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[franksfermfoods-blog]

An Introduction to Fermented Foods

Which of these does not belong?

A. Wine

B. Cheese

C. Yogurt

D. Ginger Beer

Answer: None of the above! They are all products of fermentation and can be made by YOU at home!

How I got started

Exploring fermented foods is a new exciting hobby that I have been into for about three years now ever since I was introduced to the concept by a professor at a community college. He was one of those professors that made everything relevant and exciting. Now I didn’t wholly adapt my lifestyle to the class, but I did take away some awesome things from it such as rope making from native plants, a wealth of knowledge about big business and agriculture, and of course, fermenting.

Why Fermented Foods?

Some of you may wonder why I would say fermenting is “awesome”? Almost everyone eats fermented foods whether they realize or not and everyone can make these foods on their own with a few simple things. Being able to make your wine or your kimchi is not only a satisfying challenge, but it's impressive when you tell someone that you will be cooking with your fermented foods. So simply put, fermented foods are most interesting because of the gap between the consumer and the artisan that you can bridge right in your own home.

Getting Started

An excellent place to start is Google, and the simplest ferment, in my opinion, is sauerkraut. While it may be high in sodium, it contains essential probiotic bacteria that our stomachs use to stay active and healthy. Fermented foods are all about the bacteria, and while I understand that isn't an appealing way to convince people to eat fermented foods or to start fermenting themselves, understand that our bodies run on good bacteria and that it is essential for our diets and completely safe. It's the same selling point used by Activia yogurt and kombucha, so why not make these products on your own as opposed to buying them every week? To make sauerkraut all you need are two ingredients, salt, and cabbage - easy, right?

Easy Sauerkraut

Step 1

Grate or cut any variety of cabbage into thin slices and set into a bowl. Be sure to take off the outer leaves and wash it.

Step 2

Sprinkle 1 to 3 tablespoons of salt over the entire surface of the grated, or cut, cabbage. Use your hands to simultaneously crunch and combine the salt and cabbage mixture. Crunching the cabbage will help to break down the cell walls of the cabbage, releasing water naturally found in the cabbage, and allow for the salt to easily infuse into it. It will take about 10 minutes of kneading this salt and cabbage mixture before you release enough cabbage juice to transfer to your fermenting jar. As you knead and crunch the cabbage, feel free to add more salt - this is important as the more salt you add, the longer it will be preserved.

Step 3

You can now start to transfer your crushed cabbage and salt mixture into a wide-mouthed mason jar with a clean utensil. You can use any utensil as long as it can fit in the opening of the mason jar, and can be used to pack or condense the cabbage (I usually use a wooden spoon). The idea here is to pack the jar up to 7/8ths full of cabbage, and the rest of the jar can be filled with the cabbage juice remaining from the previous step - we are going to use this liquid as our brine. 

Step 4

Take a smaller jar that fits inside of the one with the cabbage and let it sit inside on top of the cabbage to act as a weight to hold the cabbage below the surface of the water. You may want to fill the smaller jar with sand, rocks, or water to give it some more mass. It is essential to note that everything below the brine liquid is safe from harmful bacteria. What you have done is created an inhospitable environment for anything but lactobacillus (the good bacteria).

Step 5

Set this jar in a spot that is relatively warm (70-80 degrees) for at least one week. At this point, you can taste it and see if you like the product. If it is still too crunchy or doesn't taste as traditional sauerkraut leave it for another week. Between 2 - 4 weeks is ideal. After you are satisfied, you can put a lid on the jar and store it in the refrigerator.

In Closing

Trying something new with food can be fun, simple, and educational. If you aren't interested in sauerkraut, try fermenting food that you are interested in, there are many different kinds and limitless variations that you can apply to them. Some of my personal favorites have been Garlic and Dill Pickles, and Ginger Beer both of which came out great on the first attempt so I would definitely consider them both beginner friendly. Good luck in your own fermentation experiments and make sure to check back in for more food ideas!