Milk Kefir

Kefir grains, a microscopic workforce ready for action.

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“Why do we have to have things growing on the counters… all the time?”

This is a rather common question in my home as I am constantly fermenting food and drink. I have developed a passion for it. I have developed a passion for the flavor and nutritional benefits of fermented foods as well.

 

 

Fresh milk with kefir grains just added (on the left); mature kefir (on the right).

 

My latest project is kefir. Kefir is a specific type of fermented milk. For those that are turned off by the idea of “fermented milk”, just remember that cheese and yogurts are also cultured (i.e. fermented) milk products.

The key to producing kefir is the use of kefir grains. These “grains” are really a complex community of bacteria and yeast that live together in a mutually beneficial, community-built and maintained matrix of proteins, fats, and sugars. The grains resemble small florets of cauliflower. This group of organisms are sometimes called a SCOBY (Symbiotic Community Of Bacteria and Yeast). Kefir grains contain well over a dozen different species in varying proportions depending on the source and circumstances of growth.

Making milk kefir is simple. Fresh milk is added to a jar with a small amount of kefir grains. 6-48 hours later, depending on how sour you like it, the grains are strained out to be used for another batch, and the resulting Kefir is used as desired.

Kefir reminds me of a thin yogurt. If it is left to sit longer (about 48 hours), it develops a stronger, more sour, flavor that reminds me more of a stronger cheese… a bit like blue cheese or Roquefort. If only fermented for 6-12 hours, it is like a very mild yogurt.
 

Kefir-stuffed tomatoes over mixed salad greens... with a Hofbrauhaus beer on the side!

Traditionally, milk kefir is used as a drink. To be honest, I am not crazy about drinking it. It’s just a bit too much. But I do use it in a lot of my meals. Here are some examples:

• Straight as a salad dressing
• As a cooling dip (like blue cheese) for spicy grilled chicken (Thai and Indian) or wings
• Mixed with herbs and spooned into tomato halves
• Mixed with another cheese (I’ve tried Havarti, Gouda, and Cheddar) and used as an omelet filling
• As a replacement for yogurt in any savory dish that you do not need the thicker consistency of yogurt (I’ve used it in soups and Indian dishes)

Milk kefir is easy to make. Easy to maintain. Easy to use. Has a great flavor. On top of that, it introduces plenty of beneficial microbes to you gastrointestinal tract. I highly encourage everyone to give it a try.

Book Review: The Art of Fermentation

The Art of Fermentation

 

 

Who is Sandor Katz? If you wanted to blame one person in the U.S. who brought about a revival in home fermentation, then he is the man. I wrote a review about Sandor Katz’s first book, Wild Fermentation, last year. If you want to know a whole lot more about Katz, his personal life, philosophy, and love of fermented foods, you can read this book. It is a good book with a lot of recipes.

However, The Art of Fermentation, is a great book, and it contains virtually no recipes. Almost everyone is familiar with the old saying, Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. His first book had a lot of fish giving (and to be fair it had a decent dose of teaching), but his latest book is a veritable fishing clinic. And just so we don’t get too lost in the analogy, let me say it clearly: The Art of Fermentation is the most comprehensive book on fermenting foods available today; It teaches the what and why of fermentation so that a person can go out and ferment any food.

The natural question then arises, “Why would I want to ferment food?”

Fermentation has been used throughout the world to preserve foods without refrigeration. I have homemade sauerkraut (fermented cabbage), beer (fermented grains), and melomel (fermented honey and fruit wine) at my house right now. And, to be honest, I also have one failed batch of pickles (fermented cucumbers) in my compost bin right now… I attribute the failure of this batch of pickles to my not following Sandor Katz’s suggestions on how to properly make them. I was trying to make do with what I had on hand, but that is another article I will soon write.

Fermentation has given people around the world the ability to feed themselves in lean times by preserving the bounty of the growing season. However, in many places in the world where electricity and refrigeration are now an underappreciated luxury, fermented foods are still made because they taste so good. Fermentation also can make food more nutritious and can make some foods edible that are inedible in its raw state.

I am a huge fan of fermented and fermenting foods. If you have a general interest in this, then I recommend Wild Fermentation, but if you have a desire to understand, to learn, and to be creative in your own fermentation recipes, then you must read The Art of Fermentation.
 

My New Sauerkraut

My new sauerkraut

I wish my good computer was working so I could color correct this photo. This kraut almost glows in the dark it is so bright pink, and the taste is fantastic!

I recently wrote about my first attempt at making sauerkraut. That sauerkraut was good, but the kraut I made next was really, really good. It was made with one head of green cabbage, one head of red cabbage, one apple, one tablespoon of caraway seeds, and about three tablespoons of salt. I let it ferment for about 5 days at room temperature, it gave a moderate amount of bubbling, and turned a brilliant, bright pink. The taste is amazing. Perfectly sour. Tart but not overpowering. Subtle sweetness and with a hint of caraway. I love it. If you like sauerkraut, then give this one a try.

Making Sauerkraut

 Sauerkraut just waiting to be made!

I have to be honest. When I was a kid, sauerkraut was one of the most disgusting things I ever could imagine eating. My dad would eat it on occasion, but I could barely stand the sight of it let alone the smell. Now I was a fairly picky eater. This was partially my own fault, but it was partially how we ate as a family. We ate pretty healthy foods, but we did not eat a wide variety of foods. If my mom would have brought in a bunch of new foods, the chances of us eating them would have been awfully slim.

Fast forward a few decades and I eat everything. I started trying new foods on a regular basis after I started living on my own and started cooking for myself. Now there is not really any food or drink that I will not eat. Well, I take that back. Goat head stew. That is one meal I will never eat... again. I did eat it once, and that was enough. So other than goat head stew, I will eat anything.

I decided to try sauerkraut again a few years ago when I was in Germany. I thought that if anyone could make sauerkraut the right way, if there was any chance that I would overcome my sauerkraut aversion, than it would have to be in Germany. Sauerkraut was offered in every restaurant and deli that I entered. With so many people eating sauerkraut so often, I needed to see what I had been missing. As it turns out, I was missing a lot. There are hundreds of varieties of sauerkraut, all with that characteristic and wonderful sour, tangy flavor which turns out to be the product of lactic acid fermentation.

After getting settled here in the Azores, I finally got up the nerve to try my hand at making sauerkraut. I ferment beer and apple cider, why not cabbage?

As it so happens, making sauerkraut is extremely simple. All you really need is some cabbage and some salt. That's it. I made mine slightly more complicated by adding carrots and onion. The photo at the top shows everything I used.

So here it is. This is the method I used:

1. Chop cabbage up into 1/8-1/4 inch ribbons (like you are making cole slaw).
2. Chop the onions the same way - I chopped my even thinner
3. Shred the carrots
4. Sprinkle on some salt - roughly 3 tablespoons is what I used for 2 heads of cabbage
5. Put everything into a large bowl
6. Mash it all up with your hands... I mean really grab some handfuls and squeeze the juice out of it, literally. Just crush it as much as you can over and over and over, mixing everything up as you go.
7. Eventually, you will be accumulating fluid at the bottom of the bowl, this is the goal, this is your natural "brine"
8. Put the cabbage mixture and brine into a crock or large mouth jar.
9. Press the cabbage down firmly and repeatedly until the brine covers the mix.
10. Place a smaller plate or lid on top of the cabbage to keep it covered.
11. Place a weight of some sort (jar of water, ziplock bag of water, clean rock, etc.) on top of the plate. This keeps the cabbage all submerged under the brine.
12. Taste it every few days. You'll need to repack the sauerkraut everytime you take out a sample, but this takes less than a minute.

The first few days, this sauerkraut was not great. It wasn't bad, but it tasted more like a soggy coleslaw. Then within about a week, the fermentation really got going. There was a layer of frothy bubbles pouring out from the sides of the plate I was using to keep the cabbage submerged. Underneath was a tangy, crunchy, pretty darn good sauerkraut. I am really excited to see how this matures over the next few weeks to months.

Basics of Lactic Acid Fermentation

Sauerkraut is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to lactic acid fermented foods.

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What is Lactic Acid Fermentation, and why would we want to know anything about it?

Here's a scientific definition:
Lactic Acid Fermentation is a biological process by which sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose are converted into cellular energy, and the metabolic byproduct Lactate is formed.

So, that's a bit of a mouthful, and not very useful for the non-scientists among us.

How about this definition:
Lactic Acid Fermentation is a process used to store foods (mostly vegetables) long term without using heat, cold, or preservatives, yet retains the nutritional value and original freshness of the food.

Okay, that is better. 

Pickles made the original way... far superior in flavor in my opinion.

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So what are Lactic Acid Fermented Foods?
Ever had Sauerkraut? Kimchi? Old-fashioned Pickles? Olives? Yogurt? Sourdough bread?
These are all examples of common foods produced through Lactic Acid Fermentation.

How about Magou? Kefir? Laban Zeer? Nham? Balao Balao? Gundruk? Sinki?
Yeah, I've never tried these foods either, but I hope to one day.

Here is a traditional Nepalese meal made with Grundruk... lactic acid fermented leafy greens.

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Why should we care about Lactic Acid Fermentation?  I have a few reasons:

1. It is relatively easy. Seriously. Fresh, clean vegetables. Salt. Maybe some water. And a little time.
2. It is pretty cheap. All you needs are the fresh foods and maybe a little salt and/or water. Food prices are rapidly increasing (see my article on the Rising Cost of Food), and the more food we can grow AND preserve will be money saved.
3. It preserves our food. When we have a bumper crop of vegetables from the garden, here is just another way to extend the shelf-life of that food. Much better than letting it go bad and (hopefully) just ending up in the compost pile.
4. It tastes good! This is a big priority to me. I'm not going to waste my time on something that doesn't taste good. I've only had a few foods that were make with traditional lactic acid fermentation. Most "modern day" foods that were once preserved through lactic acid fermentation are now made other ways (like vinegar preservation) or are killed by heating before storing (hot water canning). But the flavor of fresh yogurt, real sauerkraut, real pickles!  It is worth it, trust me.
5. It is healthy. More and more research is showing that these fermented foods may, in some cases, be healthier than the fresh food. Mineral content stays the same, but some vitamins increase. The bioavailability of the nutrients in the fermented foods can also increase... meaning, the nutrients found in these foods are more readily absorbed by our bodies after fermentation. Not to mention that the bacteria that ferment these foods end up in our gastrointestinal tract and improve our digestive processes, which also leads to improved absorption of foods, which leads to better health. Now to be fair, these foods may be fairly salty. Lactic Acid Fermented foods should be a part of a well-rounded diet, not the primary component.
6. It uses very little energy and resources. No heat from stoves. No electricity for refrigerators or freezers. Minimal water. Just the vegetables we grow and maybe some salt. That's it.
7. It provides yet another way for us to be a bit more self-sufficient. Even if food security is not on your radar, as it is mine, having the freedom of just a little more self-reliance is powerfully reassuring.

So, there you have it. That was my quick definition of Lactic Acid Fermentation and my reasons why I am a big fan of learning more about it.  I plan on posting some articles on my adventures making these foods in the near future.  Stay tuned.