How to Store Ferment starters

As well as posting reciptes on this blog, I also collect links to lots of great recipes from all over the place on my Pinterest board, including most of the recipes on this blog.

But sometimes I come across something that I can't Pin, usually because there's no pinnable picture. Yesterday, I found a great page on how to store your ferment starters when you go away, and now after blogging this page here , I can also share the link with my Pinterest followers.

Mayonnaise

I was talking to somebody about homemade mayo the other day, and that reminded me what a good GAPS dressing it is, and a great way to incorporate your olive oil. 

Mix together in food processor till well blended :

• 1 whole egg, at room temperature
• 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 ½ Tbs lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp Dijon style mustard or 1/4 tsp dry mustard powder

With the motor running, add one drop at a time:

• ¾-1 cup extra virgin olive oil (preferably from NZ)

Once about a 1/3 of the oil has been added, you’ll be able to add the rest in a small stream. If it starts to get very thick before you add all the oil, you don’t need to use it all. 

It will keep in the fridge for about two weeks.

Variations:

Garlic mayonnaise:

Add 1-2 cloves crushed garlic instead of the mustard

Curry mayonnaise:

Add 1 Tbs curry powder. Use this to make a chicken salad with cold diced chicken, organic green grapes, fresh bean sprouts and crispy cashews. Or add your favourite salad vegetables, and try out different crispy nuts, such as walnuts or slivered almonds.

Making ghee

After you've been off dairy products for a while, and want to introduce them again, you need to start with homemade ghee. Ghee is butter that has the milk solids and water removed, leaving pure butter oil or clarified butter. It is often used in Indian cooking as it is a highly stable cooking oil, with excellent flavour, that aids the digestion. It is often used in gourmet cooking as well. It is considered a lactose free food, and can be used instead of butter in most recipes, and for most uses.

Store in a glass jar with a lid, but don’t put the lid on till it’s cooled. You can keep ghee in the fridge, but it doesn’t need refrigeration if you keep moisture out of it; for example, don't dip a wet spoon into the ghee jar, always use a clean utensil. It will keep in the cupboard for weeks. But with it's delicious caramelly flavour, it might not last that long!

Stove top method
(Time: less then 30 minutes)

• 500gm / 1 lb. sweet butter (preferably unsalted and organic)

1. Melt the butter in a medium sized, heavy bottomed saucepan over a medium heat, and bring to the boil. Do not leave ghee unattended during this process and watch to make sure that the butter doesn't scorch while melting.
2. Lower heat to medium-low. The butter will bubble and make a slightly popping sound and a layer of foam will form. After about fifteen to twenty minutes, it will be a clear golden colour and quiet, and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan will have turned a light golden brown. It is important to take it of the heat as soon as it goes quiet, or it will burn.
3. Pour through a sieve or cheese cloth to strain out the milk solids.

Crock-pot method
(Time: 8 hours)

• One or more pounds of unsalted butter

1. Cut the butter into 1/4 pound portions and place into the crock-pot on low temperature setting.
2. Leave it on all night.
3. In the morning you will notice that there is a brown crust on the top and a white sediment on the bottom. Skim the crust off the top and pour the golden liquid into stainless steel or glass containers. When the white sediment begins to mix with oil while pouring strain the sediment from the ghee by pouring it through a cotton cloth placed over a stainless steel strainer.


Oven method
(Time: Depends on quantity. 1 pound could take as little as 1 hour)

• A heavy-bottomed, thick-walled ovenproof pan
• As much unsalted butter as will comfortably fit into your pan

1. Preheat the oven to 150 C / 300 F.

2. Cut the butter into 1/4 pound portions and place into the pan.

3. Allow the butter to melt and slowly clarify, uncovered and undisturbed, until there is a layer of solid foam on the surface, clear amber-gold ghee in the middle and lumps of pale gold solids on the bottom. Remove from oven.

4. Skim off the crusty foam on the surface with a fine mesh skimmer or a large metal spoon.
5. Ladle the clear ghee into a glass jar using a strainer lined with several layers of cheese cloth. When you have removed as much as you can without disturbing the solids, skim off the last 1 inch with a large spoon. 

Milk kefir

Milk kefir can be made from kefir grains, or from a powdered starter. Here's how to make it from kefir grains.

When you receive your grains

If your grains have been stored in the fridge or freezer for a while or someone has posted them to you, they'll need some preparation before they make a good batch.

Put the grains into a jar with about ¼ of the normal amount of milk (eg. if you have 1 tablespoon of grains, use 1/2 cup milk). Leave out for 12 – 24 hours (depending on temperature), shaking or stirring from time to time. When the milk separates out (so that the thick curds are at the top, and the liquid whey is at the bottom), it’s fermented. Shake or stir well, so that the grains are easier to separate. Pour the mixture into a non-metallic strainer, with a jug underneath. Throw away the milk.

Repeat this washing and throwing away a second time.

After that they will make great kefir on the third batch.

Types of milk

Raw milk is best, but pasteurised works also. Avoid homogenised or ultra heat-treated milk.

If you can get milk from Jersey cows, it will be very high in cream, which makes delicious kefir. If your milk is lower in fat, you can add some extra cream to it, if you like.

Cow’s milk is usually used, but you can also kefir goat’s milk, coconut milk and other liquids. When you use cow’s milk, the grains will grow each time you use them. But with other milks they won’t grow, and may eventually stop working.

You can also get water kefir grains, which feed on glucose instead of lactose. Or you can convert milk grains to water grains, though they won’t then grow. They can then be used to make fermented fruit juice drinks. (But that’s another post!)

Ratio of milk to grains

Each tablespoon of grains will ferment about ½ a litre (2 cups) of milk. Each time, your grains will grow a little. So you can increase the amount of milk you’re fermenting, or separate the grains into two batches. Store the spares, or share them. (Detailed instructions for shipping grains are available on request).

Making the kefir

Kefir is much more “forgiving” than yoghurt, as it isn’t temperature sensitive. It will ferment in about 7 days in the fridge, or in 12 hours to 2 days in a warm place (18-25C). The most popular way seems to be to keep in the fridge for 24 hours (or more) then leave on the bench for about 24 hours.

Place milk and optional cream in a clean wide-mouth jar. Ceramic is best, but glass will do. Add kefir grains, stir or shake well and cover loosely with a cloth or with the jar lid, placed loosely on top. Stir or shake vigorously occasionally to redistribute the grains. Every time you stir, taste the kefir. When it achieves a tartness to your liking, the kefir is ready. The kefir may also become thick and effervescent, depending on the temperature, incubation time and the amount of curds you use. (If you’re having trouble telling when it’s ready, I consider it ready when the mixture separates out. But that will depend on how tart you like it.)



Pour the kefir through a strainer into another jar to remove the grains. Store in refrigerator. If you have enough milk for a new batch, start it straight away. Keep in the fridge for up to a week, taking it out about 24 hours before you need it, to finish the fermenting. Otherwise, store grains in a small jar in some fresh milk. Grains may be stored in the refrigerator several weeks, but change the milk every few days. If you don’t have any milk, store them in filtered water, but they won’t keep as long.

Note: some people rinse their grains in water before starting a new batch. This isn’t necessary, and the grains will grow more quickly if you don’t rinse.

Check out Dom’s kefir “insite” http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html#what's-kefir for more information and recipes.

Kombucha

The kombucha starter culture or scoby (a symbiotic colony of yeast & bacteria, sometimes known as a "mushroom") acts on sugar & tea to produce a wide variety of beneficial acids, such as acetic & lactic acid.

It is a therapeutic drink, and is considered a liver tonic, but is also very refreshing as a summer drink.

• 1 large, uncoloured pyrex bowl
• 2.7 litres filtered water (3 quarts)
• 1 cup sugar (white sugar feeds the culture best)
• 4 tea bags of black tea
• 1/2 cup kombucha from a previous culture
• 1 kombucha scoby

Bring the filtered water to boil. Put the sugar into your bowl, add the boiling water and stir till dissolved. Add the tea bags and leave the tea to steep until the water has completely cooled.

Remove tea bags, add 1/2 cup kombucha from previous batch and stir. Place the scoby on top of the liquid. Cover the bowl loosely with a cloth or towel, secured with a ring of elastic and leave to a warm, dark place, away from contaminants and insects.

The kombucha will be ready in about 7 to 10 days, depending on the temperature. The ideal temperature is about 23-27°C (74-80°F) and if possible, don’t let it fall below 20°C (68°F) or rise above 30°C (86°F). A hot water cupboard is a good place to ferment it, or if you don’t have one, you may need a heating pad in winter. If it gets too cold, the balance of bacteria and yeasts will be disturbed. Avoid moving it until it’s ready to bottle.

When the kombucha is ready, it should be fizzy and rather sour, with no taste of tea remaining. The scoby will have grown a second spongy pancake, which can be used to make other batches or given away to friends. If you are doing the GAPS protocol, or SCD diet, you will need to make sure all the sugar has been fermented away. (Test this cautiously when you are stable on the main diet.)

Store fresh scobies in the fridge in a glass jar (never plastic), covered with some of the last batch. A scoby can be used many times. If it begins to turn black, or if the resulting kombucha doesn't sour properly, it's a sign that the culture has become contaminated. When this happens, it's best to throw away all your scobies and get a new clean one.

Set aside a cup of liquid for the next batch, and bottle the rest. Use bottles suitable for carbonated drinks – otherwise they are prone to exploding! Keep at room temperature for 5-7 days, then store in the fridge.

Contraindications:

As with any food, kombucha will not be suitable for everybody. Always start with a small amount and increase your intake slowly. It may not be suitable for you, or you may need to be especially careful introducing it if you:

• Are diabetic, or on any other sugar controlled diet - Some diabetics have had great results from drinking Kombucha. But it is important to remember that although most of the sugar is converted into other components during the fermentation process, some still remains as sugar in the finished tea.
• Are an alcoholic in recovery - Recovering alcoholics sometimes find it helpful to drink Kombucha during their recovery period. Be aware though, Kombucha does contain a small quantity of alcohol. It is usually less that 1% by volume, but even a small quantity of alcohol can have a negative effect on a recovering alcoholic.
• Have a yeast allergy – most people with yeast allergies find Kombucha helpful, but there is a possibility of an adverse reaction in some people
• Have a badly functioning liver, or any other chronic disease - Kombucha is a very powerful detoxifier and will pull toxins from your body and pass them through your liver on their way out. If your liver does not function correctly then it may be unwise to drink Kombucha, or you may be only able to take very small quantities (such as a spoonful).
• Are giving it to an infants under 6 Years - Whilst a young body is growing it cannot withstand the same degree of supplements and foodstuffs as an adult. Kombucha is very strong and should not be used on infants. Dilute an older child's Kombucha with water.
• Are a pregnant and breastfeeding mother - As above. Nutrients from the mother will pass into the unborn child and / or breastfed baby.

Sauerkraut

Another important food, especially for the GAPS protocol, is sauerkraut or other fermented veges.

There are a variety of different ways of making sauerkraut, but these are the basic steps:

• Select your veges, wash and, if necessary, peel them
• Chop them - with a knife, grater or in a food processor
• Add sea salt and give them a good squeeze with your hands, or pound with a heavy object, such as a bottle filled with water. You need to get lots of juice out.
• Pack into the container you're going to ferment in, either a large bowl, with a plate on top, or directly in a jar. Make sure the veges are covered with the juice.
• Ferment at room temperature till the sauerkraut is slightly sour
• Store in the fridge - it will keep for ages

Following are three different recipes you can try (remembering at each step there are different ways of doing it, that all work fine). My next post will be a recipe for fermented cabbage juice.

Recipe One:

First is a YouTube video by Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fermentation, so you can see how it works.

Recipe Two: Libby's sauerkraut

• Take a large "white cabbage". Cut off the outside green leaves until you have clean leaves. Wash the leaves you cut off and save them.
• Using a knife, or food processor, cut the cabbage into quarters and slice the cabbage quarters fairly finely [3-2mm slices] into four heaps.
• Optional extra: For each quarter, take about three good sized carrots, about the bulk size of one third of each quarter. Peel the carrots, and shred them into four piles, slightly finer pieces than the cabbage.
• Take a large enamel or plastic bucket or stew pot or similar. DO NOT USE METAL CONTAINERS.
• Place half of the washed cabbage leaves on the bottom of the container.
• Mix in another bowl one quarter of the cut cabbage with its share of shredded carrot. Add some salt, mix in about one level tablespoon per large quarter of cabbage to start with [then use more or less next time to taste]. Use more if you want to use sea salt.
• Place the mix of cabbage, carrot and salt into the container and repeat until all is mixed. As you place the mix in the container, squeeze it as strongly as you reasonably can to draw out any liquid.
• Place the rest of the cabbage leaves on top of the mix to finish.
• Place an ice cream container or similar on top of the leaves, filled with water [NO WATER IN THE CABBAGE MIX, THE WATER GOES IN THE CONTAINER TO MAKE A WEIGHT]. We use an old plate upside down on top of the cabbage leaves to ensure good cover and spread of pressure, and then put the weight on the plate.
• Leave for three or four days, then take off the weight and top leaves, turn over the mix and re-lay the leaves and weight. Sometimes under the weight liquid will rise over the leaves, simply stir it back in when you stir the mix. The product should be finished to eat in about six-eight days. (Note: in colder weather this can take up to 3 weeks)
• When tasting tells you the sauerkraut is ready, take it out of the container and store it in the fridge in any sealed container you want to use.

Recipe Three: Kimchi

Our friend Evan makes his own kimchi, which is a Korean fermented cabbage and is more spicy than sauerkraut. He tells us the best recipe is Ultimate Kimchi.

Bone broths & GAPS Intro soup

Bone broths (or stocks) are a basic for a Weston Price foundation style diet, and for the GAPS protocol.

They are a good source of minerals and amino acids, and aid digestion.

For more information on the benefits of broth, see this article on the WAPF website. It also has full recipes for classic beef, chicken and fish stocks, towards the bottom of the page. Have a read of this article and familiarise yourself with the full recipes before reading the summary below.

The classic recipes above use a variety of bones, plus vegetables and seasonings for flavour, and are simmered for several hours (4+ for fish, 6+ for poultry and 12+ for beef).

• For beef stock (or other red meats), you need a combination of meaty bones for flavour, marrow bones and knuckle bones.
• For poultry, use a full carcass or a whole bird. If you use the whole bird, simmer for 2-3 hours, just till the meat is cooked. Then take that off the bones, and put aside, and simmer the bones for a few more hours.
• For fish, ideally use all the bones and the head.

After simmering, pour the contents into a colander to seperate out the bones. Take any meat off the bones to use later. If you're doing GAPS, you may also want to put the skin, fat, etc into a separate bowl for adding back to your soup.

Let the stock cool, then refrigerate it. You can then take the fat off the top if you want a clear soup, or leave it on if you want to make a thicker, higher calorie GAPS soup.

GAPS Intro soup

If you're going to turn your stock into vegetable soup, you can simplify the basic recipes by leaving the vegetables out of the initial stock.

When you're doing stage 1 of the GAPS intro - you need to use all the meat, fat and marrow in your soup, to give you enough sustenance.

Make your stock as usual, using quite meaty cuts. Cook till the meat or chicken is just cooked, then take the meat off the bones and put to one side. I like to have three bowls - one for meat; one for fat, skin, marrow, any gelatinous bits, etc; and one for the bones. The meat and fats go into the fridge. The bones go back into the pot with a splash of apple cider vinegar and cook for a few hours more.

When you're ready to make your soup, pour into a clean pan through a colander, and throw the bones away. In the classic stock recipe, you would then skim the liquid fat off the top, but we need it in this soup.

Chop up your veges and cook in the stock till tender. Choose low starch veges like pumpkin, butternut, zucchini, onion, garlic, carrots, etc.

Then get your bowl of fatty bits out of the fridge and add it back to the soup. Take a wand blender and blend till everything is combined, and you have a thick creamy soup. Add salt to taste. Shred the meat and add it back to the soup.

This will be your main food while on the early stages of GAPS Intro.

Variations: I like this variation as it "hides" the fat and the veges, which some children (and adults for that matter) don't like. But you can leave your veges chunky, and have the fatty bits loose, if you prefer.