Seven local fermenters presented on a panoply of strange but supposedly delicious concoctions at a virtual event on Thursday. Demonstrating with glass jars, vats, yogurt makers and other devices for fermenting things like cabbage and tea, the presenters explained how to make the commonplace—sauerkraut and kimchi—and the obscure—beet kvass, ginger bug and natto.
“My favorite thing about fermentation is being a mad scientist in the kitchen,” said Molly Sturdevant, who shared her tips on fermented beverages, like rhubarb soda, and gluten-free sourdough.
Fermentation occurs when microbes break down carbohydrates into alcohol or organic acids. Fermenting preserves food and adds flavor. It also has health benefits: fermented foods, like yogurt, have probiotic bacteria that help digestion. Takshanuk Watershed Council and the Mosquito Lake Victory Garden hosted the Thursday event.
“No matter what you’re fermenting, there are certain things you need to pay attention to,” like temperature and time, Sturdevant said.
But in some ways, Sturdevant noted, fermenting is more of an art than a science. If there was one overarching message Thursday night, it was: don’t be afraid to experiment and mess up.
“I experimented this last batch with adding turmeric because I thought, ‘Oh that sounds really healthy, and that’ll probably be really good,’” presenter Erika Merklin said, referring to a recent batch of kimchi. “I would give it two thumbs down. I don’t particularly like it. But now I have five gallons of it. So I’m going to learn to love it.”
Laurie Mastrella described “one total failure” while fermenting peppers for a thai hot pepper sauce. “I think it was from using slightly under-ripe peppers. It was inedible and bitter.”
But when she found success: “It was incredibly delicious and incredibly simple.”
Demonstrating, Mastrella indeed made the sauce look simple: chop peppers; put them in a jar with a generous teaspoon of salt for each cup of water; press a smaller jar on top to make sure the peppers are submerged; and let the briny peppers sit for four or five days. “When I like it, it’s done,” Mastrella said. Adding honey and apple cider vinegar after the peppers have fermented can help balance the spice.
Some presenters showed off their final fermented mixtures. “It looks gross, but it’s really delicious,” Jill Evans said, displaying a glass jar filled with a murky light-brown liquid: kombucha, a fermented tea.
Don Hotch offered his thoughts on natto and miso, both involving fermented soybeans. He said natto, perhaps like many other fermented foods, is an acquired taste.
“It gets really filmy, stringy, slimy,” Hotch said. “It’s delicious. It smells like, um — it smells like stinky cheese.”
A recording of the event can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUXK88ZTuJA.