Fermenting Food.

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Tracydr
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#61

Post: # 24775Unread post Tracydr
Tue Jul 07, 2020 9:25 pm

Anybody who likes collards must try collard-kraut.
I packed de-stemmed and chopped collards into quart jars, covered in brine-1 quart water,2 tbsps salt. Used my glass weights and fermentation tops (like in the picture karstopography posted above.
Gave it about two weeks, it was a very active ferment.
The collards have so much umami fermented like this, I’m finding it addictive. Between this Kraut and dried collard chips I’m eating plenty of greens everyday!

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worth1
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#62

Post: # 24997Unread post worth1
Thu Jul 09, 2020 5:04 pm

My fermenting onions are trucking right along.
Lots of pressure to release each day after work, house 70 to 75 degrees.
When I release it the concoction looks like a pop bottle being opened.
Smells amazing.
Don't know how I will be able to wait two to 3 weeks.
Thinking of buying an ounce or small lower pound gauge with release valve and seeing what the pressure is. :lol:
Remember I have a small machine shop and can make what they dont sell. 8-)
I have always wondered how bacteria multiplied under pressure but it does.
Worth
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karstopography
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#63

Post: # 25025Unread post karstopography
Thu Jul 09, 2020 8:31 pm

0046FAD0-1240-4D81-8323-B1D525862734.jpeg
A7EE0252-A494-4B95-AB54-9B8A67561490.jpeg
Day one of my son’s and I Blackberry Mead effort. Texas raw honey, foraged local blackberries (previously frozen), champagne yeast. We decided to go the dry route meaning 2 pounds of honey instead of 3.
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Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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karstopography
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#64

Post: # 25036Unread post karstopography
Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:59 am

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15 hours into the fermentation. Lovely aroma of blackberries. Very active. Learning as I go. More I read about making a Methelgin, fruited mead, more I realize how many things can go wrong.

So far, so good. Finding out by jumping around to various websites about measuring Specific gravity, Brix, ABV and such. Ordered a three way meter, another 1 gallon glass carboy, plus a siphon to transfer the liquid from the primary fermentation vessel to the secondary fermentation. D*mn these hobbies, there’s always one or more things to buy.
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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.

#65

Post: # 25229Unread post worth1
Sun Jul 12, 2020 9:51 am

Once I get everything lined out for today's cooking of the Cochinita Pibil I am going to slice up some beautiful red onion and start a ferment with them.
Added will be a couple of habanero peppers sliced.
Worth
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#66

Post: # 25239Unread post worth1
Sun Jul 12, 2020 11:45 am

Two big red onions.
One thinly sliced lime.
Two sliced habaneros seeds and all.
One and one half teaspoons canning salt.
Tamped into quart jar with homemade tamping device.
Added shot of my ferment starter.
Topped off with end of onion.
Have no idea how this one will turn out.
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Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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TXTravis
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#67

Post: # 25326Unread post TXTravis
Mon Jul 13, 2020 8:26 am

karstopography wrote: Thu Jul 09, 2020 8:31 pm 0046FAD0-1240-4D81-8323-B1D525862734.jpegA7EE0252-A494-4B95-AB54-9B8A67561490.jpeg

Day one of my son’s and I Blackberry Mead effort. Texas raw honey, foraged local blackberries (previously frozen), champagne yeast. We decided to go the dry route meaning 2 pounds of honey instead of 3.
I've made a couple of meads over the years, one straight orange blossom honey, the other with pulped apricot. The key for both was TIME, and lots of it. Neither were drinkable inside of 2 years, and really hit their stride at about 2.5yrs. Of course, by that time I'd sampled most of the bottles and only had a couple left... Anyway, the point is, be patient. And don't worry too much--once your ferm starts in earnest it's pretty hard to mess up (though not impossible!).
A seed not planted is guaranteed not to grow.

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worth1
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#68

Post: # 25421Unread post worth1
Tue Jul 14, 2020 6:29 am

Got home yesterday red onions building up a head of steam.
Yellow onions cruising right along.
Worth
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karstopography
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#69

Post: # 25433Unread post karstopography
Tue Jul 14, 2020 8:07 am

[mention]TXTravis[/mention] I’ve barely ever even had any mead. My typical summer drink might be a Sol with about a half a lime squeezed in or maybe a Moscow mule with homemade ginger beer. This mead project of ours got going mainly because we are looking for some things to do in an atypical year. We had also watched “The Last Kingdom” series on Netflix and all those Northmen are feasting and drinking mead and mead is the drink of Valhalla. They had a interesting heaven.

But, now I’m in and am finding out there’s a big world of Mead lovers and merry mead makers out there, kind of like it is with growing tomatoes. I’m learning that my current actively fermenting batch has enough fermentable sugars from the honey and berries in it to go to around 10% ABV. Yeast is a 12-14% Red Star white wine alcohol tolerance type, so I should end up with something dry. I see some of these sack meads meant to be aged for years being made go to 18% ABV or more. I’d settle for something that’s drinkable in my lifetime or a few weeks, whichever comes first, has some hint of blackberries remaining and won’t not knock me off my feet after a glass or two. My 17 year old son thinks the project is fun so I have already scored.

Whenever this Primary ferment tapers off, my plan is to taste it and then proceed to rack to secondary and add in some additional blackberries from my frozen foraged stash, likely pre soaked in Tito’s Vodka (and no I won’t be throwing that out after soaking) to kill the mold or wild yeast, then drained, juiced and strained. My buddy that’s had more mead than I says the ones he’s had basically taste like honey with a huge dose of alcohol and I’m trying to avoid that overpowering alcohol taste in favor of something with some blackberry flavors and a more appealing alcohol content. It it happens that way, it will be beginner’s luck on steroids.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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worth1
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#70

Post: # 25517Unread post worth1
Tue Jul 14, 2020 5:07 pm

Just checked the red onions today they are building up a really good head of steam.
Much more than yesterday.
I was a little worried about the amount of salt and the added lime but I didn't need to.
Plus they are really packed in the jar.
I either need to make and or buy a good knackwurst to make a seriously good hotdog with this stuff.
Really not the right time of the year to be making sausage in my hot garage.
Worth
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#71

Post: # 25742Unread post worth1
Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:51 pm

Just two more days before I test the first batch of onions.
Still very active too.
I'm on pins and needles, cant wait.
This will allow me to run the reds for 3 or 4 weeks if not more.
Worth
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#72

Post: # 25889Unread post worth1
Sat Jul 18, 2020 6:10 am

Just tasted the first batch of fermented onions.
Lifted the top cap of skins off the onions and the bubbles were still coming up.
No mold.
The taste is amazing simply amazing. :D :D
Tangy sour a little salty but not too much, huge onion flavor, very firm and crunchy and just fantastic.
The first thing I noticed was the crunch and then the onion flavor then the salty sour kicked in big time.
You could eat it on its own, as a side relish or just about anything including a hamburger or hotdog.
Onions are cheap and it only takes about 3 medium onions and a quart jar to do this, a must try.
I always buy the yellow cooking onions in the bag not the fancy sweet ones.
The only other thing I would add is dill.
Worth
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#73

Post: # 25975Unread post karstopography
Sun Jul 19, 2020 4:59 am

63F95108-C9B1-430A-85FC-4F109EA71F9E.jpeg
I racked the Mead, Melomel from the primary to the secondary fermentation Carboy. The photo is the of the secondary. My son and I tasted the mead. Semi dry White wine ish flavors with strong blackberry notes and noticeable hand sanitizer finish. We understand that sanitizer taste is normal in a unfinished and young mead. We added about 1/2 pound of caramelized honey and 2 or three ounces of filtered blackberry berry juice from my frozen foraged stash. I “pasteurized” the frozen berries by soaking them in vodka until they thawed. Drained off the liquor, then squeezed through an ultra fine sieve.

Evidently, mead takes months to mature, mellow and get good. We were encouraged by our tasting 9 days into the ferment. We added the additional fuel, the caramelized honey and juice, to let the Red Star Cote des Blances yeast go to their full potential of 12-14% ABV. Hopefully, there will be a little residual sweetness leftover and the blackberry flavor be intensified. That’s the plan.
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worth1
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#74

Post: # 26525Unread post worth1
Sat Jul 25, 2020 11:30 am

[mention]karstopography[/mention]
If it isn't too out in left field for you a person can always sweeten a dry wine to their taste.
I do it all the time because I dont spend tons of money on expensive wines that I wouldn't dare do it too.
Dry wine gives me heartburn to no end.
Worth
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#75

Post: # 26529Unread post worth1
Sat Jul 25, 2020 11:43 am

I just tried the red fermented onion with lime and habanero.
Talk about burn the house down hot. :o
I had no idea this stuff was going to be that hot. :shock: :shock: :lol:
I think I only put two or four peppers in it.
The first thing that hits you is the onion smell and flavor and then the lime and habanero kicks in fast.
The onions aren't as crunchy as the fist batch not crunchy at all.
Glad I tested when I did I suspect it was the small amount of lime I put in it.
The onion top I put on top worked marvelously keeping the air off the top of the onions.
No more ferment for them, in the refrigerator they went.
Worth
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#76

Post: # 26718Unread post karstopography
Mon Jul 27, 2020 7:15 pm

6174F3CE-F4F4-4DD7-8A2F-2B9FC8714789.jpeg
Blackberry Mead clearing up 20 days in. This is the secondary carboy. Fermentation slowing way down. Loving the color.
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#77

Post: # 27617Unread post karstopography
Fri Aug 07, 2020 8:44 am

Evolution of the Melomel. 30 days into the fermentation. Clearing up, fermentation winding down. Lovely color, delightful aroma. Now, how can I mess it up? From what I have read, there are at least a dozen ways.

BTW, these are no generic blackberries that went into this. These berries I foraged myself back in April. I forage roughly 15 cups every season and have always turned them into cobbler. These special microclimate blackberries are intensely flavored and are grown in fog shrouded and cooled areas just a few hundred meters from the beach. They get full sun and often raisin up by mid afternoon, but somewhat foggy mornings protect the berries as they ripen and the often dry and well drained sandy and lightly saline soil lead to flavor bomb berries quite unlike any cultivated blackberry I have ever had and even much different than other wild berries foraged 10 miles inland.

Terroir in wine is huge and where a particular grape is grown greatly influences the final wine. These berries are uniqand I hope they make for a uniquely delicious Mead.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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Re: Fermenting Food.

#78

Post: # 27618Unread post karstopography
Fri Aug 07, 2020 8:45 am

A7ACC1CE-D99D-4C44-B847-36FDEECB6B8F.jpeg
Forgot the photo.
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#79

Post: # 27624Unread post worth1
Fri Aug 07, 2020 9:14 am

[mention]karstopography[/mention]
I picked some blackberries down there once and they were horrible.
Sour as an I don't know what.
They were in the black clay soil with no drainage.
Another guy gave me some and they were the same picked in the same type soil.
Never in my life have I ever have such a sour blackberry and I have picked tons up them grown in gardens and wild.

Moved back up here and picked a wild pile grown in sandy loam and they were to die for.
The well drained soil makes a huge difference for sure.
Even with melons.
The berries grown in the lime stone outcroppings are fantastic too.
I wont eve bother with store bought berries of any kind because I know what real ones taste like.
Worth
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Re: Fermenting Food.

#80

Post: # 27627Unread post karstopography
Fri Aug 07, 2020 9:35 am

I always thought the best watermelons come from the sandy loam soils around Hempsted and Luling. Hot weather and sandy loam soils equals great watermelons.

I have access to wild blackberries nearby on the heavy clay soil. Those ripen 3 weeks later than the Beachside berries. They really couldn’t be more different. The clay grown ones look alright, but there isn’t much sugar in them even when fully ripe. Definitely have plenty of sour.

The beach side berries that grow along Surfside and Quintana beaches ripen in mid April. In March and up into mid April, fog is very common right along the beach. The Gulf of Mexico is still cool, but the prevailing South east breeze blows warmer air from more tropical locales and warm air flowing over cool water equals fog. This fog and the mists somewhat protect the berries from higher temperatures and damaging sunlight as they ripen, but enough sun gets through to provide a lot of energy for sugar production in the fruit. A mile or two off the beach, the fog burns up. Berries need to be picked early in the day if the sun manages to burn off the fog. These berries have no shade at all other than the fog so the sun raisins them pretty quickly.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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