Introduction: How to Ferment Foods Without Recipe's

By plus.google.com/1120882650638180

Warning!

sodium is well known to cause heart disease and kidney disease.

At age 71 I must now stop eating salt.



Lacto-fermented foods (Lactobacillales)

You cannot buy health-food like this, it is illegal to sell it because people are afraid of bacteria; they do not know how important it is! [you can buy live Sauerkraut and Kimchi some places, but the health department keeps a close eye on these businesses. And they often use calcium chloride to protect the pectin]

So you have to grow your own fresh living bacteria! Without bacteria, life it self would be impossible! Yet it is not clear how much of the fermenting bacteria gets past the stomach acids.

Even garden soil needs bacteria, carbon holds the bacteria that makes the soil resilient.

Lacto-bacteria preserved foods prevent scurvy if for no other reason than the vitamin C being preserved.

Beware, if you use juice from a finnished batch to start a new one, the first- and second-stage population dynamics, important to developing flavor, are bypassed; the taste will not be what you want.

Though people can survive with no gut flora, the microorganisms perform a host of useful functions, such as fermenting unused energy substrates, training the immune system via end products of metabolism, preventing growth of harmful species, regulating the development of the gut, producing vitamins for the host (such as biotin and vitamin K), and producing hormones to direct the host to store fats.

Food has been fermented for many thousand of years as a preservative, and digestion aid.

Hominy Grits, is a food made from Maize that has been treated with an alkali fermentation process called nixtamalization that releases vitamin B3. Eating too much Polenta can cause pellagra disease. Look for Whole grain grits. And remember if your sour dough bread is not sour tasting it may not be fermented enough. But don't expect factory made bread to be fermented enough even if it is sour.

Fermenting without a cover on your jars is not so easy. Oh sure you can get-by with just a fly covering, but to keep the gas in the jar helps keep mold from growing on the kimchi. And it stil tries to push up even if it is made with a dryish paste. That is one reason I do not like the startch paste that is traditional; if it is too wet it will push out of the jar. See vedeos of how a liquid fermenter's air lock is used.

Sauerkrout needs glass weights to keep the vegys below the top of the brine untill it stops trying to float up. Keeping the oxygen out helps keeping it copacetic.

Gut Bacteria

A copy of the “flavor Bible” is very helpful to invent new food combinations. Read my blog for a longer list of examples: Zen and the art of food DON'T ADD EVERY THING ON THE LIST OF INGREDIENTS, just use the ones you like.


Article about tannins-and-acidity

Tannic acid is a particular type of hydrolyzable tannin commonly found in the bark and wood of oaks and other plants. Tannins are very important to fermenting [red wine for instance because the reddish purple has tannins]. They provide color, flavor and structure to a fermented vegetable as well as acting as a preservative. Often, wines with heavy tannins are meant to be aged or “cellared” for some time. As the wine is cellared, the tannins tend to mellow out while enhancing the wine’s body and flavor. Oak, Grape or Black-Berry leaves and Black tea also have a high tannin content [but you may need to brew up a large pot of “strong” tea]. Red cabbage must have a certain amount of tannin as the red skins of grapes.

The effect of tannins in your red wine is the astringent or drying effect. When a ferment has too little sugar and too much acidity, it is often unpleasantly tart and sour tasting. You could fine tune your sauerkraut recipe to be a rather delectable one, like wine. As the color mellows to purple then bluish tones, the acidity mellows with it.

Do not use Vitamin C powder in the ferment, it will not create the correct environment for healthy bacteria.

Warning! you cannot eat sodium if you have Kidney disease. So take it easy on the sodium before you get so sick that you cannot eat good foods.

Step 1: Kimchi SUPER FOOD!

You really need to consider making kimchi with low salt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qShpfn1p3ZM

Low sodium Kimchi

Most people are so afraid of bacteria that they can't even think about making fermented foods without excessive salt.

I have been making kimchi for many years and discovered that for three litres, I need only 1/2cup pepper flakes and 2 teaspoons of salt [mostly from seed weed]. Now that its has fermented a month or so, I can taste the sweetness of the Napa cabbage. Proving that salt is NOT a flavor enhancer. It is a preservative that will kill you.

The easiest way to make KimChi: https://youtu.be/noE1FM--xo0

I think I have eliminated all the unnecessary preparation processes; I now do nothing more than chop all the veggies small enough, then sprinkle Dulse seaweed flakes and Red pepper flakes and or powder over the ingredients and stir, then squeeze into the jar and pound it down, to eliminate the air. You don't need to add water or brine. And you don't need to wilt the cabbage with salt.

However if you are not as lazy as I am it would be easier to squeeze into a jar, but you must remember to rinse out all the salt. I think there will be some left but not to worry.

The last jar I filled I could not fit all the veggies into the jar so I put some in another jar. After a few days I was able to fit it all into one jar because it wilted on it's own. Making a paste is not needed because you do not want the extra starch any how. And you don't need to add so much pepper powder that it will make a paste.

Not sterilizing the jars when cleaning them helps the veggies start fermenting as soon as the juice comes out. If you worry about the jars exploding, just make sure the rim and rubber ring are dry so it won't hold in the gas.

This is the most nutritional food you can get in the middle of the winter without refrigeration.

There are many many different kinds of Kimchi. So make up your own. It was kept in the ground in large ceramic pots without lids except for cabbage leaves (how do they keep out the mice).

Use an airlock or a clamp down lid that works like an airlock. Or just keep the lid slightly loose.

In light of the new information that fat and cholesterol are not only the cause of heart disease but also the cause of diabetes, I cannot recommend using any fish products in Kimchi. I have been using only plant products in my Kim Chi for years and I just cannot understand the attraction of fish sauce. Dulse seaweed is all you need to get that Umami flavor.

My KimChi ingredients

for a 3 litre jar:

  • 1.85 lb Bok Choy
  • 6 bunches of Green onion
  • 1.15 lbs Ginger root [pulverized in a food processor] (most people would want to use only ¼ to ½ lb)
  • 4 carrots [medium sized]
  • And there was still enough room for a small Daikon radish.

to get someone started; improvise the measurements

  • Two medium Napa cabbage chopped [Bok Choy would be more nutritious]
  • One large Daikon radish chopped thinly [American radish would be ok]
  • 3 bunches green onions chopped
  • 4 – 6 small unripe apples or Asian pears; rotten spots and cores removed [never use sugar]
  • One cup [or less] Korean red pepper Gochugaru powder [no salt added] medium piquant on the pepper scale.
  • 3 tbsp Dulse seaweed flakes
  • One or two cups shredded carrots [cheap filler]
  • 1/2 cup or more chopped ginger
  • ¼ cup garlic fresh
  • One cup?? Dried Bonito flakes [if you can trust the chemicals dumped in the ocean]

I used a Kraut ponder to gently squeeze all this into my 3 liter jar that has a gasket that lets out the gas without letting in more air.

What else can I put in it? Anchovy sauce is way too salty.

Ferment this for at least three weeks, keep on the floor in a pie plate to catch any over flow, and let it ferment all winter.

I am very careful to open it slowly when the liquid is pushed up too close to the top because it will SPEW out. Even in cool weather the gas will build up fast, so I need to burp the jar every day for a while. If you hear it fizzing, burp it and push the ingredients back down.

Once it goes beyond sour, into sweet and alcohol-smell, it is spoiled. But not completely inedible according to some people. Do not keep adding to the pot, THE VEGYS MUST GO THROUGH DIFFERENT STAGES OF FERMENTATION. I start a new jar every week in hot weather.

Kimchi ferments primarily form lactic-acid bacteria. Yeasts and molds are in the kingdom of Fungi, they are eukaryotes (have organelles even if only single-celled). Bacteria are smaller and are a different branch of the biological family - prokaryotes, no internal organelles.

Fungi will grow on this if you let the oxygen get to the vegetables. and yeaast wil grow when it get too warm.

Hot Peppers

Capsaicinoids found in chilli peppers bind to a receptor in the mucous membrane of the mouth when ingested and does not produce any physical or tissue damage. If the compound is ingested repeatedly, the receptors that it binds to, can become depleted, effectively allowing you to build up a tolerance; the pain produced actually produces endorphins, a class of compounds that act as natural painkillers in the body, and can also impart ‘a sense of well-being’.

Brinenever needs to be more than 2% to 4% salt, unless you are going to use sweet fruit like Lowquat (japaneese plums) for long term storage. Umeboshi needs 8% to 12% salt.

Fermenting in jars

I fill the jars only to the shoulder so they will not spray juice out when opening while they are pressurized. I usually have to press the contents back down to the bottom every day for about a week when fermenting. However it is ok to let them overflow out through the rubber seals if the jars are in a tray to catch the juice.

preparation-and-preservation-of-Kimchi-to-last-the-entire-winter-months-still-a-household-norm-in-South-Korea

Step 2: Sprouted Rye SOUR-dough Bread!

There is just too much paranoia of gluten going around, proliferated by the so called health-food industry.

I decided to leave out the usual way to make sourdough because it is just too ubiquitous. Rye or hard winter Wheat seed will work better for cold weather. [whole Field peas will also not freeze if you want to sprout in a cold climate like I did one winter in Missouri] . Why bother with wheat seed; 2tbsp gluten flour for one cup of presprouted rye is enough to hold in the gasses that yeast makes

Sprouted rye bread is difficult to make because most people do not understand it. And Too much sprouting makes a gooey mess that will not rise or bake properly. [Page 274 Laurel's kitchen bread book]. Do not sprout the grass stalk more than the length of the grain [with Barley] and only one third [with rye or wheat?].

I don't like the sweetness of the enzyme action turning carbohydrates into sugar, so I started making a true “sourdough” with a real sour starter [page 150 Laurel's kitchen bread book]; the healthy bacteria in the “Sour” eat the sugars made by the enzymes in the sprouts. But it may require the enzymes to be destroyed by heat like toasting of the sprouts for the souring bacteria to catch up. It is best just to stop the sprouting before the grass part starts to grow, that is the sweat part.

You need a ½tsp cow or goat milk. I used live yogurt. [Note the difference between sourdough (DESEM) leavening and sauer flavor made by the “Sauer starter”]. For onion I use dry onion flakes with caraway powder or seed. But it would be much cheaper to use a slice of fresh onion just long enough to impart some of the acid to the dough.

Most people I know try to use the 'sour' for the leavening. But it never did much more me. So I had to learn about French leavening called a Desem (day'-zum). [page 111 Laurel's kitchen bread book]

  1. Make a Sour starter by adding 50% water to flour and a tiny amount of yeast and ½ tsp of milk or yogurt, then let it sit for 3 to 6 days depending on the coldness of your house. Keep it in a jar in your refrigerator or in a cool spot. If it is too warm just feed it more often. Stir down the black liquid it is just getting more sauer.
  2. Two cups rye seed [for small Slow cooker] soaked and sprouted for a day or until you see growth. Don't wait for the grass stem to grow it will be too sweet; like wheat grass, a kind of sweetness that is not like sugar.
  3. 1/2 cup of wheat Gluten flour. [gluten is protein and does not cause allergy] The allergies come from disease and too much sugar in your diet. Or as one man I know that has genetic problems, he is allergic to a lot of things.
  4. Pulverize the seed in a strong 8 to 10quart food processor.
  5. ½ to 1 cup of sour starter depending on how long you want to wait for it turn the whole dough tart. [Don't rely on this to leaven your bread.]
  6. At this point the dough could sit over night or even longer if cold enough. The tart bacteria will digest the sweetness of the grass.
  7. ¼ tsp active dry yeast. Exact measurements are not needed. Desem would work better in a cold house.
  8. Possibly a ½ cup dry onion flakes or a little fresh onion. [optional]
  9. Caraway seed powder?

In large bowel knead in about 1cup Rye flour. The amount depends on how wet the dough is.

All this goes into a strong food processor to grind it smooth. I'm not sure this can be done without a food processor. It will be a wet dough so adjusting while kneading is needed. Maybe a little rye flour for kneading in a large bowel [or table if you are rich enough]

This may need to rise twice on low heat if your house is too cold. But in a slow cooker on low heat setting, an hour is enough [up to 85degrees]. I have discovered using a slow cooker works well if there is a spacer in the bottom with water for steam. Aluminum foil and parchment paper above the water. Or the bottom of the bread will be very hard.

Two hours in the slow cooker on high setting will bring it to 200 degrees but the cooking may need 3 hours to help dry it more. Or the third hour in a toaster oven on low.

Because the exact amount of dry ingredients are subject to too many variables. This is where skill is developed while kneading.

You could use a moisture meter with prongs, but they cost at least $100; and after all you can get the moisture just right by experience. A $12 folding meat thermometer is a very good help.

Step 3: Fermented Salsa

After fermenting this must be canned or kept very cold. Cooking destroys the fresh flavor. This is not like Kim Chi it does not taste rotten at all.

  • Onions
  • Tomatoes (don't use green house grown, they are not sweet!)
  • Tomatios an ancient relative of tomatoes.
  • Peppers: Hot and Sweet
  • Green apples??
  • Garlic pressed or equivalent
  • Fresh cilantro (this is essential for flavor)
  • Lemon / Lime juice (too much and you can't can it, so keep the ferment in a cool place)

Salt keeps out the bad bacteria, but too much sodium in your diet can lead to heart disease! Use unrefined sea salt with a little whey to help start the fermentation. (strain yogurt to get whey.) Salt will provide additional mold protection and a crunchy texture.

Step 4: Nut Cheese for Health

warning!

Digital hygrometers are not water proof, they stop working after keeping them in the refrigerator a while. The only thing that will work for any length of time is a stainless steel non-electric large dial thermometer-hygrometer. Or a maximum-minimum outdoor Mercury filled thermometer. But if you want to regulate your small refrigerator's humidity you will need a dehydrator, connected to a digital hygro-thermostat mounted on the outside. [duel digital temperature and humidity controller.] But putting your cheese in plastic containers would be a lot cheaper.

Blue Cheese on sunflower seed?

Penicillium fungi will not grow in excessive wetness.

The Penicillium mold grew on the cheese cloth after I removed it from the cheese, and left it in a pan in my kitchen and forgot about it. The mold grew and dried the cloth. But the cheese in my electric cheese cave did not grow mould; too cold (35 to 45f/1.66-7.22c) and wet from using too much Kefir as a starter. It is only good for wet cheese. After I brought the cheese into my kitchen to start drying at about 68f/20c and a lower relative humidity around 50% and salted the outside.

But it didn't grow the blue mold until I kept it in my refrigerator at about 45f [7c] degrees for a few weeks.

Any wet pate' cheese can Lacto ferment very easy. But when it comes to try to grow Penicillium mould in a cheese you need semi dry conditions. Like when milk curds are drained. seeds are not going to be as dry as milk curds.

I decided to use a terrarium heat pad and a new thermostat to help keep the perfect temperature for ripening a blue cheese [68f/20c] in my cheese cave for th first 2 weeks. Aging should be around 45-50f/7.22-10c. But I think I will have to buy a Mercury filled thermometer to calibrate the digital meters.

kefir is a wet Mesophilic culture that incubates at a so-called "room temperature" [65 to 85 Fahrenheit /18 to 29 Celsius] only one spoon full is needed. Most yoghurt at the food store is thermophilic [110f /42c incubation] you can get a mesophilic culture made for cheese even on Amazon. But it is not cheap. And there is Rennet an animal enzyme. How about VEGANZYME; But at $50 a bottle I need to try the "probiotic" cultures from the capsules left over from last year when I had stomach problems from eating home made sausage that had been frozen too long. Better to use miso for flavor and fermenting.

These are the best videos for vegan cheese:


MAKING VEGAN ROQUEFORT BLUE CHEESE

RAW VEGAN FIRM CHEESE 🧀 CULTURED, AGED, TANGY! EASY PLANT BASED FERMENTATION

Things you may need for fermenting cheese:

  1. Refrigerator for cheese aging cave [I have an old RV non-compressor type] I think you could get by with your regular refrigerator for making cheeses that do not need to be aged. But what is the fun in that.
  2. Thermostat. I have one that has two relay switches, one for a heating source because the weather is cold for most of the year. I want to keep the temp high enough [50 degrees Fahrenheit /10 centigrade] to actually ferment the cheese. make sure that the remote sensor probe is made for the thermostat. I bought some that did not work right with my thermostat, because the thermostat came without one. [Elitech]
  3. Hygrometer-Thermometer. You may be able to get by without this. I had to examine my different environments to understand the process. Some caves may need more moisture.
  4. Reptile Heat-pad [?] is a simple water resistant heat element [this may not be needed if you have your electric Cave is in a warm environment.]
  5. Pressing Molds I don't think a Cheese Press is needed for soft cheese.
  6. Rubber mats [breathable] I found them on amazon but only about 7.5" square.
  7. Plastic ripening boxes with Draining mats in the bottom and breathing holes on top. Only needed in low humidity.
  8. Perforated bread bags with parchment paper for wrapping cheese to age. And for growing Tempeh.
  9. I use fine mesh stainless steel screen colanders. [helps keep out the flies and is very breathable]
  10. Cheese Cloth. [this could be fine mesh nylon or cotton]

https://fullofplants.com/vegan-blue-cheese/

Fermented Sour Cream

Yogurt is fermented, make it with non-instant powdered milk to increase the solids. (Maximum temperature 115f or 46c) Then drain it in coffee filters placed in a large funnel.

Us it in Pate' or Quiche. Nut cheese is also usable in Quiche.

Yogurt sour cream cheese dip

  • Yogurt (plain, full fat) drained in #6 coffee filter in a large funnel over night. Or use Greek yogurt.
  • Dried onion flakes and chives
  • Umiboshi vinegar or soy sauce (salt)
  • Lemon zest!
  • Basil? Cumin? Smoked chili powder? Celery seed? (optional herbs)
  • Fennel? Dill? Caraway?

This is so much better than buying factory made dips with way too much salt and other crap in them. Make two quarts from three quarts plane yogurt.

Step 5: Tempeh

I have been so sick and lazy that I think I may just buy a Reptile Egg Incubator

https://www.tempehtation.uk/diy-incubator-inspirat...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh

Soak beans over night. Black beans are better than soy, and you can use any kind of partly cooked beans (80%, soft but not mushy) and grains. You don't want them to be cooked until soft, cook the grains separately.

When I learned to make this, the instructions told me to remove the seed hulls. Now that I have looked in the Wikipedia page about tempeh I see that all that is necessary is to brake up the seeds and hulls so that the mold has an easier time of growing into the seed.

You can make an incubator out of a ice box with a fish aquarium heater if you can find one that keeps the water temperature between 85 and 90 ish degrees Fahrenheit (31 to 36 Celsius). If you use a light bulb for heat you need a fan to cook down the box. And one of these new affordable thermostats works much better than the old one I used to use. Also an insertable sensor is desirable.

There is somuch information out there about this now, I will just show pictures

If you can find perferated bags they are the best thing to keep the right amount of moisture in the Tempeh. Otherwise you can use regular sandwich bags and make your own holes. They used to make sandwich bags with perf holes on both sides.

1 tsp of Powdered Tempeh Starter for each pound of dried beans making your own starter is possible; just let it go until it produces spores and save dry spores in jar. Don't breath in the spores! Use a little pasturized vinegar (not still alive), to acidify the beans just before adding sproes.

The new digital thermostats cost around $15, and they work so much better than the wall mounted thermostats for heating your house. (88f=31c) the A.C. fan was about $20 the most expensive part was the portable ice box.

http://www.prismpak.com/9-x-14-Micro-Perforated-Cello-Bread-Bags-p/mp91430-1.htm

This video says you do not really need to remove the skins form the beans and it is better to incubate inside a glass tray with the beans one inch deep. I have used plastic trays with a perforated lid.

And of course you can steam or fry in coconut oil the cakes to make them last longer, especially if you don't have a refrigerator. “The Secret Quick & Easy Way To Grow Tempeh”

How to make tempeh starter

Fermented tempeh burger

Step 6: Breakfast Smoothies

I am going to try soymilk yogurt with chia seeds, ground Coconut, or a tiny bit of psyllium seed husk powder to thicken it. I found a green smoothie in the reversing diabetes book. And then one that wants cucumber. So it is possible to make smoothies that are not severely sweet using low fat non-dairy milk and/or soy yogurt. Adding sugar to fruit does not compute, it makes no sense at all.

I understand that spinach has so much oxalic acid that makes the calcium in it non-accessible. So using a light leafy green is better. One of the recipe's wants a whole lemon [without peel]. But don't use banana and pineapple [unless you are insane as I am] they have way too much fast carbs. Berries are the best. Not Cranberry unless they do not have sugar in them.

Protein powders are a RIP OFF. It would be much better to use Tofu for the extra protein. Think about Chocolate Almond smoothies with Kale, Lettuce and a couple tablespoons fresh ground Flax seed for omega 3. [there is a world wide pandemic of omega3 deficiencies]

It is hard to turn almonds into a paste but you could use walnuts with cashews, hazelnuts etc [that are still raw]. There is no point in eating toasted nuts. Raw walnuts have large amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids, which is essential to fight heart disease, and possibly Diabetes [by affecting blood pressure that compounds fat into cells]. More than a hand full 3 times a week is counter-productive in a low-fat diet.

Step 7: Zen and the Art of Miso

All you need is koji, good sea salt and beans cooked until soft.

I believe that the whole grain Koji is not as fast fermenting as the white rice Koji you can get from Japan via amazon etc. look for: “Malted rice for making Miso” Aspergillus oryzae.

I used to grow my own Koji because it was not easy to find it before the internet. I had to buy the right kind of mold powder to inoculate cooked short grain sushi rice or pearled barley. And put in an incubator made of a light bulb and a cheap wall thermostat inside an old ice chest with plastic shelves that I made with vent holes. It is easier to make an incubator now that electronics are much smaller and cheaper.

It took a few days, then I put it into cooked beans with lots of sea salt. The less salt the sweeter the Miso will be. Miso does not actually need as much sodium as you might think. (if you do eat a lot, all you need to keep your blood pressure down is a lot of water and potassium to counter balance the salt. This could be grapefruit juice or coconut water.)

Now all I need to do is buy dried Koji from amazon or some other place and mix it into the cooked beans or chick peas. Put a plate on top of the beans and line any of the bean and Koji mix exposed to the air with salt. The buckets do not need a fermentation vents. The lids allow gas to escape, just as do the wire bail jars that I ferment other thing in.

I use plastic wrap around the plate to make it easier to take out of the one gallon bucket (number one plastic only, PTFE). Ferment for a year or more and put some into a jar to keep in the kitchen. There is nothing better than home made soup with homemade miso and homemade sourdough bread.

I have a black bean miso over a year old, made with dried whole brown rice koji, and some of the grains are still slightly hard. Fresh koji, still soft after incubation is much more likely to ferment than hard dried koji. So making your own Koji is a good idea. See my incubator for Tempeh.

You do not need different mold spores for the myriad of different kinds of Miso. They are all the same strain of mold. The main taste difference comes form the main ingredients, like different beans or things like Orange peal or Ginger that can be added to make an exotic flavor.

Making Koji:

Koji is made form steamed grain like sushi white rice [The hull of brown rice is impenetrable to the koji mold] wheat barriers for Tamari; pearled barley for slower fermentation of chick pea miso, short grain rice for dark bean miso. The barley balances the carbohydrates in the garbanzo beans, and the rice boosts the lack of carbs in the darker beans. Not that is really matters; experiment. I like the sweet salty fermented flavor of the chickpea miso. I think I will add more barley koji next time, to make it even sweeter.

  • Drain. Let the rice sit in a colander for at least an hour, shaking occasionally. If water remains between the grains of rice, the rice will cook instead of steam and will end up too soft for good koji rice
  • Steam the rice. Line your steamer with cheesecloth. Put the rice in and wrap it up a bit. Get your water to a full boil before setting the steamer on the base pot. The goal is to get the core of the rice soft without overcooking it. White rice will take about 45 minutes; brown rice will take about 50 minutes; brown rice soaked for 2 to 3 days will take about 30 minutes. Remove and check a grain or two before the full time has elapsed to make sure you’re not overcooking your rice. When you can push your fingernail through the grain, or when the core of the grain doesn’t feel different from the rest of the grain, your rice is done cooking. If you don’t have a steamer, there are many ways to improvise one, but I strongly caution against boiling rice directly in water!

After the steaming separate the grains with a fork and dry on a flat pan for a while. Then inoculating will be easy with the flour-spore mix. If it turns pink or orange or smells bad do not eat it! Yellow powder is the spores starting to grow (good for koji fermenting but not so good for eating).

http://japanese-kitchen.net/koji-making/

http://www.homegrown.org/forum/topics/koji-rice-1...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miso

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fermented_soy_products


How to make Koji at home video


Step 8: Injera Fermented Crêpes


Injera is very tricky to get to the right consistency. It needs to be thin enough on the pan to be cooked crisp, yet thick enough to hold carbon dioxide to make the bubbles. Using baking powder is an unhealthy practice. The sodium will give you high blood pressure and irritate your artery walls so you end up with heart disease.

The secret to the texture is to not cook it until there is a lot of fermentation happening. Even if it smalls like alchohal, it is better than using baking soda.

Teff flour is way too expensive to use most of the time. So this can be made with other flours, like Buckwheat, Millet or Rye flour. Wheat, Rice and Maze are genetically denatured plants that we are addicted to. But they could be used. I think that even Socca (chick pea flour) can be fermented, although it may take a bit of salt to make it safer.

  • Flour of your choice Do not use eggs!! Injera batter should be thicker than a crêpe, but not as thick as a traditional pancake. Just make sour dough starter.
  • Non-chlorinated Water, enough to make a thin batter.
  • Fermenting batter from sourdough or Kimchi? not much is needed.
  • Set in a warm place for a couple days. Until it is bubbling with a strong but not bad odor.
  • Poor into a hot oiled skillet (that has been seasoned very well) very thinly.

Traditionally it is cooked on a large black clay plate over a fire (thick low fired ceramic plate) with a lot of oil baked into the texture of the porous ceramic surface. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injera

I never had success cooking on an oil seasoned steel pan, so I bought a cheap non-stick ceramic pan.

Fermented socca? and Dosas fermented pan bread.

Step 9: The Art of Pickles

For people without refrigeration add unripe fruit to the pickles to develop enough acid to keep out the yeast and mold until cold weather arrives. Unless you want to use Vinegar which is not the same kind of mild acid. Vinegar is made by oxygenation of alcohol eating bacteria. The result is a much harsher acid. A pH meter could be good for fermenting with unknown water or to develop a recipe' and because the water in cucumbers dilutes the brine and therefore may not have enough carbohydrates to keep enough lactic acid. Especially if you want to use less salt, like only 2% or if using large cucumbers because the have more water per pickle than the number one grade finger size cukes.

  • 2% to 4% salt in the brine [1-2 tbsp per quart of water.]
  • Remove the flower and scrub the end to remove enzymes. Leave the natural waxes on the skins. Just don't add dirt.
  • Keep them submerged in brine or use an airlock like the one in the photo. Buy them crisp and fresh unless you want them to rot.

The cheapest airlock:

just keep the lid slightly loose, so the gas can force it's way out like canning.

more info:

Pickle Science: How to Master the Preserving Power of Acids

Step 10: The Art of Sauerkraut

I totally recommend making sauerkraut and kimchi without added salt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_WbUqZ5Z9k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrAVtzr1Djc

This is very simple to make:

  1. Cabbage [slice or dice]
  2. You do not need to wilt the cabbage with salt before putting into the containers. But it may help to make more room?
  3. Carrots [shredded if desired] optional
  4. Caraway seeds make a very nice slightly sweet flavor [mix in large bowel] optional
  5. Stuff into large jars, glass is best but even #1 plastic mayo jars from a Deli will do. Keep the lids a tiny bit loose so the gas can push out.
  6. 5 gallon bucket of #1 plastic is better if you want to make a winter's worth. You do not need to press the cabbage below the water but it could help if you are going to open the bucket many times. The lid on the buckets will allow gas to escape; do not add an air lock.
  7. Brine 3tbsp kosher salt [no iodine] per quart of water. Pour into stuffed kraut. Ferment at for a month or longer. It gets more mellow as it ages. Two gallons per person is not enough for the winter. Especially if you eat meat.
  8. Using a ceramic Crock; Make sure it was not glazed with lead; look for white powder. Due to the open nature of a Crock you will have to keep the Kraut below the water level with a ceramic plate, which is very difficult to remove unless you can figure out how to put a handle on it.

For people with no teeth like myself, I recommend Napa Cabbage with grated Daikon radish or carrots with caraway seeds and green-onion scallions. The carrots should be grated smaller than the radish because the radish can become softer. Actually it all tastes the same after a while.

Very low salt sauerkraut

Salt makes the sourness less intense. So how little salt can you stand?

[for 3 liter jar or 2 half gallon mason jars if you can figure-out how to reach inside {1 U.S.Gallon = 3.78 Liter}]

Mix in large bowel: [all measurements are approximate]

  • cabbage [large head shredded ]
  • Other vegetables? [Daikon Radish or Carrots] shredded
  • pulverized ginger [1 cup]
  • Caraway seeds [1/4cup]
  • Chili pepper-powder [1 tbsp.]
  • One quart clean water [no chemicals] added after compressing into jar.
  • [this could be blended cabbage and ginger juice]


Pickling without salt:

In a clean jar:

  1. Minced Garlic
  2. Horseradish
  3. Celery seed (as a preservative?)
  4. Dill seed or powder
  5. Cranberries for acidity [without sugar, is a common preservative]
  6. Hot pepper flakes/ or a whole raw Jalapeno or small Habanero papers
  7. Turmeric

These alone should keep the bad bacteria out. Clean preservative free Vinegar [diluted 50% with clean water] will keep out the mold. But if your going to sterilize the brine by canning them, why use so much vinegar? Mold growing on cucumber pickles is very difficult to get rid of. Refrigeration after opening the jar is essential. So doing the fermentation in mason jars will help you eat what is exposed to air before mold starts growing.

Experimenting:

I tried making sauerkraut with lemon juice, but it turned to mush because the lemon does not inhibit bacteria, and does not firm the vegetable cell walls.

My sauerkraut has mellowed out very well since last fall when I made it because the sodium hides from your taste buds by absorbing into the cells of the cabbage.

There is approx. 2300mg of sodium in a tsp of any kind of salt that is a full day supply yet only about 940mg per cup of finished and drained sauerkraut. that is more than enough to spike anyone's blood pressure. That is like 41% of the recommended daily intake of 1500mg.

Some people use 50% white vinegar to water, it will keep it from fermenting and turning into mush.

You can soak out the salt when you're ready to use it, then flavor it with something else.

Sauerkraut was originally made with rice wine vinegar (rice startch is turned into simple carbo hydrates with fungus then fermented to alcohol and more oxygen into vinegar) [original Chinese recipe] before the europeans started using salt. So a little of each maybe a good way to do it. Or at least mix sauerkraut with other foods like mashed Potatoes, that are not palatable without salt.

I tried using 50% red wine vinegar[6% acidic] to water, so it was approx. 3% acidity. It did not ferment. It tastes sweet like coleslaw, without the fat of mayonnaise. Vert good. And I did not have to cook it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauerkraut

Unrefined salt has very little minerals compared to the sodium in it; Pink Himalayan salt is chemically similar to table salt. It contains up to 98 percent sodium chloride

Rust:

I don't know yet if using 'no added salt' will keep the rings from rusting. They are not made of stainless steel. Salt will make even stainless steel rust. So not using it you can use the new "Ball fermenter's kit" with spring loaded compressor. Or at least wash off all the salt as soon as the sauerkraut becomes sour tart enough to not need keeping the cabbage under the brine.

Brine:
Brine should not be more than 3% salt. Make the brine before adding so that you can measure the salt to water ratio. Three table-spoons salt for ½ gallon CLEAN (iodine free) water = 2%. However the juice from the cabbage will increase the liquid, thereby reducing the sodium volume. so it may actually be better to wilt the cabbage before adding any brine. You can use less salt in cold weather than warm. And if you use too much salt just soak some out.

If you don't have a lid to keep out the oxygen, you may need more salt to keep out the mold. Up to 4% unless you are fermenting sweat fruit; You will need to keep ripe fruit in cold storage. Umiboshi plums (pickled green) are fermented in 8% to 12% salt! That is one reason Japaneses have strokes more than Americans. However Americans have more heart disease because of the amount of animal fat, mixed with a high sugar diet. Sugar affects bad bacteria that has undesirable effects.

Make sure the shredded cabbage is under the liquid to keep out the oxygen, unless you have a clip top jar with rubber seal. Don't worry about opening the lid, the gas from the fermentation will soon push out the oxygen. I have been fermenting in them for several years now, and keeping the oxygen out really helps prevent mold or yeast growth. When the contents of a jar gets low it maybe necessary to put it in a smaller jar because it is not making as much carbon dioxide, et-cetera.

These jars let the gas out fast enough to not explode. The only time the pressure built up enough to spew the food out when I opened the lid, was when there was sugar in the cranberries! Fermenting high sugar foods needs more salt to slow it down. Or a fermentation air lock, like for fermenting grapes for wine etc.

Don't eat the mold! Some people think it is safe to eat the mold. But the one person I know that did, is now allergic to Sauerkraut. But on the other-hand he is allergic to a lot of things. You can eat the yeast (white film) but I would not recommend it. Just remove the yeast film, but if you have mold growing, you should toss the whole thing in the compost.

In Belarusian, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian cuisine, chopped cabbage is usually pickled together with shredded carrots. Other ingredients may include whole or quartered green unripe apples for additional flavor or cranberries for flavor and better keeping (the benzoic acid in cranberries is a common preservative). Make sure there in no sugar in the cranberries, or you will have a foaming concoction. Although even cabbage alone will foam in hot weather.

Dangerous conditions:

  • White film is yeast and safe to remove and eat the sauerkraut.
  • White sludge on the bottom not so safe
  • Creamy film not safe
  • Yeasty odor not safe
  • Pink cabbage not safe
  • Browned cabbage not safe
  • Mold not safe
  • Slime not safe

Crock fermentation

  1. Plastic wrap around a close fitting plate so you can pull it out (not the best idea); A plate with a handle on it with enough room for a heavy weight, would be best.
  2. And plastic wrap over the top of the crock to work like an air lock to some degree.
  3. Straight verses tapered walls: a plate will fit the same all the way down for straight walls. Tapered walls may require several different sized plates as you remove the kraut.

Why Sodium-Potassium Balance Is Critical for Better HydrationWikipedia: Lacto Bacteria

Wikipedia: Gut Flora

Wikipedia: Sauerkraut

Step 11: Horse Radish!

This can be fermented, but not much. It may add too much acid. Vinegar or citric acid neutralizes pungency and stabilizes its flavor. I like it plain with a bit of salt on fish and beans. The volatile phytochemical compounds comes out of the root into the water and makes it so intense that weak people can't handle it.

If Horseradish is not strong enough for you, get some Wasabi root! It will clean out your sinus fast.

Some of the volatile phytochemical compounds in the root stimulate secretion of salivary, gastric, and intestinal digestive enzymes, and thereby facilitate digestion. It thus, works as a potent gastric stimulant which increases appetite.

I think it would be best to keep the whole root in a tight plastic bag in a cold place so it will not leak out the volitile fuems that clears your sinus. Cutting off small amounts to chop and grind.

Step 12: Umiboshi Pickles

In japan they use Umiboshi plums [closer relitive to apricots] in Mexico they use Apricots and hoit pepper. This was much easyer than I thought it would be. I did not cut out the seeds. And I did make sure there were no bad spots.

I got some purple plums that were not quite ripe and experimented with way too much salt (25%) in the brine. I finally diluted the salt by pouring out about half of the brine. And replacing with water.

Next time I will use only 8% to 12% salt. I did not know what to expect, but after a couple weeks it started smelling like wine. It took at least three weeks for the color from the skins and the salt to soak all the way into the plums. Now if I had a way to dry these I would have something that resembles Umiboshi.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umeboshi

Step 13: A Smaller Environmental Foot-print Is Inevitable

Living with a smaller environmental footprint is not going to be easy. And most people just don't give a damn. However there is no way to stop it, even if the autocrats have their way and crush us into starvation poverty to turn us all into obsequious servants. It is impossible for communities to regulate the food in their environment because of the corporations money oligarchy have the power to make it illegal for communities to stop their attempts at addicting your children to sugar etc.

So individuals need to regulate the food that goes into their mouths. And this can be successful only by awareness of what sugar does. Processed foods are very bad, even if just because of the excessive amounts of sodium, sugar, and more deadly preservatives like potassium nitrate. Research shows that when proteins are heated in the presence of nitrate or nitrite, which is what happens when bacon or ham is heated, nitrosamines are created. These nitrosamines have been shown to be carcinogenic. High potassium nitrate content in food products can have a poisonous effects on diners.

And it is possible that bacteria in the stomach may actually convert some of the potassium nitrate into the much more dangerous potassium nitrite. The Human Microbiome is one aspect of our lives that is easy to control. All you need to do is start growing a micro-garden in jars.

Growing sprouts is easy, but they need a little more room.

The Human Microbiome project is a study of what the bacteria in the human body does. Do not transplant bacteria from food to your lower intestines. It is not the quit the same thing. After killing your bacteria with antibiotics you need to eat live sauerkraut, but the lower intestine is something needs a transplant of bacteria. I do not know exactly what is needed there, but I did read something about a man that went to Africa to get a primitive bacteria to transplant in to his own lower intestine.

Human Microbiome Missing Microbes

There are several companies that produce faux meat products that are caked in salt and who knows what else. Apparently they think that people do not like the taste of natural foods. If people only had affordable access to good tempeh made with grains and lintels. Making your own is by far the best way to improve your diet.

Even eggs will soon be so expensive that most people will have a hard time getting them. I have seen people in the poorest countries eat rat or even giant cock-roaches for the complete lack of animal protein. And they now say that Crickets grown in factories, will be feeding billions of starving humans. There are smart people that feed their chickens insect larvae, this would be the only way for me to grow chickens. But it maybe impossible to do it in the winter in some areas.

People love their addictions to gasoline, but soon people will be forced to change, if for no other reason than money.

Overshoot Day

According to Global Footprint Network’s calculations, our demand for renewable ecological resources and the services they provide is now equivalent to that of more than 1.5 Earths. The data shows us on track to require the resources of two planets well before mid-2000-century. Human

Step 14: Fermented HOT SAUCE !

this is my next project stay tuned

https://www.feastingathome.com/fermented-hot-sauce-simple-and-delicious/

Step 15: Sour Dough Pizza

TINY HOUSE PIZZA

I live in a Tiny house without an oven I have devised some simi-ovens. Like a large wok with a tuna can in the bottom. A little water works for somethings [like melting cheese] But not for Pizza crust. I bought a cast iron skillet for $15 on amazon and a $3 lid at Goodwill just for melting cheese on pizza. I have to turn down the flame and let it get hot inside.

Sour-dough Crust

Fermenting Rye sour: I use a half liter jar [not full because it will bubble up] keep jar in refridge, take out approximately one cup per-crust, use whole rye or whole wheat flour [never use all purpose white flour, it has way too much starch].

Replenish the Sour with new rye flour and enough water to make thin batter.

I use a spatula to mix in the flour, letting sit long enough to see if it is still too sticky. Then add a little more flour. Now ferment it over night or longer. This could be be much more than is needed, just save what you don't use in large container with more flour and water, or more starter. It does not matter if the sour starter in the jar develops black water and alcohol, it still works. In hot weather without refrigeration you may need to use a Desem starter or make pizza more often.

The only tricky part is to make a wet dough and cover it with oil so it is not too sticky.

If you do not have a place to roll out the dough between parchment papers or stretch it by hand by pushing with fingers or spatula.

Find a lid to fit your skillet to help melt on the cheese after crisping the crust on both sides. You can make vegan cheese that actually melts. I spread the dough onto the very well oiled skillet with my spatula, then let it rise before cooking with a low flame without the lid until dry. Then add the toppings with lid to melt cheese.

After melting cheese onto crust cool on the skillet before cutting and picking it up, so it will be less floppy.

Toppings like:

  • Pesto Tapenade [better than cheese] or
  • Marinara Tomato sauce with chucks of tomatoes. [open a can of good crushed tomatoes]
  • Oregano / Thyme / Basil / powdered Rosemary / even Savory could be cooked into a sauce.
  • Cholesterol free soy meats work OK, but they have too much salt.
  • Seaweed flakes like Dulce have a lot of salt but also Iodine for your thyroid glands.
  • Home made vegan cheese that actually melts [find on YouTube]

Sautéed vegetables:

  • Onions [caramelized or dried flakes]
  • Mushrooms [I got an egg slicer to cut them]
  • Sweet peppers
  • Spinach ?
  • Tapenade Pesto

Pesto is the best anti-cholesterol thing, much better than cheese.

  • Fresh Basil
  • Walnuts or Pecans
  • Garlic cloves fresh [never use dried garlic]
  • Olive oil [the best you can find]
  • Lemon zest [or a squirt of juice]
  • Black pepper? [optional]
  • Salt brine [Umiboshi vinegar is the best]

Keep in jar with air pressed out, covered with a thin layer of olive oil

This keeps it from oxidizing, and makes it fresher longer without refrigeration.

Spreading the pizza dough on the skillet; add some oil on top so the spatula will not stick.

A cold cast iron pan really needs a little heat, not too much. Or use fresh yeast in the started.

Step 16: Kefir and Yogurt

The Elitech controller I had did not work. But this one is also very difficult to figure out how to program. [The "TS" code looks like a lower case: "t" with "5"]. But at least it has Fahrenheit temperature. These thermostats fit inside an electrical junction box.

I set it to turn off at 74f and turn on at 72f degrees for the Kefir. I drilled a hole in a plastic cap of a mason jar for the sensor to sit inside the NON-FAT milk. Whole milk is not needed and using whole milk would give me too much cholesterol and would lead to a heart attack. Two to four cups per day, blended with fruit is just what I needed to prevent kidney stones.

I used a terrarium heat pad. And It should work OK for Tempeh, if I can find a tray to fit into the small portable insulated picnic ice box. But I should make a larger box for Tempeh.

Never use old milk, it will not ferment right.

Step 17: Butter-Milk Farm Cheese


Real cheese is the Ultimate fermented food

https://healthfoodquest.blogspot.com/2023/10/real-cheese-is-ultimate-fermented-food.html



Easy Farm Cheese

This is about the easiest cheese to make or at least easier than blue cheese.

  • Tightly woven cheese cloth [Butter Muslin] or loosely woven cloth [like a kitchen towel or a t shirt.]
  • Large bowel and or a colander.
  • a large spoon with holes to scoop out the curds [not absolutely essential]
  • a warm place to incubate the milk like 68ºf to 86ºf [20ºc to 80ºc] for 12 to 24 hours.
  • Large pot to simmer the finished butter milk.
  • about 3 tbsp. CULTURED [non-Bulgarian] butter milk per gallon of milk. Do not use vinegar'd butter milk.

Do not use ultra pasteurized milk for the kefir or butter milk or yogurt, it will NOT separate in to curds and whey.

Salt is a dangerous preservative, not a flavor enhancer. Be careful how much you use. Pinch wise.

Hot peppers are a better preservative.

Calcium chloride is affordable and makes the milk thicker but is not essential

I use an incubator I made with a thermostat because my house is too cold to incubate Mesophilic culture like Kefir and Butter milk. A double boiler is a good way to keep these cultures warm enough. Especially if you don't have an electric heat pad under the pot.

The milk will be thick like a gel when incubated long enough. And milk with fat will be thicker than non-fat milk, also milk fat will make it creamier. You can add vegetable oil if it is too crumbly. I make cream cheese from non-fat yogurt and dry onion flakes, but Cooking will make it dry and crumbly like any milk curds.

You don't need to press the curds, just let it drain for a few hours or more in a cold space.

And if you make Kefir you have to search for the grains by pushing the incubated milk through a strainer. Then save the grains in a tiny jar with fresh milk.

Also the info at https://fsi.colostate.edu/yogurt/ says a pH of 4.6 acidity will make thermophilic yogurt become thick and incubating it further will make a more sour taste. This could be good for cheese. but it is not easy to over incubate it. I think butter-milk bacteria is the easiest to achieve a good acid for ease of curd separation. But you can get vegetable Rennet if you want to be vegetarian about it.

Simmer with low heat about 120ºf to 130ºf [48.8ºc to 54.4ºc] until the curds separate enough to easily remove from whey. Stir GENTLY, don't let it burn. Save the butter milk whey to make more buttermilk. Try to keep it under 135ºf [57ºc] to keep the bacteria alive.

Thermophilic Yogurt like from the food stores requires 107ºf to 112ºf to grow. There are mesophilic yogurts but I don't know where to get it in America.

You can separate curds from milk by adding vinegar to hot milk but be careful not to add too much vinegar and don't use Balsamic vinegar. Vinegar is made from alcohol by aerobic fermentation.

The best thing to add to this farm cheese to make it gourmet is Umiboshi Brine [for salt] and Toasted Sesame oil [for fat].

Watch these youtube videos for more info:

"How To Make Farmers Cheese"

"Buttermilk 101 The MOST Important Ingredient that's not in your fridge right now" lots of info].

"How to make Quark cheese from kefir"

Making tofu is very similar to making cheese. And the Okara pulp left over can be turned into Tempeh.

Step 18: Real Cheese Is the Ultimate Fermented Food

There are way too many recipe's for cheese. read a few of them and devise your own recipe.


The only book worth paying for is

Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking: The Ultimate Guide for Home-Scale and Market Producers

by Gianaclis Caldwell and Ricki Carroll