Harriet, my friend and nutritional counselor, hosted a Fermentation Party yesterday. It was the best! We had all the equipment and ingredients for mustard, cortido, pickled cucumbers, and kimchee. Much of the ingredients were sourced from farms and farmers markets. The hot peppers were home-grown in the garden. For the cortido, Harriet selected a variety that has a lemony citrus flavor.
It was such a good idea to make it a social activity. I admit to having previously been intimidated by the extensive pounding recommended in Nourishing Traditions. I appreciated the availability of a nice food processor and a more spacious kitchen than my own, as well as the great company. The other attendees had a bit more fermenting experience than I, which was great for me. It didn’t seem like work, though I was tired at the end of the day. We must have worked for three to four hours. When we lined up all the colorful jars on the dining room table, we were all pretty darned pleased with ourselves. Besides the beautiful cortido with purple cabbage and lemony peppers, we had gingery kimchee, and emerald dill pickles. We tasted the mustard before jarring it and it is super potent, almost like a cross between Dijon and hot Chinese mustard. I made a batch of plain sauerkraut at the end with the leftover cabbage. I definitely got over my fear of pounding! Some leftover daikon radish from our kimchee recipe was subject to shredding and pickling, too. Finally, some impromptu hot dilly beans were packed in little jelly jars. I had wanted to adapt the vinegar-pickled ones I’d had recently, but I have no idea if they will lend themselves gracefully to a fermented format. Harriet’s husband, the hot-pepper aficionado, convinced me to put a couple slivers of the mighty ghost pepper in my jar. They’re much hotter than habaneros, maybe the hottest peppers in the world! We’ll see if the beans turn out edible.
I have been experimenting on my own a little lately too. I made my first batch of beet kvass, which is tasty. (My kombucha culture is on vacation right now in a jar in the fridge. I need to fruit-fly proof my rig before starting up again. ) I pickled the rind of a farm watermelon in the leftover brine from my very first pickles. I haven’t tried them yet. It’s easy to be experimental when you are using leftovers! Looking back on yesterday, though, I am especially grateful for the shared labor and cost that yielded such a variety of finished products in a single afternoon. It was a fun party, with unbeatable party-favors.
About the Author...
Audrey's first love is massage. She is currently a student of energy work but is always up for a new challenge on "earth school." Audrey works part-time in the food and wine industry and is in the process of re-evaluating her relationship to food. She strives, above all, to be authentic as she finds her own way to health.
Sep 24th, 2009 at 1:14 am
Audrey
What a great idea!!
The first thing that intrigues me is your quest to deal with your health issues. I am having so many health problems in this stage of life called perimenopause. I know I need to be a bit more proactive in dealing with it via my eating, but I’m getting so much contradictory advice, I’m not sure of my next step.
I’ve been wanting to try making fermented foods for a while now, but I’m so nervous about messing it up & not quite sure how to go about it, even after reading Nourishing Traditions. First question, where did you source your jars for this? I searched for ages for wide-mouthed mason jars & I sort of gave up looking, which is probably why I never got around to actually doing it…terrible excuse, I know. Secondly, where do you live? I only ask as I’m just wondering if you know anyone in Sydney that knows about fermenting. It would be great to find someone in my area who actually knows what they’re doing & can help! However, just finding the jars would be a great first step for me…I might then actually give it a burl & do some experimenting of my own. Any suggestions on where I can find the jars? Thanks.
Joanna
Sep 24th, 2009 at 1:39 am
Hi Audrey
I’ve only just read your other blogs & realised you are not in Australia…but I’m really enjoying what I’m reading anyway, so thanks for sharing your journey with all of us…it’s inspirational , & I feel a little more determined to get on top of my health problems instead of allowing the disillusionment I’ve been experiencing to get on top of me!
Joanna
Sep 28th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Hi Joanna, Thanks for your kind words. I have been slack about writing lately, but am starting to get re-motivated! I suppose finding mason jars in the U.S. is comparatively easy. Any old fashioned hardware store has canning supplies here. Good luck. It really helped to have a group and to share equipment. I am still enjoying the fruits of my labor!!!! Still, I was intimidated before I started. Having done it once, I can see that assembling the materials is the hardest part (thought the pounding is what scared me initially, it’s not so bad. the cabbage actually yeilded enough juice to my surprise.)
Sep 29th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Hi Joanna,
You might be able to source good wide-mouth mason fermenting jars at secondhand shops or opshops, or Mum’s/auntys are good for these supplies!
Check your Sydney WAP chapter leader for help with fermenting.
Feb 7th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
would you share your mustard recipe? Never thought about fermenting/making my own. thanks.
John
Feb 18th, 2010 at 6:09 am
Does anyone have any contacts to groups meeting to ferment together on the sunshine coast queensland?? I am up around Kin Kin and would love to connect with others for a local fermenting party.
Mar 10th, 2010 at 9:37 am
For John, here is the mustard recipe From Nourishing Traditions.
1 1/2 cup ground mustard seed, 1/2 cup filtered water, 2 tbsp whey, 2 tsp sea salt, juice of 1 lemon, 2 cloves garlic mashed (optional), 1 tbsp honey (optional), 2 tbsp whole mustard seeds. Mix together all the above ingredientsplave in small jars ensuring that the top of the mustard is at least 1 inch below the lid. keep covered tightly at room temperature for three days before transferring into the fridge. Depending on the source of your spice, this can be really potent! If you do not have access to whey, strain a good quality yogurt through a coffee filter overnight in the fridge and collect the juice; that’s the whey!