It would be ok to get the fermentation started However after a few days it needs to go in the fridge, as it will not produce a good quality at those high temps - it might go very soft and not very nice tasting if you are not careful (=extra clean). Until it ferments properly it's only the salt that keeps it from going off, so a cooler fermentation is more likely to produce a good result. Give it a try with a small amount - one jar full - and see how it works.
buzzy110,
Aug 18, 9:01pm
You have a Nourishing Traditions book. I was looking for ways to ferment fruits, preferably without it turning to alcohol, and I came across this book. I think I will buy one. Now I am not sure what you are doing with all that milk but you have to remember that it is impossible to get 'raw' milk in NZ unless you live on a farm. All our milk is pastuerised without exception. Getting whey is easy though. Just buy some plain, unsweetened yoghurt. (I like Clearwaters organic full cream yoghurt which sells in the South Island. Just put it into a sieve lined with a handitowel, over a bowl and put in the fridge over night. By morning your yoghurt will have separated into whey and curds (called Greek yoghurt or yoghurt cheese).
buzzy110,
Aug 18, 9:06pm
Take heart rachee. Your starter probably isn't dead. If it seems to be doing nothing just either put it in the fridge for about 5-7 days and look at it again or throw half away, feed it and leave till it shows signs of life. Believe me it will. I went through the same thing. At certain stages it just slows right down but it will return. The best thing is to do very little and give the yeast a chance to start multiplying. Like I said in my sour dough posts, it takes ages to get a stable culture. Even now, when I just use a tblspn of starter to make my next batch it takes ages to multiply and get another colony going.
buzzy110,
Aug 18, 9:15pm
valima. Those temps are excellent for starting your sauerkraut (as uli has said). My instructions are: 1. Make sauerkraut and leave at room temp (20-22dC for 2-3 days to get it fermenting. 2. When fermentation has started move to about 15-18dC for a bout 4-6 weeks. 3. After that store somewhere cool at around 5-15dC. My house too is naturally very warm, even through winter, but I do have a cool side, which fortunately has an unused bathroom so I store my kraut in there. Have you got a cool room?
buzzy110,
Aug 18, 9:20pm
Cont... I can't suggest anything practical for you to do if you are making yours in bulk instead of jars. One website I visited suggested storing in plastic bags in the fridge or freezer. I usually start eating mine at about 4 four weeks. It is interesting to observe though, that there is not much reason to have sauerkraut over summer as there are so many other things to eat and it was traditionally a way to ensure there were vegetables to eat through the harsh European winters when no vegetables grew and there was no such thing as importation. You may like to ponder that.
uli,
Aug 19, 6:09am
buzzy110 - I think vailima1 may reside in Rarotonga.
uli,
Aug 19, 7:44am
buzzy110 - do you know the book "Wild fermentation" by Sandor Ellix Katz? I bought it from fishpond a couple of years ago. Very expensive but well worth it. Excellent research, refreshing to read and there is lots of things to try out and also lots of references at the end of each chapter to go and read further. The foreword is by Sally Fallon - author of "Nourishing Traditions".
Hi uli. Yes I have seen that offer on fishpond as well. And no, sadly, I haven't got any books on fermentation but I guess, that soon I will have to add some to my collection if I am to continue to be involved. Luckily for me the internet has been a rich source of practical help, even if it is not exactly theoretical. In fact, I doubt I would have been able to do anything that I am doing now in that department if it wasn't for the internet.
buzzy110,
Aug 20, 12:09am
In fact, all this experimenting with wild yeasts and fermenting has given me a wild idea about how I can improve my garden health and get rid of weeds, other than throw them out. I got to thinking about the Japanese practice of Bokashi and in my mind I connected it up to whey (lactic) fermentation so the other day I saved all the weeds from my vege patch that I had pulled out, mulched them through the lawnmower and squashed them into a bucket with a whey and water starter and put the airtight lid on. I am curious to see how it turns out. If it does nothing but kill the weeds and start to break them down so I can put them back into my garden, I'll be rapt. I'll let you know if I get fizzy weeds. lol.
buzzy110,
Aug 20, 12:13am
And yes, before you start in on composting, I have huge problems with that. First my husband insists on doing the compost heap but he won't use a recipe or proper techniques so all he produces is improperly processed mush with still active seeds and an incorrect ph balance. So instead of helping my garden it kills it and overruns it with weeds. That is why I am starting something for myself and seeing how it turns out.
uli,
Aug 20, 12:58am
Your fermented weeds are exactly what you can put into your compost heap - cause that is the best compost starter ever. I discovered it by accident over 30 years ago :) You will still get weed seeds - but that is no concern to me as I like weeding. It is very to see the food plants emerge and to have lots of weeds to feed to the compost pile :)
buzzy110,
Aug 20, 5:38am
And here I was thinking I had an original thought! I'm going to make a trench and bury my first bucket once it has fermented, just like they say to do with bokashi. I have also gone and bought a bokashi starter today and will see how that compares. It says to use veg scraps but they all go into my worm farm and I can't be bothered doing bokashi then putting into the worm farm so I'm going to use lawnmower mulched weeds or even lawn clippings.
winnie15,
Aug 20, 6:39am
what are the positives of fermenting foods? this thread is interesting.
uli,
Aug 20, 9:36am
there are a lot of health claims attached to fermented foods. However the original thought was preservation of bulk food harvested in summer and autumn for the leaner winter and especially the early spring months when one works so hard in the garden - yet there is hardly anything to harvest and the body gets tired so quickly.
has anyone tried kombucha mothers for that drink? .. Uli what will you use the lemons for once they're done fermenting?
uli,
Aug 20, 9:56pm
you can use the lemons as a side dish to curries and such and you can also whizz them up with chilli and garlic and parsley (or coriander or basil) for a lovely sauce to go with fish. Of course all fermented foods need a bit of getting used to.
buzzy110,
Aug 21, 1:43am
I put down jars of preserved lemons last year and am still ploughing my way through them. At first I didn't know how to use them but I have since found I can use them in everything. No special recipes, just throw them into stews (casseroles) and soups, onto fish, into fish, into chickens when roasting, mushed up and rubbed over lamb with other marinade ingredients, into marinades, in fact anywhere you want a lemony flavour. Of course if you have a tagine then that is what they were made for but I don't need anymore cooking 'pots'. They say to throw away the flesh and use the skins but I just use it all with no detrimental effects whatsoever.
buzzy110,
Aug 21, 1:49am
winnie. To answer your question about benefits I have just referred back to my issue of Organics NZ. It says 1. Preserves food without refrigeration. (though of course you have to refrigerate!). 2. Breaks down substances that are hard to digest (i.e. lactose and casein in milk - yoghurt). 3. Frees up many nutrients, especially minerals, that would otherwise be chemically locked away and would not be absorbable. 4. Have more enzymes that aid digestion and nutrient absorption because they are still raw foods.
buzzy110,
Aug 21, 1:53am
Benefits cont... 5. Are probiotic super-foods, restoring and maintaining healthy flora in the gut, which leads to greater nutrient assimilation. 6. Can help heal ADHD, allergies, candidiasis, chronic fatigue, cholesterol imbalance, depression, diabetes and disorders of the intestine - colitis, leaky gut, reflux, and the list goes on. (Skeptical about #6 but everything helps)
buzzy110,
Aug 21, 1:58am
Benefits cont... Aside from all those there are things like savings and convenience. For the grand total of about $25 I have supplied my family with nutritious, prepared vegetables for lunches and some dinners and still have heaps to get me through Spring. I have not had to purchase any further salad greens. It has cost me nothing in terms of power usage of stove and freezer and glass bottle packaging is reusable so I'm saving the planet. The crock has no packaging waste at all.
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