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Cheers to Fermenting at Home

Human beings have benefit from the results of fermentation since before recorded history. Natural and local microorganisms, such as mold, yeast and bacteria are capable of transforming organic matter into all sorts of tasty pleasures that support general good health, can be stored for extended periods, and when made at home cost a fraction of their typically less flavorful store bought brethren.

Home fermentation is the opposite of homogenization. The conversion that occurs on your kitchen counter is unique. It has only been relatively recently that the commercial pursuit of consistency and speed of production above all else has turned much of our fermented food (or its substitutes) into hollow shells of the natural things they once were.

It’s simple to start fermenting at home. In some cases you’ll need only buy the ingredients and avoid placing them into the refrigerator. The microorganisms required to ferment foods are either all around us or easily purchased. And once you acquire the taste and appreciate how easily and cheaply it is to ferment your favorite foods, there’s no going back.

Fermentation of fruit and grains into alcohol for pleasure and ceremony dates from the beginning of civilization itself. The ancient Egyptians made at least seventeen varieties of beer and at least 24 varieties of wine and even stored beverages in tombs of the deceased for their use in the after-life. At around 1,100 B.C., a Chinese imperial edict plainly states that the use of alcohol in moderation was believed to be prescribed by heaven. Presumably the gods turned an occasional blind eye during house parties.

Home brewing beer is a tradition that spans eras and societies and recently propelled the craft brewing revolution here in America. There are a few shops in Metro Detroit that cater to the home brewer and with a little research and a small investment in equipment  you can create top-quality beer for a third the store price. It’s the same with mead (honey wine). Making grape wine is a bit more challenging to do on the cheap unless you have a vineyard in your neighborhood willing to part with some of its juice. But what you do have local and available are apples.

In this region, cider is the easiest way to start fermenting alcohol. Locate a mill that offers fresh, unpasteurized and unpreserved juice in gallon jugs. Drink about a fifth of the contents of the jug to allow some space as the fermenting juice will bubble and foam — the word “fermentation” is derived from the Latin meaning “to boil”. Cover the opening with paper towel and in about a week you should see the juice lighten and clear. At this stage you can drink it or put it into another container with an airlock for aging. The cider will be mild and dry, around 5-7% alcohol, and smell of fresh apples.

Wine and cider can go through even another stage of fermentation. With the help of oxygen, acetic acid bacteria will convert alcohol into vinegar.

An ancient ferment of sweetened tea by a kombucha “mushroom” creates a fizzy beverage with some similarity to vinegar but much milder in flavor and ready in weeks. Looking something like a ghostly ham steak, the “mushroom” is actually a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, SCOBY for short. Though the internet is rife with fantastical fitness claims, the fact is a properly brewed kombucha drink is healthy, tart and tasty, especially when allowed to carbonate with the sugar from your favorite fruit juice. Like vinegar, a mother of kombucha is easily split and shared and it’s common to find communities where a single culture has spawned dozens of “babies”.

Vegetables are also easy home ferments. Requiring nothing but a simple salt water brine to prevent unwanted microbial growth, vegetables come with their own fermenting microorganisms. Lactic acid bacteria that convert vegetable sugars into acid give home fermented pickles their characteristic sourness more profound than the flavor of distilled vinegar typically found in store bought pickles.

A large, nonreactive crock made of glass or ceramic can be packed with any vegetables you like, cucumbers, carrots, turnips, cabbage, radishes, etc… Cucumbers with dill and spices make classic pickles. Shredded cabbage alone or with apples and carrots will eventually turn into sauerkraut. You can even add seafood and red chili for a Korean-style kimchi. Wild Fermentation has a few recipes posted on their website.

These are just a portion of food ferments that can be done at home. Some of the more popular ferments like sourdough, yogurt, kefir, cheese, and soy ferments are also possible and in many cases preferred over commercial versions.

In ancient times fermentation joined smoking, drying, and freezing as essential food preservation techniques. Today, besides being an economical means of producing healthy and uniquely flavored food, home fermenting is a way to reach out across time for a connection to our ancestors. There’s little on the grocery market shelf that can make that claim.

Is DIY fermenting beyond your abilities? Think again. Read this post on the simplicity of fermenting at home.

Also, check the Detroit Zymology Guild for information on local fermentation workshops.

Posted on 2011.03.19 by Todd Abrams at 9:33 am
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