Fermenting For Dummies

Marni Wasserman is passionate about real food. She inspires people to eat well and live well everyday. She shares many of her recipes and tips at www.marniwasserman.com. Amy Jeanroy is passionate about healthy, homemade foods and has been making and eating fermented food for 20 years. She shares daily recipes on her site, www.thefarmingwife.com.

Introduction 1

About This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1: Getting Started with Fermenting 5

Chapter 1: In the Beginning: Fermenting Roots 7

Getting Familiar with Fermentation 8

Fermentation throughout History 8

Mesoamerica: Calling all chocolate lovers! 9

Africa: Turning toxins into edible tubers 9

Asia: Thirst-quenching and candied culture 9

Eastern Europe and Russia: Bubbly fruit kvass 10

Japan: The sensational soybean 10

North Africa and Morocco: When life gives you lemons 11

How Can Something Rotten Be Good for Me? 11

Fermenting Essentials 12

Pickling (and How it Differs from Fermenting) 13

A Quick and Easy Intro to Fermenting: Making Sauerkraut 14

Chapter 2: The 4-1-1 on Fermenting 17

Why Ferment? 17

Getting Acquainted with the Good and Bad Guys 18

Mold 18

Yeast 19

Bacteria 19

Enzymes 19

The Mechanics of Fermenting 20

Salt curing and drying versus fermenting 20

Vinegar and acids versus fermenting 21

Canning versus fermenting 22

Refrigerating fermented food 22

Freezing fermented food 23

Fermenting foods and drinks 23

Avoiding spoilage 24

Chapter 3: The Benefits of Fermenting 25

The Lowdown on Lacto-Fermentation and How it Helps Your Body 25

Boosting your health with vitamins and minerals 26

Loading up on enzymes 26

Aiding pre-digestion 27

Activating your foods 28

Promoting probiotics 29

Strengthening your immunity 29

How Fermentation Can Make You a Better Cook 30

Keeping it simple and easy 30

Following the seasons 30

Figuring Out How Much and How Often 31

Chapter 4: Getting it All Together 33

Assembling Your Equipment and Tools 33

Basic containers 34

Essential tools and utensils 35

Special equipment for meat fermenting 38

Special brewing equipment and tools 39

Keeping Everything Clean 41

Cleaning, sanitizing, and sterilizing: Three different and important procedures 42

Developing a cleaning work flow 43

Getting Familiar with Common Ingredients 43

Water 44

Salt 45

Sweeteners 45

Sourcing the Best Foods for Fermentation 46

Whole, organic, and local 46

Considerations for meat and dairy 46

Part 2: Vegetables, Fruits, Condiments, and Salsas 49

Chapter 5: Vegetables 51

Picking Produce for Fermenting 52

Identifying ideal veggie choices 52

Finding your garden delights 52

Sourcing the healthiest produce 53

Selecting Starters for Vegetable Ferments 54

Mastering the Basics 55

Preparing your vegetables 55

Salting 55

Packing the jars 56

Waiting and tasting (and waiting some more!) 56

Chapter 6: Fun with Fruits 69

Fermenting Fruit for Long-Term Storage 69

Selecting Ideal Fruits 70

Nondairy Starters for Fruit Fermentation 72

To Add Sugar or Not to Add Sugar? That is the Question 73

White sugar versus alternative sugars 73

How do I know what amount of sugar to replace? 73

Chapter 7: Spreads, Dips, Condiments, and Salsas 83

Reaping the Health Benefits of Homemade Condiments 84

Experimenting with Flavor 84

Exploring Vinegars 85

The process 85

It’s all about your mother 86

Part 3: Grains, Seeds, Nuts, and Beans 95

Chapter 8: Grains 97

Getting to Know Your Grains 97

Ancient grains 98

Pseudo-grains (seeds) 99

Soaking and Sprouting Grains 101

Infamous Sourdough and Its Starter 102

Feeding your sourdough starter with tender loving care 102

Choosing the type of sourdough starter to use 103

Chapter 9: Beans 117

Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit 117

Buying and storing beans 118

Preparing beans 118

Cooking beans 118

Sprouting beans 119

Fermenting beans 120

Soy and Fermented Soy Foods 120

Comparing tofu and tempeh 121

Making the most of miso 122

Chapter 10: Nuts, Seeds, Coconuts, and Tubers 135

Nuts and Seeds: Great Nutrition in Small Packages 135

Selecting seeds 136

Getting nutty 136

Sprouting Nuts and Seeds 137

Learning how to sprout 138

Drying or storing your sprouts 139

Using sprouted nuts and seeds 139

Making Nondairy Ferments 139

Making yogurt without the moo 140

Culturing nondairy cheese 140

Cracking into Coconuts 140

Fermenting Potatoes and Other Roots 141

Preparing cassava 142

Talking about taro 142

Part 4: Meat, Dairy, and Eggs 151

Chapter 11: Got Milk? 153

The Basics of Fermenting Milk 154

Making lactose tolerable by fermenting 154

Choosing pasteurized or raw milk 155

Separating milk 156

Sourcing Your Starter Cultures 157

Serving and Storing Fermented Dairy Products 158

Chapter 12: Making Cheese 169

Understanding Cheese Making Ingredients and Techniques 170

Choosing milk 170

All about rennet 170

Turning milk to cheese 170

Fermenting 171

Colorings 171

Salting 172

Ripening 172

Storage 172

Making Soft and Semisoft Cheeses 173

Making Hard Cheeses 173

Serving Cheese 174

Chapter 13: Meat, Fish, and Eggs 185

Choosing Meat and Ingredients for Fermentation 186

Selecting spices, herbs, and flavorings 186

Selecting starters 187

Nitrates or not? 188

Choosing Casings 188

Natural casings 189

Artificial casings 189

Meat Fermentation Techniques 189

Grinding and mixing meat 190

Stuffing sausages 192

Brining 192

Curing 192

Smoking 193

Making Food Safety a Priority 193

Choosing a Spot to Ferment Meat 194

Determining space needs 194

Controlling the environment 194

Storing Fermented Meats 195

Part 5: Beer, Wine, and Other Beverages 205

Chapter 14: Healing Beverages 207

Choosing Starters 208

Finding starter cultures 208

Using starter cultures 209

Understanding the differences between alcoholic and nonalcoholic brews 209

Making Natural Carbonated Drinks 210

Ginger soda 211

Lacto-lemonade 211

Beet, apple, and ginger kvass 211

Root beer 211

Kefir 211

Amasake 212

Kombucha 212

Chapter 15: Making Wine from Water and Fruit 229

Getting Yourself Ready to Make Wine 230

Getting supplies 231

Choosing grapes 231

Understanding Wine Fermentation 233

Primary fermentation: From juice to wine 233

Knowing when it’s done and what to do then 234

Post fermentation: Completing the process 235

Storing and Aging Your Wine 235

Finishing and Bottling 237

Tasting and Talking about Wine 238

Chapter 16: Brewing Basics 243

Gathering Your Ingredients 243

Malt: Going with grain 244

Hops heaven 244

Yeast: The key to fermentation 245

Don’t forget the water 246

Cleaning Up Your Act: Sanitation 246

Practicing safe sanitation 248

Bottle cleanliness is a virtue 249

Ready, Set, Brew: Beginners 249

Assembling your tools 249

Brewing your first batch 250

Taking hydrometer readings 253

A Primer on Priming 254

Getting ready to prime 255

Making primer decisions 255

Bottling Your Brew 256

Picking out bottles 256

Preparing to bottle 256

Pouring a cold one: Getting your beer into bottles 259

Intermediate Homebrewing 262

Using better ingredients 262

Conditioning for better beer with secondary fermentation 262

Chapter 17: Brewing Beer 265

Looking at Beer Types 265

Ales 265

Lagers 266

Mixed beers 266

Exploring Specific Types of Ales, Lagers, and More 267

Irish red ale 267

American pale ale 268

Brown porter 268

Stout 269

English India pale ale 269

American premium lager 269

Märzen/Oktoberfest 270

Traditional bock 270

Herb, spice, and vegetable beer 271

Christmas/winter/spiced beer 272

Trying a Few Beer Recipes 272

Part 6: The Part of Tens 283

Chapter 18: More Than Ten Troubleshooting Tips for Fermented Creations 285

My Fermented Food is Too Salty What Do I Do? 286

Why is the Fermentation Taking So Long? 286

Why are My Fermented Creations Different throughout the Year? 286

Why is My Ferment Too Soft or Mushy? 287

Why Isn’t My Ferment Working? 287

Why is My Fermented Creation Too Dry? 288

What Do I Do about Yeast or Mold on the Surface of the Ferment? 288

What Should I Do about a Ferment Jar That’s Bulging? 288

Why Did the Color Change? 289

Why is My Ferment Leaking or Overflowing? 289

Why Does it Stink? 290

Chapter 19: Top Ten Benefits of Eating Fermented Foods 291

A Much-Needed Nutritional Boost 291

Digestion, Enzymes, and Probiotics 291

Immunity Boost 292

Unique Flavor 292

Money Savings 292

Time Savings 292

Ecological Impact 293

Slow Food Movement 293

Control over Your Food 293

The Satisfaction of Doing Something Good for Yourself 293

Chapter 20: More Than Ten Food and Equipment Resources 295

Cultures for Health 295

Yolife 296

Water Kefir Grains 296

Wildwood Foods 296

Miso Master 296

Leeners 297

Homesteader’s Supply 297

The Sausage Maker 297

New England Cheesemaking Supply 298

The Sausage Source 298

Adventures in Homebrewing 298

Chapter 21: More Than Ten Tips for a Long and Healthy Life 299

Food is Medicine, So Eat to Enhance Your Health 299

Use Alternative Sugar 300

Reduce Plastic Use and Go BPA-Free 300

Choose Organic 300

Get to Know Your Farmer 300

Be Conscious about Your Condiments 301

Eat Whole Grains 301

Choose GMO-Free Foods 302

Get Protein from Plants 302

Find Vegan Milk, Butter, and Dairy Options 302

Learn to Love Water 302

Index 303