Fermentation

[YetiDave]

I recently tried to get some chilli and garlic paste fermenting as I had an excess amount of Thai chillis to use up. Turns out that adding a bit of my sourdough culture to the paste did the trick and I now have a jar of bubbling chilli and garlic that smells like kimchi and has a definite sour twang to it.

I think I might've accidentally given myself a new culinary interest as I'm now thinking about making kimchi and sauerkraut and I just jarred up a couple of sliced onions in a sugar and salt brine along with a blob of sourdough starter to see what happens.

Does anyone else dabble in this? I often have excess veggies lying around and fermentation seems like a great way to store them long term, with added health and flavour benefits

 

[DCRIII]

Question for you. Is fermentation the same thing as pickling? In either case I'd like to try what you did. Sounds good.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

I would like to see this too. In the meantime everyone is welcomed to a pickled egg.

Spoiler

 

[YetiDave]

Yeah it's basically the same thing only you're relying on the lactobactillus present in the sourdough culture to form the acid, instead of adding vinegar. It'll also give a different flavour to your final product as well as being very good for your gut it almost seems too easy to do, so I'm waiting for something to go wrong!

 

[Edcculus]

I love all kinds of fermented foods. I just got a big ceramic crock from my inlaws that I plan on doing some sauerkraut in soon. I also make Kombucha tea which is really delicious.

 

[The Mick]

I do milk kefir. I sometimes make a cream cheese out of it and I use the extracted whey to ferment homemade mayo ect so it lasts longer.

 

[oc_in_fw]

I know Jim has posted a homemade sauerkraut recipe before.

 

[soccerguy83]

I have butchered sauerkraut three times now, I think I'm done trying to do it myself.

 

[YetiDave]

I am wondering why very few others (unless my Google-Fu is weak) have transplanted a sourdough culture when it comes to fermenting. As far as I'm aware it's the same kind of culture you're aiming for in fermented veggies and it certainly seems to be doing the job. However it did take a couple of days to fully come to life, whereas feeding my starter maybe takes just a couple of hours before I'm seeing bubbles. Maybe this is an error I'll learn from, but I'm confident at the moment

I knew there were health benefits in terms of bacteria from fermented goods, but I didn't know until today that it can actually increase the nutritional value of food. For once, a cooking interest that may be wholly healthy

 

[Edcculus]

I think there is merit in using a starter culture for fermented foods. Is certainly be more comfortable knowing the right stuff has taken hold instead of worrying about mold for a few days.

 

[Osborn Cox]

I would like to see this too. In the meantime everyone is welcomed to a pickled egg.

Spoiler

View attachment 585691

Aaron, are those chunks of sausage in with the eggs? If so, you are an evil genius. I've done pickled eggs and pickled ring Bologna before, but never at the same time.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

Aaron, are those chunks of sausage in with the eggs? If so, you are an evil genius. I've done pickled eggs and pickled ring Bologna before, but never at the same time.

Bob, I took that photo off the internet. Didn't notice the sausage in there....now we're on to something. I've never made them before. I've eaten pickled quail eggs though...they are divine.

 

[Osborn Cox]

Bob, I took that photo off the internet. Didn't notice the sausage in there....now we're on to something. I've never made them before. I've eaten pickled quail eggs though...they are divine.

Never had pickled quail eggs before, bite size, eat them by the handful like popcorn. Every local dive bar in this area has jars of pickled eggs, turkey gizzards, sausage and pigs feet behind the bar. One of each is a well balanced meal.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

Aaron, are those chunks of sausage in with the eggs? If so, you are an evil genius. I've done pickled eggs and pickled ring Bologna before, but never at the same time.

I found the recipe for the picture:

Description

After scouring the internet (to no avail) looking for a good recipe for pickled eggs and/or pickled sausage, I came up with this recipe. It took a lot of trial and error. These are wicked addictive and easy!
You can leave out the crushed red pepper flakes, but even with it, these are not hot. They make incredibly good egg salad, too!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Linguica Links, Cut Into 1" Pcs.
• 30 whole Hard Boiled Eggs, Free Range
• 1 whole Onion, Sliced Lengthwise
• 4 teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• _____
• FOR THE BRINE:
• ½ cups Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Mustard Seed
• 1 Tablespoon Fennel Seed
• 1 Tablespoon Coriander Seed
• 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
• 4 cups Cider Vinegar
• 2 cups White Vinegar
• 1 cup Water
• 4 whole Bay Leaves
• 5 whole Star Anise

Preparation

Mix brine ingredients in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil to dissolve everything and then remove from heat and cool.
Bring a pot of water to boil and cook linguica slices for 5 minutes to remove fat. Drain.
In four 1-quart mason jars; layer sliced onion, eggs and linguica until the jar is full. Cover the mixture with the brine and add 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes per jar and spoon in the leftover spices from the brine. Make sure each jar gets a star anise.
Refrigerate for at least a day. These are great within hours of making and they are very hard to stay out of.
The eggs make wicked good egg salad!
Keep refrigerated.

 

[Edcculus]

So those aren't fermented. They are just refrigerator or "fresh Pack" pickles.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

Sorry Dave for sort of hijacking the fermentation process with pickled eggs posts.

 

[YetiDave]

No worries! Fermentation's basically just natural pickling these onions seem to be fermenting much more slowly than the chilli/garlic paste, but I think they're getting there (no signs of mould at least!)

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

Some great books out there on th subject. I'm currently going through Bar Tartine which has some fermentation stuff in it and Mastering Fermentation. Both have a lot of things I want to do. I know a lot of of it is pretty basic but I want to dive into it a little heavy so I can stray from recipes a little more.