Welcome To My Blog About Fermentation
Why I Enjoy Fermenting?
I find that fermenting food is a fantastic way to be creative. To experiment and have fun combining different vegetables, amongst other foods, to produce delicious and exciting mixtures. You can pretty much ferment anything! I love the suprise factor you get when tasting a new ferment and seeing what complex flavours have developed. It is thanks to these bacteria that the mixture transforms over time!
Finding out about fermentation has totally changed the way I look at bacteria not just as something bad but fills me with a deep sense of awe and wonder for these living microbal communities. I can’t help but reflect on the amazing transformative power whenever I open and sample a new ferment. It is wonderfully simple to start fermenting, anyone can do it! Through this blog I will post different fermentation recipes. I deliberately didn’t include precise quantities for the recipes as part of the fun is to experiment and get creative. The great thing about ferments is that they are going to have unique flavour every time.
Health Benefits of Eating Fermented Food:
Eating fermented food has many wonderful health benefits. Our modern way of life has deprived us more of sources of microbial richness through less exposure to the natural environment, eating more processed food, and by ingesting antibiotics that have the side effect of killing good bacteria. Consuming fermented food helps to establish a flourishing microbial community in the gut. Our body is in fact dependent on bacteria to aid the digestion process, they help to break down hard to digest fibres. Amazingly these microbial bacteria produce necessary nutrients such as vitamins B and K. Under fermentation the bacteria help to make nutrients more bio-available for the body and to break down hard to digest components. Microbial benefits extend way beyond the gut even and they are key in stimulating the immune response of the body. They also discourage pathogenic bacteria in their presence. Eating just a little fermented food everyday such as kimchi, sauerkraut, artisan cheese and kombucha is sure to increase your gut microbial community!
Blog Recipe Posts
Jalapeno and Orange Hot Sauce
About:This recipe combines beautifully hot jalapeno with zesty and sweet orange. A delicious condiment that I use on EVERYTHING. Jalapenos are great as they aren’t too hot but add depth of flavour. And the parsely adds a great freshness. You’ll want to make lots as this will go fast. Usually hot sauces have vinegar in…
Festive Spiced Mead
About:This is a wonderful warming Christmas fermented drink that is great to enjoy with family and friends during the festive season. It uses the classic festive spices of all spice, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. It will for sure put you in the Christmas spirit. It would make a lovely thoughtful gift too! In a previous…
Korean Kimchi
About: Kimchi globally has become one of the most popular kinds of fermented foods and it originally comes from Korea. It has its roots dating back to the Goryeo Kingdom in 918 AD. A study from the World Institute of Kimchi found that Koreans eat on average 25 kg of kimchi annually. There are officially…
Beetroot Kvass
About:Kvass is a liquid infusion commonly of rye bread, root vegetables and fruits. It’s slavic in origin with the root of the word meaning to ‘make sour’. It’s drunk as a powerful health tonic and for its great taste! This kvass recipe uses a beetroot water infusion. You get the wonderful rich and earthy taste…
Elderflower and Lemon Summer Mead
About:May to mid-June is a wonderful time to go out and pick elderflower flowers. The tree can be easily identified having oval shaped leaves, fissured bark and an umbrella of sweet scented white-yellow flower cover. I best enjoy this more as a fresh and fizzy summer drink rather than very alcoholic. The floral sweetness of…
Fermented Chilli Sauce
About:For this chilli sauce recipe I used the mildest type of red chillies I could find as I prefer my hot sauce a bit like a ketchup where I can use lots of it and not have it too hot. In traditional hot sauce one uses vinger to give it acidity and to help preserve…
Homemade Fermented Baked Beans
About:As a kid my absolute favourite thing was baked beans on toast. However later in life I’ve steered away from baked beans as they normally contain a lot of sugar. This recipe is my take on baked beans using butter beans instead of soya and without any added sugar. The cherry tomatoes gives a natural…
Sauerkraut with Carrot and Apple
About:Sauerkraut is a german word meaning ‘sour herb’, it is made with cabbage and is perhaps the most well known type of vegetable ferment. Some say it was originally brought to Europe by the Mongol Emporer Ghenghis Khan. In it’s simplest form Sauerkraut is cabbage and salt. However there are many delicious variations, this being…
Brined Courgette and Green Bean Ferment
About:This ferment uses a brine solution as the base. I had some green beans that were going bad, fermenting is a wonderful way to prolong the life of your vegetables. I found the sour crunch you got from biting into the green beans very satisfying. I can nibble on these all day. The salt is…
Grated Pumpkin and Carrot Ferment
About:A warming winter ferment with a kick. The finely grated pumpkin and carrot gives it almost like a pate texture once fermentated making it great to have on toast. It would also serve as a great side dish, notably with fish cakes. As with all ferments, adding salt helps to create the right selective environment…
Creative Fermentation 