Elabd - Fermenting food step by step

Contents

To my grandmother, who taught me the love, common sense, and joy of cooking. She also makes a mean pickle.

HOW TO USE THIS eBOOK

Fermenting Food Step by Step is an easy-to-use eBook, featuring over 80 delicious and healthy fermentation recipes including kimchi, sauerkraut, sourdough bread, kombucha, and much more.

To navigate through the eBook, use the built-in links on the contents page. These will take you to the relevant chapter or recipe. The recipes are divided into chapters by ingredients so you can easily choose which fermentation recipe you want to make.

The eBook also contains helpful introductory lessons on how fermentation works, what types of ferments there are, the health benefits of fermentation, how to source the healthiest ingredients, and what equipment you'll need for the recipes. Throughout the recipe chapters you will find unique feature pages with instructions for preparing ingredients, simple equipment for making basic cheeses, how to soak and sprout seeds, beans, and grains, and how to grow starters for recipes like sourdough bread and kombucha.

Many of the recipes have a photograph of the finished dish to inspire you and show you exactly what you are aiming for, and several of the recipes include helpful step-by-step photos to guide you along the way. The images appear both as a thumbnail next to the recipe name, and as full-page images at the end of the recipes. All of the pictures in this eBook will enlarge if you double tap on them. All tables also enlarge for easier reading when you double tap on them. To continue reading, simply close the image using the "X" in the top corner.

Device Settings

We suggest that this eBook looks best on most devices with the following settings:

White background

Serif font (e.g., Georgia)

Scrolling view off

Justified text alignment (if your eBook reader has this feature)

Smallest point size (particularly when scanning through the eBook)

Publisher default setting to be switched on (if your eBook reader has this feature)

Introduction

Fermenting food is an exciting journey, full of unexpected side roads, interesting discoveries, and uniquely satisfying results. My main goal and wish is that you have fun with fermentation. If you open up to it and allow it to do so, fermentation will become a regular part of food preparation and interaction in your home. At its core, fermentation is simple, safe, and practical.

Take this guide not as a list of recipes for specific fermentations, but as a manual for understanding the basic principles behind several different types of fermentation. I have tried to include a range of methods and techniques that you can study and apply to whatever suits your fancy. I never do anything the same way twice and prefer to open my fermentation and creation to the infinite possibility of the moment. Instead of trying to pin down the perfect sauerkraut, allow each batch to be a perfect expression of your kitchen, pantry, thoughts, feelings, and abundance in different moments in time.

For me, the main benefit of making your own food is the depth of connection that you gain from spending time with it. Allow that time to be free flowing and true to who you are and what you have been provided.

Using this guide

This guide isnt necessarily intended to be read in order from front to back; its meant to be explored. Most of the ferments can be made with nothing more than a few simple ingredients and a little bit of patience, but there are a few recipes that require another recipe as an ingredient. In these cases, the recipe names appear in boldface type on the ingredients list, so youll know to look for them elsewhere in the guide.

What is Fermentation?

Fermentation is akin to alchemy. Given the right conditions, simple ingredients can come together and undergo a transformation to become something entirely different and new.

From fresh to fermented

When microorganisms, known as the starter, are introduced to the carbohydrates in food and kept under certain conditions for an extended period of time, fermentation takes place. These microorganisms, such as yeast or bacteria, convert carbohydrates in foods, such as starches or sugars, into alcohols or acids. The alcohols or acids serve as a natural preservative. This process transforms the characteristics of foods, often deepening colors, softening textures, introducing pungent aromas, and producing tangy or sour flavors. The end product of the fermentation process depends on both the type of starter introduced as well as the food to which the fermentation occurs, but the result is a new type of food that is naturally preserved, with deeper, more intense flavors.

Wine

Grapes are transformed into wine when they are crushed and the naturally-occurring yeast on the grape skins feasts on the sugars.

Beer

When yeast is added to malted grains, such as barley or wheat, the yeast consumes the sugars to create beer.

Sauerkraut

When cabbage and salt are combined and massaged to create a brine, the naturally-occurring bacteria present on the cabbage creates sauerkraut.

Cheese

Cheeses of all types involve the introduction of some form of bacteria or mold to transform the milk into something altogether different.

The importance of a starter

A starter is the culture (bacteria, yeast, or mold) that causes fermentation. In some foods, such as vegetables, the starter necessary for fermentation is already present, and all thats required is placing the food in the right environment for fermentation to take place. For other ferments, such as kombucha, the starter must be intentionally introduced.

A Global Tradition

The origins of fermentation are as varied as the foods themselves and the diverse cultures they represent. Nearly every culture on the planet uses fermentation in some form.

Fermented foods are found the world over, and they play an important cultural and practical role in many cuisines. Many ferments can be found in similar forms all over the world, while others are unique to specific locations.

Around the world

Fermenting has roots in cultures from nearly every continent.

Germany, Poland Sauerkraut

Greece Yogurt

France Wine, cheese

Italy Balsamic vinegar, prosciutto, salami

Belgium Beer

Mexico Tepache

Latin America Queso fresco