Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

[Thjoth]

Lately I've been cooking with germs. There are quite a few strains of bacteria and yeast that can actually help you out in the kitchen. Some are a little nastier looking than others, but they're all pretty good once you get used to them, plus they're nice and easy! Just prepare the food item, inoculate it (if it needs to be inoculated, some things just work on their own with local wild bacteria) and then sit it someplace warm for a couple days while the little creepy-crawlies do the work for you.

That said, the kombucha is definitely the nastiest looking one I've seen, which is why I've been hesitating to try it. I'll probably obtain a starter culture (called the Mother, a jellyfish-like mat of microbes) for that at some point soon, though, so that I can try it.

If anyone wants to trade micro-organisms, just let me know. I'd be up for it, especially after I get ahold of the Kombucha mother. The Kombucha mother is really the one that you need to swap around; you can start yogurt with a tablespoon of regular old yogurt, sauerkraut just works on its own, and Tempeh can be started with a small amount of Tempeh, although they sell starter cultures that would probably prove to be a little more resilient for Tempeh.

Just so you get an idea what I'm talking about:

How to make Kombucha: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQAX9HngwN8
How to make Tempeh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUNxwuBaTEA

There are so many foods that are made via fermentation that it's not even funny. In addition to all of the things I've mentioned so far, you've also got cheese of every variety, beer, vinegar, cider, beer, breads (although the culture is killed - you monster! - via baking before it's ingested), pickled cucumbers, pickled everything else, beer, natto (although I've never been able to get past the smell), hell, even chocolate undergoes fermentation as part of the process of turning it into delicious candy bars. I'm really starting to appreciate all the little critters that make life awesome for all of us.

So, just to paraphrase my somewhat rambling post:
-Germs are awesome because they make life easier and more delicious
-I'd be willing to send some cultures to people if you want to try it, although I won't have the cultures for a little bit
-Natto smells like a skunk's ass

[DanieMarie]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

I used to keep kefir, but I killed it eventually because I forgot about it for a while. If you're not using it you can keep it in water for a bit but eventually you have to "feed" it with milk, and I didn't.

If I can find kefir grains I might start one up again. All you need is a jar, some grains (which is a mixture of yeasts and bacteria) that lump into a culture and routinely fill it with milk and let it sit for a day or two. You can drink the milk, and also it's pretty good in baking because of the natural yeasts.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

Thjoth - I have a kombucha culture. If you are interested, drop me a PM with your address and I'll send one out to you with directions for use.

I used to keep Kefir as well - and I really, really like kefir - but I lost my culture a while ago and haven't replaced it yet.

I also make a lot of beer, and occasionally wine (I don't like wine nearly as much as I like beer).

If you are interested in this kind of thing, you might want to try growing mushrooms some time - it requires a bit of knowledge of sterile culture work (about jr. high school science level), but there are quite a few nice varieties of mushroom, like the oyster mushroom family, which can be grown very easily. If you are interested, I recommend The Mushroom Cultivator: a Practicle Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home by Paul Stamets and Jeff Chilton.

[Dez]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

I do a few simple things...kim chee, fermented pickles, old-school catsup. I love sourdough bread, too, but the dry air here keeps killing my starter. Planning on a big batch of sauerkraut when fall rolls around, especially if I can get my hands on a pickling crock.

I'd love to trade at a future time, thjoth...but we're pretty strapped financially right now

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

Someone at our local Farmers' Market said she was going to make sauerkraut - I can't wait to try the homemade version! The process sounded quite lengthy from what she said.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

^^
That's supposed to be really healthy!

[LadyGarnetRose]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

I got a tub of saurkraut going, do every year (this year had to buy the cabbage dang it). I make yogurt (got a machine but I could do it with a cooler if need be) and bake sourdough every other day. If you've never had sourdough pancakes you're missing out in life.

Great stuff, proves how God provides us ways of keep things wholesome even when supposedly rotten


ALSO for saurkraut add a finger length of horseradish sliced up to prevent mold. Mold on saurkraut not good.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

How do you make sauerkraut. I feel like it's something I should know because I live in Germany, but no one really makes it anymore.

[LadyGarnetRose]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

Shred 5lbs of cabbage as thinly as possible, have about 1/4 cup of salt ready, dill, and sliced fresh horseradish. In a crock place a good layer of cabbage squish it down add salt, dill and a couple of slices of horseradish, then repeat till you come to the top then just salt on top. Squish this down and you should already notice water being pulled from the cabbage, if it hasn't made enough water to cover itself, boil 2 cups of water dissolving 1/4 cup of salt in it let cool then pour until the cabbage is covered by about an inch. If you need more than 2 cups of water, you didn't add enough salt in the layering so make more of the salted water until you are sure it's covered by at least an inch. Add a plate with a weight to keep the cabbage under the water. Let process in a dark area with a towel over the top. Check everyday for mold if you have mold you need to scrape it off the top but do not dip below the plate, and add more salted water to make sure the plate is also covered with about an inch of brine.

About 8 weeks later you'll have kraut ready to be eaten. Remove any mold you might see on top first, then skim off the top inch of water remove the kraut starting in the middle and don't let it touch the sides if you had mold.

It's much tangier than the kraut you're going to get in the store, and it's a heck of a lot healthier. Just stick it in the fridge. You can can it but then you loose all the probiotics that formed the kraut

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

I wonder how in the world this process ever got invented in the first place?

[LadyGarnetRose]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

I wonder how in the world this process ever got invented in the first place?

To simply it, Europe was looking for a way to pack produce on ships for long voyages to prevent scurvy. Sauerkraut was the "winning" recipe.

[Dez]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

To simply it, Europe was looking for a way to pack produce on ships for long voyages to prevent scurvy. Sauerkraut was the "winning" recipe.

I hadn't thought about it that way...I'd bet it's even older then that...most fermented products have been around for ages. When you only have certain foods available seasonally, it makes sense to try and preserve them. Otherwise, you're out of luck come winter.

[Thjoth]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

Shred 5lbs of cabbage as thinly as possible, have about 1/4 cup of salt ready, dill, and sliced fresh horseradish. In a crock place a good layer of cabbage squish it down add salt, dill and a couple of slices of horseradish, then repeat till you come to the top then just salt on top. Squish this down and you should already notice water being pulled from the cabbage, if it hasn't made enough water to cover itself, boil 2 cups of water dissolving 1/4 cup of salt in it let cool then pour until the cabbage is covered by about an inch. If you need more than 2 cups of water, you didn't add enough salt in the layering so make more of the salted water until you are sure it's covered by at least an inch. Add a plate with a weight to keep the cabbage under the water. Let process in a dark area with a towel over the top. Check everyday for mold if you have mold you need to scrape it off the top but do not dip below the plate, and add more salted water to make sure the plate is also covered with about an inch of brine.

About 8 weeks later you'll have kraut ready to be eaten. Remove any mold you might see on top first, then skim off the top inch of water remove the kraut starting in the middle and don't let it touch the sides if you had mold.

It's much tangier than the kraut you're going to get in the store, and it's a heck of a lot healthier. Just stick it in the fridge. You can can it but then you loose all the probiotics that formed the kraut

Hmm, that's quite different from the way that we usually do it. I mean, the process is mostly the same but we use different ingredients (no horseradish, but carrots and juniper berries) and far less salt (about 1/8-1/4 cup for 5lbs of cabbage). Just goes to show that the process is pretty variable, I suppose. We also usually only let it go for 2-3 weeks tops, maybe slightly more if somebody forgets about it.

[LadyGarnetRose]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

I hadn't thought about it that way...I'd bet it's even older then that...most fermented products have been around for ages. When you only have certain foods available seasonally, it makes sense to try and preserve them. Otherwise, you're out of luck come winter.

They've been fermenting cabbage in China since before the wall was built. But they did it with vinegar. The salt method is distinct to Europe.

Hmm, that's quite different from the way that we usually do it. I mean, the process is mostly the same but we use different ingredients (no horseradish, but carrots and juniper berries) and far less salt (about 1/8-1/4 cup for 5lbs of cabbage). Just goes to show that the process is pretty variable, I suppose. We also usually only let it go for 2-3 weeks tops, maybe slightly more if somebody forgets about it.

Horseradish actually helps keep the mold growth down (as would a bay leaf as well) also up here we have to let it go a lot longer because even in summer it rarely gets warm in the house.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Cooking with Germs: Kombucha, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, etc.

Unless you are buying really good stuff from a deli or somewhere, home fermented sauerkraut and real fermented pickles (dill is my favorite) are completely unlike what you're used to. Fermented dill pickles are a taste experience that shouldn't be missed (I add a few cayenne peppers 'cause spicy is better).

Real easy to do, too.