Fermenting Food.

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worth1
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#101

Post: # 36955Unread post worth1
Sun Dec 27, 2020 4:02 pm

Anybody do a ferment and have it smell like acetone?
I have 3 times.
It's ethyl acetate nail polish remover ingredient.
Salt too low and temperature too high.
Plus other things.
I have read you can fix it with added Salt or lower temperature and it will go away.
Never tried it and it tasted horrible.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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Amateurinawe
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#102

Post: # 36977Unread post Amateurinawe
Mon Dec 28, 2020 3:28 am

[mention]worth1[/mention] Yes, but are your nails nice and clean now :-)
The behaviour of light means you observe me as i was then, and not as I am now.
I cannot change history, so I do hope i gave you a good impression of myself

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karstopography
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#103

Post: # 37913Unread post karstopography
Fri Jan 08, 2021 3:27 pm

61A4DB7F-3296-408B-BC88-A914230909D3.jpeg
7C9B154B-A61C-4B30-9497-8D629F17C2CE.jpeg
German Texans, the ones that settled central Texas 150 plus years ago, made sauerkraut using the local wild juniper berries. I had to go out and forage for the very last of the crop to get a teaspoon or so for this sauerkraut ferment. One ~2# cabbage cut fresh from the garden was the perfect amount for a quart of thoroughly massaged and tightly packed green cabbage. Two percent brine, 14 grams of sea salt added to 700 grams of chopped and cored cabbage, along with a bit more brine to keep it all covered. House is cool inside now so ought to produce a nice steady ferment. Juniper berries, besides tasting great, are naturally anti-bacterial, but not so much to the lactobacillus types.
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Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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worth1
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#104

Post: # 38014Unread post worth1
Sun Jan 10, 2021 8:31 am

How long will it ferment?

I pulled the lid on my habaneros and burned my nose off smelling.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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karstopography
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#105

Post: # 38016Unread post karstopography
Sun Jan 10, 2021 8:52 am

[mention]worth1[/mention] I just checked the temperature in the house this morning, the kitchen, and it was 58 degrees. That’s on the cool side for these sauerkraut fermentations as I understand things. Things looked a little slow, not a ton of bubbles, but still positive pressure on the lid. Some say 60-65 degrees works bests, others say 65-72. I just turned on the heat to bump the kitchen over 60 degrees. Supposedly, cooler ferments on sauerkraut produce better color and textures, but take a lot longer. My target is 3 weeks or so. I have a pH meter, 3.8 or 3.9 is about right from what I’ve seen.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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worth1
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#106

Post: # 38017Unread post worth1
Sun Jan 10, 2021 9:04 am

karstopography wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 8:52 am @worth1 I just checked the temperature in the house this morning, the kitchen, and it was 58 degrees. That’s on the cool side for these sauerkraut fermentations as I understand things. Things looked a little slow, not a ton of bubbles, but still positive pressure on the lid. Some say 60-65 degrees works bests, others say 65-72. I just turned on the heat to bump the kitchen over 60 degrees. Supposedly, cooler ferments on sauerkraut produce better color and textures, but take a lot longer. My target is 3 weeks or so. I have a pH meter, 3.8 or 3.9 is about right from what I’ve seen.
Many of the folks I knew that grew up in Germany did their sauerkraut in a big barrel in the basement.
One woman told me how she would go down from time to time and eat some sauerkraut.
They just left it in the barrel.
If my house is too cold I use a brooder lamp on the crock to warm it up.
Haven't done that in awhile.
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25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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pepperhead212
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#107

Post: # 38155Unread post pepperhead212
Tue Jan 12, 2021 8:33 am

Yesterday I used the Instant Pot for fermenting another food - Dosa. This is an Indian flatbread, made with a combination of rice and lentils, which are soaked, then ground to a paste, then thinned to a batter, and fermented. I used the yogurt mode, adjusted to low, which is the lower temp, for fermenting jiu niang, which I found was around 90°. Since dosa is made mostly in southern India, this would probably
be a "cool" room temperature there, and it took a whole day to ferment! I haven't cooked it, yet - I just put it out on my back porch, to cool.

The stuff looks like a sourdough rye sponge, the gray coming from the black skins of the urad dal. Usually, they are split and hulled, but these were the ones that were split, but not hulled.
ImageDosa, before fermenting. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

After fermenting 24 hours:
ImageDosa fermenting by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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worth1
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#108

Post: # 38436Unread post worth1
Fri Jan 15, 2021 2:49 pm

[mention]karstopography[/mention]
How is the sauerkraut coming along?
Is this the first attempt at it and have you had good homemade before?
Can't wait to see how it comes out.

Planning to make habanero sauce this weekend from my fermented habanero peppers.
Maybe depending on how it smells.
Then I will make another batch and just let the fermenting peppers sit for a really good long time.
Maybe 3 months or more.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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karstopography
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#109

Post: # 38444Unread post karstopography
Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:06 pm

[mention]worth1[/mention] I sampled it today. Seems okay, not amazing yet or anything. I had my ph meter and it looked like it was under 4.0, but I was having a little trouble with the meter. Distilled white vinegar I tested it with came in around 2.1 on pH so it shouldn’t be far off. Activity in the fermentation jar has subsided considerably, but not stopped. Texture is nice, not soggy, there’s some nice crunch without tasting raw or rotten or anything negative. I think it needs more time at cool room temperatures to develop more depth of flavor, the flavor didn’t exactly wow me yet, almost like it could have used some salt and little more acidity. 2% by weight sea salt to cabbage weight seems pretty standard for sauerkraut, but I might bump it up next time closer to 3%.

One thing I read was leave this going three or four weeks before sticking in the fridge.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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worth1
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#110

Post: # 38560Unread post worth1
Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:02 pm

One thing I do with cabbage is let it make its own juice and don't add brine.
My recipe from the sausage maker calls for 1 teaspoon for every pound.
2 tablespoons for 5 pounds and 4 tablespoons for 12 pounds.
If it's fresh cabbage you won't have to worry about liquid.
Cabbage is pounded and packed into the container with my cabbage packers.
One giant one and a little one for jars.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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Re: Fermenting Food.

#111

Post: # 38669Unread post worth1
Sun Jan 17, 2021 8:15 pm

Well I ((was)) going to do my habanero lime hot sauce today but didn't.
Got really lazy and involved in reading a book.
Guess its going to go for at least a month.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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worth1
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#112

Post: # 39496Unread post worth1
Wed Jan 27, 2021 6:43 am

Coming up on 5 weeks for my fermenting habaneros.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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Re: Fermenting Food.

#113

Post: # 39752Unread post worth1
Sat Jan 30, 2021 10:50 am

I just pulled the stems from the habanero peppers and ran the peppers whole in the blender.
While blinding I sprinkled in 1/8th teaspoon of xanthan gum.
Just taste tested the thick pepper mash and it almost killed me.
Good lord it was hot.
While doing this I mixed up 1/2 cup of sugar 1/4 cup lime juice and 1/4 cup of sangria wine.
Heated up till sugar disoved and let cool.
Will add to pepper sauce, taste again and adjust as needed.
Added 1/4 cup more of lime juice and it is spot on.
Made about one quart from what I can tell.
My mouth is really on fire from testing.
This is a rather thick sauce.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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worth1
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#114

Post: # 39754Unread post worth1
Sat Jan 30, 2021 11:01 am

Here the devil sauce is.
I'm calling it Sangria Diablo.
Translation in English Devils Blood. :lol:
20210130_105639.jpg
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Worth
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worth1
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#115

Post: # 39816Unread post worth1
Sun Jan 31, 2021 7:43 am

Now that my taste buds grew back i tested a drop this morning.
Very flavorful right before it burned my taste buds off again.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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Re: Fermenting Food.

#116

Post: # 42077Unread post worth1
Sun Feb 28, 2021 11:16 am

Cleaning out my refrigerator and I ran across my fermented salted limes.
Plucked one out and sprinkled some sugar on it.
What a tasty treat for the first bite of the day.
Rind and all.
This used to be something all the kids looked forward to in days gone by.
Worth
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#117

Post: # 46046Unread post karstopography
Sun May 02, 2021 8:19 pm

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Enjoying my beauty berry mead I made last summer. Rather complex. Strong.
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#118

Post: # 47472Unread post karstopography
Wed May 26, 2021 8:23 am

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Got to keep some in the pipeline. This one has self-foraged Linden Flowers, Garden grown Lemon Balm, and Yaupon tea in it. Sage and Orange Blossom Honey. Wish you could smell how delicious the aroma is!
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worth1
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#119

Post: # 47547Unread post worth1
Thu May 27, 2021 5:46 am

I'm thinking of doing a zipper bag ferment experiment with cabbage.
Worth
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#120

Post: # 49923Unread post karstopography
Mon Jul 05, 2021 1:38 pm

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Getting one in the bottle always feels like an accomplishment. This one is somewhere between off dry and semi sweet. Floral. Smooth, especially for being so young.

The other one is a Mustang grape pyment. Excited about this one, tastes vaguely like grape sweet tarts. Not sour, tart, with the unique Mustang grape taste. Hope it finishes and clears up with this taste.
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