Fermentools Blog
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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.
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The Benefits of Sourdough
At Fermentools, we take our sourdough seriously. That is why we have posts on safe starters, how to make your own starter, and many recipes. This one will cover the benefits of eating sourdough bread.
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Probiotic Red Horseradish Sauce for Passover and Easter
Fermentools is all about getting healthy bacteria into our guts any way we can. The probiotic red horseradish sauce is one way to sneak them in. In fact, we have recipes for several lacto-fermented condiments that you may like. Try a few and let us know how you like them.
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Do you have to sterilize your fermenting jars?
We live in a sterile age. The market is bombarded with bleach of every scent, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizers, and more. There is no doubt we are a germophobic culture. But studies show that children exposed to the outdoors, farm animals, and other less-than-sanitary conditions have fewer environmental allergies and incidences of asthma than children that grow up in a more sterile environment. But what about our food? How clean do we have to be in our food preparation, especially when it comes to fermentation?
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Does Fermentation Increase the Nutritional Value of Food?
Many years ago, I read a study from Stanford University about the depletion of nutrients in our soils which results in a depletion of nutrients in our food. At that point in time, I started taking supplements daily. Fortunately, because fermentation increases the nutritional value of food, there is a less-expensive way to improve your nutrition.