock for Fermenting Vegetables?
The process of fermenting food is not a new technique when it comes to food preservation. Evidence indicates that early civilizations, such as the ancient Romans and various Asian cultures, have been fermenting food for thousands of years. Be it beer or bread, cheese or wine, around the world the process of fermenting is old as time.
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What is the best salt for fermenting foods?
Health food enthusiasts know that generic table salt isn't the best food choice. Sea salt, Himalayan salt, and others grace their tables. But what is the best salt for fermenting foods? In this post, we will take a look at the different kinds of salts and the pros and cons for each one. First, let’s look at the role that salt plays in the fermentation process.
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3 Amazing Health Benefits of Fermented Foods
I love sauerkraut. I frequently crave that sour flavor and the pleasant tanginess it brings. I eat it plain, right out of the jar. I eat it on hot dogs and sausages. (Don’t tell folks I eat hot dogs, okay?) I even eat it mixed in a salad.