Writers:

When it comes to fermentation, are you willing to go beyond your evening cocktail?

Posted on Sept. 7, 2008 at 10:25 a.m. by Jill.

Other than vodka, pickles and saurkraut, I didn't think I had much experience with fermented foods. But the book "Wild Fermentation" by Sandor Katz is enough to make you want to ferment everything in sight.

"Fermentation is everywhere, always. It is an everyday miracle, the path of least resistance...[It] gives us many of our most basic staples, such as bread and cheese, and our most pleasurable treats, including chocolate, coffee, wine and beer....Fermentation not only preserves nutrients, it breaks them down into more easily digestible forms," writes Katz.

Fermentation is on my mind, because I'm fresh from a pickling experiment. We've been inundated with cucumbers this year...a welcome inundation, to be sure, but when your entire vegetable bin is filled with them, one's mind does tend to wander predictably toward pickles. Fermentation preserves food, something that's been known and used by humans for centuries. So that cucumber that seems a bit much right now, can be put to good use in the future.

I now have jar upon jar of concoctions on a kitchen shelf. Lacking dill, I have jars of pickles stuffed with tarragon and thyme and honey and maple syrup and garlic and possibly, since my daughters were helping me, there might well be a Polly Pocket doll or two in there for all I know. We'll find out when we open the first jar in a couple of months.

Nancy Klehm, an LGP podcast guest, helped me create this Festival of Fermentation. When my friend Pam asked her, "When can we eat these pickles? How long will they stay good?" Nance answered, "Anywhere from one week to forty years."

Comments (8):

kate commented, on September 8, 2008 at 4:05 p.m.:

Hi, I just tried to RSS your blog but it brings up the podcast feed. Can you please post the URL for the blog feed? cheers, kate.

Laurene commented, on September 8, 2008 at 5:36 p.m.:

Until the winter holidays I am watching sit about 18 bottles of dandelion wine that I made from Nance Klehm's recipe. Can't wait to try it this winter.

Anyone ever made anything fermented out of sumac? Sumac wine? Its starting to be ready to harvest.

LGP Tech commented, on September 9, 2008 at 12:01 p.m.:

Kate, the blog feed is on the home page of the site next to the Blog Archives it says subscribe.

or here's the link: http://lgpshow.org/feeds/blog/

Thanks for reading!

the green mama commented, on September 10, 2008 at 1:54 p.m.:

Thanks Jill for the incentive to try some fermenting of my own. I was just given the above mentioned book by a friend of mine. (This friend and I both share an obsession with Sally Fallon and the book Nourishing Traditions, which got me to try my first ever pickling). What I love so far about Wild Fermentation are the easy, loose recipes with lines like this: "1 to 2 onions and/or leek and/or a few scallions and/or shallots (or more!)." Now that is a recipe after my own heart.

stephenie commented, on September 10, 2008 at 2:26 p.m.:

The University of Illinois Extension office has great classes throughout Illinois all about preserving foods... like pickling and canning! I am signing up for one next spring. I am very excited. Does anyone else know of any other classes being offered?

Jill commented, on September 16, 2008 at 12:34 p.m.:

Find a relative who grew up in the country during the Depression, and ask them to teach you to can...that always works.

Short of that, in a more modern gesture, you can try the "raw food" meetup at http://meetup.com for information on gatherings that teach pickling and preserving. http://rawfood.meetup.com.

Does anyone else know of more in-person resources for learning this stuff?

laurene commented, on September 21, 2008 at 10:39 a.m.:

Riverbank neighbor kevin anderson made some elderflower drink - fermented - the most subtly sweet and delicious mildly bubbly soft drink. I tried it this weekend - yum. ANd he made it from elder flower gathered along the riverbank in chicago. I think he would be willing to share this experience.

Kevin Anderson commented, on September 24, 2008 at 12:01 p.m.:

Here's the recipe for the elderflower 'champagne' (non-alcoholic) that Laurene is describing:
5 elderflower heads, flowers only ("comb" them off using a fork)
2 lb sugar
2 lemons, juiced and zested (no pith)
4 tbsp cider vinegar
10 qt Chicago tap water
I let the water sit overnight in a large food grade tub to allow any residual chlorine to evaporate. Mixed in the ingredients, making sure the sugar dissolved, then covered the tub with a towel to keep out particulates, and let it sit. After 2 days I strained and bottled it.

I was inspired by my neighbor Simon who made a delicious batch last year. I didn't get his exact recipe, so I worked from these resources I found in the internet:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A593363
http://www.microbiologyonline.org.uk/...
http://www.recipezaar.com/644

I was looking forward to making elderberry wine too, but the elderberries were submerged in last week's deluge and combined sewer overflow. This left them with a dirty residue that I wouldn't want to consume, even though alcohol should kill any pathogens.