[caljim]

After some health concerns I started doing research on fermented and cultured foods.

Foods like Kim-Chi and Saurkraut which will naturally ferment in a brine.

And foods like Yogurt, Kefir, or vegatables that use a dairy base to start the fermentation.

Unlike the processed and pasteurized foods at the grocery store, these fermented foods are alive with the microorganisms that make the food we eat more available to us.

I started a simple red cabbage ferment and it should be ready by the end of the week.

If you would like some more info on fermented foods heres a video on making a simple vegetable ferment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i77hU3zR-fQ

AND heres a link to a very informative website on fermented foods( check the resources tab):https://www.wildfermentation.com/links.php

Now if your all ready making these great foods, please share your recipes and experiences here.

I'm off to hunt down some Kefir grains and get a batch of cabbage and carrots going.

[maryjohn]

I used to make a kind of fermented japanese pickle called nukazuke.

warning, you have to be home all the time, or have someone who can babysit the jar.

[caljim]

I googled a recipe for it. I like the method, with the rice bran, I will have to keep an eye out for some. The simplicity of the vegetable ferments is what has helped me get started so quickly. Everything except for the cabbage was all ready here.

[zoidb3rg]

sounds good, love sauerkraut and yoghurt, not generally together though that could be interesting :P

[Trichgnomes]

I used to make a few fermented drinks, I've been thinking about getting back into it. I was given some Kefir grains a couple years ago and starting making it with some locally produced cow's milk. It was ok, but the taste seemed a bit off. I could not come close to keeping up with the volume, because I was the only one consuming it as my housemates at the time wanted nothing to do with it. It takes anywhere from 24-48 hours to finish, although if leaving it on the longer side it would tend to have too high of an alcohol content, as well as too high of a yeast to bacteria ratio. I went away for a couple of days and sort of spaced on the grains and killed them.
A year or so later I started making this drink called Tibicos (also refered to as water Kefir). The microorganisms are similar to that of a kefir culture, however the SCOBY feed off of fructose and sucrose as oppose to glucose. I had it going for a while and it tasted great, I felt awesome, and was experimenting with different types of fruit. However things got hectic when moving and I abandon the colony.
I attached a word doc with some basic info/recipe.

So I've been thinking about making milk kefir again, as well as yogurt, because we have a really close source of pasture raised raw, organic cow's milk. They are grass fed most of the year and given hay and alfalfa in the winter. I was using pasteurized homogenized milk when I made it last time, and I have a feeling it would be a lot better with this amazing milk we've been getting.

If anyone is interested in the benefits of raw milk, check out realmilk.com where there is a plethora of information about health concerns, legal issues, and where it is obtainable in the state you live in.

I have a question for any of those who have made yogurt. The people we buy milk from also make yogurt, and they pasteurize the milk first. I have read that this is done so the beneficial microbes already present in the milk do not try to outcompete the lactobacillus acidophilus in the starter culture. Supposedly it makes for a more consistent product. We just started feeding our dog a homemade raw food diet and (not very surprisingly, considering the systemic nature of things, all of which become more and more apparent when one seeks the meaning of biodynamics, organics, Japanese nature farming, etc.) it calls for either yogurt or kefir, to stimulate the already present microbes living in his intestinal tract.
I'm going to start making either yogurt or kefir again, most likely yogurt because that's what the humans of the house tend to prefer. Any thoughts on if I should used raw or pasteurized milk? If the latter, I would probably just buy it raw and heat it myself, as to keep it free from homogenization (which I think is a bit sketchy but that can be saved for another rant).

[Sleepy]

i like the kim-chee...

nice and spicy!!

never much cared for yogurt; milk; kefir, etc.

sourdough bread is yummy, too!

[Capt.Ahab]

Kombucha.
I drink it all the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha

[caljim]

All right, I'm getting some milk kefir grains from a friend of a friend in about a week. just waiting for his to multiply a bit more.

Man that kumbucha is an interesting drink, I will have to do some more research on that. It seems like real deep end of the pool stuff.

Good info on the realmilk.com site

Cant wait to get that Kefir going.

Don't forget the so famous japanese fermented soybeans Natto, smelly but seriously healthy.