Fermenting Classes April and May 2013

I am teaching a few fermenting classes in April and May.  Classes will cover 4 basic groups of fermentation;  milk kefir, beverages including kombucha, water kefir and whey fermentation, grain soaking or sourdough and vegetable ferments.  Classes will take about 1 1/2 hours.  Most are with Real Foods Market.

Wednesday, March 27, at 1 pm  at the Orem, Real Foods Market  800 N. 400 West.

Thursday, April 4th at the Heber City store, Real Foods Market at 6:30...475 West 910 So.

Tuesday, April 9th evening at 7  at Tina Crowder's home in Orem 451 N. 950 East

Friday and Saturday May 3rd and 4th at the UVVU Events Center, Emergency Family Preparedness and Gun Show...I .will have a booth and be demonstrating kefir  and selling starters.

Thursday, May 30 at 6:30  at the Orem, Real Foods Market  800 N. 400 West.

Don't Use Coconut oil for Sourdough Bread

I have finally noticed that when my sourdough bread doesn't rise, in other words, fails, it seems to be because I used coconut oil in the dough instead of olive oil or butter or ghee.  Coconut oil really does kill microbes....it must be killing off the natural yeasts in the dough.  I have better outcome with the other fats.  Just a warning, maybe something to this maybe not.

BEET KVASS revisited

See that big bottle with beets in it?  That was first ferment with cut up beets, 5-6 med sized ones, washed and partially peeled and cut into 1" cubes or chunks.  I also added about a 4 inch piece of ginger sliced and not peeled.   I like the taste of ginger with beets.  You don't want to release too much beet juice the first ferment or lactobacilli will make alcohol instead of lactic acid and the other good stuff.  This first ferment at the end of 5 days, is very thick like blood which it resembles because it is a liver tonic, a liver and blood cleanser.  In a 1/2 gallon jar like the one in the picture, I use almost 2 TBS of Real Salt to help the ferment and keep the bad bacteria from growing.  So when you pour off the first ferment, you may want to dilute the juice up to 50/50 with chlorine-free water and drink about 8 ounces twice a day.  It will clean out your bowels too.

Second ferment;  Chop up the beet cubes to release more juice....like one cube cut twice.  Fill with chlorine-free water and add more salt but not as much this time....1 1/2 TBS salt and let ferment another 5 days at room temperature.  This second ferment is thinner but still effective.

Third ferment:  After I pour off the second ferment water, I take the beets and ginger pieces and put into my food processor with more chlorine-free water and process.  Now all the juice that is possible is out.  I also add about 1/3 cup kefir whey to this last ferment just to be sure of getting enough lactobacilli into the juice to consume the sugar.  I add only 1 TBS salt to ferment and again allow it to ferment 5 more days.

When I pour that off, I throw the beet mass onto the compost pile since there is very little nutrition left in it.

The 1 liter jar with air lock to the right is my turnip ferment and the quart jar to the left has rutabaga in it.  The rutabaga turned out to be too chewy and crunchy, the turnips are just right.  

Fermenting Class in Buhl Idaho

Saturday, March 2 in Buhl, Idaho.  My husband, Perry and I were invited to Buhl to teach a class in fermenting foods.  It was a long way to go from Orem, Utah but sooooo worth it.  What wonderful people up there....so generous and curious and great questions!   I loved all of it and meeting so many intelligent, and interesting people.  Thank you all for coming!  I hope to go up there again in a few months and teach another class on a related subject.  It was a fine event.  If any of you want to talk to me and ask question, please use the phone number on my green  card or email me.....also on green card or up at the top in my header.