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February’s Preserving Challenge – Fermenting

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We are already almost done with month number two of Food In Jar’s Mastery Challenge for 2019. February’s challenge is fermenting, which I have to admit did not feel like it was going to be a huge stretch for me to take on. If you’ve visited my kitchen recently, you may notice that I have jars of kombucha, sourdough starter, and milk kiefer on the counter at any given time.

In order to take this challenge up a notch from my norm, I decided I would post this blog with some links and references for any of my readers who are interested in trying something new. As I go, I’ll add some photos of my creations.

Sourdough

I started the month by baking bread some no-knead sourdough breads. I use Breadtopia’s method, but another very successful teaching resource is King Arthur Flour’s crusty white bread. King Arthur’s method is especially good for those of you using white flour and instant yeast. I baked several loaves over a week-long period and shared the extra loaves with a few lucky friends.

If you are interested in owning a sourdough starter, you have three options. # 1 – find a friend and ask for some of their discard. Option 2 is to purchase starter from a site like King Arthur or Breadtopia. And option 3 is to make your own starter. I personally like the directions given at Breadtopia’s site.

Once you get into sourdough, you’ll have extra starter that you’ll need to use up. Try my Classic Sourdough Waffles (or Pancakes) for a light and fluffy waffle – you mix it up the night before and then it’s pretty much ready to go in the morning. Another personal favorite recipe of mine is my Sourdough English Muffins – it is just so satisfying to make these at home. I keep them in the freezer for morning egg sandwiches.

Kombucha


I promised myself that I would take the time this month to teach a few friends to make their own kombucha. These dear friends have been asking to take a kombucha lesson with me, but it’s been more talk than action. We changed that this month and they got started with their own home-brews.

To begin with kombucha, you need some starter liquid and a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). If you have a friend who brews kombucha, chances are good that they will have a SCOBY that they can share with you to get started. Another way is to order one from an on-line site or to track me down for a class.

If you are looking for more kombucha information, one of my favorite sites for learning about kombucha is Kombucha Camp. I also like a book called The Big Book of Kombucha by Krum and LaGory.

Sauerkraut

Fermented foods are the best. Enough said. I’m done here.

To make sauerkraut, it is as simple as slicing cabbage and adding salt. This is called “lactic-acid fermentation” in the pickling circles and is an amazing way to preserve foods – it’s tasty and healthy due to the probiotic formed as the foods ferment.

I have a bad habit of making a lot of my lacto-fermented foods such as pickles and kraut in the fall when my garden is over producing. But it is totally possibly to make these foods during other seasons. And considering the length of this winter, it may also be a good idea to be making kraut in February as it has high levels of vitamin C in addition to probiotics that help with gut health.

I like to make kraut in small batches in mason jars. Here is one of my favorite technique and recipe for a basic batch of kraut. I also like the Masontop line of small batch tools. You can find Masontop products in stores such as Big R. I also have some Masontop and Kraut Source products in my kitchen store (contact me for more info).

 

Peanut Butter & Pumpkin Dog Treats

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peanut butter pumpkin dog treatsWhy shouldn’t the furry members of our family eat as well as the rest of us? We recently added a new dog to our family and we did the standard purchasing of new toys and treats for him. But as I was looking at the fancy, locally made dog treats, I realized that I could make these myself and for a lot cheaper. Plus, no preservatives or anything funny going on here. The pumpkin and peanut butter are healthy for your dog and he’s going to love them.

These are actually pretty easy to make. Don’t be intimidated by rolling them out and using cookie cutters to make cute shapes. They roll out lots easier than people cookies, because they don’t have any fat in them. BUT, if you just can’t do the rolling out, you can roll the dough into a log and slice them to make round cookies. You can also make balls and smoosh them with the palm of your hand. There are lots of options here.

Because of the lack of preservatives, these will only keep on the counter for about 3-5 days. I store mine in a baggie in the freezer and pull them out as we need them.

The recipe is also pretty flexible – only 5 ingredients. You can eliminate the chia seeds or sub them out for flax seeds. You can also sub out the wheat flour, depending on your dog’s needs. My fancy grain-free treats from the store use chickpea and oat flours.

Peanut Butter & Pumpkin Dog Treats
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Your dog will love this super easy recipe for doggie treats.
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup of creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup of pumpkin puree
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 T chia seeds
  • 3 cups of whole wheat flour
Instructions
  1. In a stand mixer, combine the peanut butter and pumpkin puree. Scrape down bowl sides.
  2. Add eggs and beat.
  3. Add chia seeds and 2 1/2 cups of flour. Mix until combined. Add remaining flour by 1/4 cups until the mixture is good for rolling out (forms a nice ball that is not too sticky and doesn’t crumble apart).
  4. Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick, cut with cookie cutter of choice.
  5. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until slightly browned and as crispy as you (or fido) like.

 

Homemade Play Dough

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Finish product!

Finish product!

Homemade play dough is one of the few places that I still use white flour. No whole wheat play dough around here!

Anyway, we love this recipe. I can whip up a batch in a few minutes and my kids will sit at the counter and play happily for a few minutes while I work on dinner. I used to keep the play dough in the We keep it in a bag with the play dough toys and it

And don’t let the cream of tartar stop you from making this recipe. The cream of tarter helps give a nice smooth consistency and also helps a bit with shelf life. But if you don’t have any cream of tartar around, you can skip the cream of tartar.

Homemade Play Dough
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup of warm water
  • 1/3 cup of salt
  • 1 T oil
  • 2 t cream of tarter
  • food coloring
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a medium sized saucepan over medium low heat.
  2. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until it forms a ball around the spoon.
  3. Take off of heat and place dough on the counter.
  4. When dough is cool enough to handle knead the dough a few times until it is smooth.

 

Homemade Laundry Soap

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Posting about soap and cleaning is not my normal sort of recipe. But I do love my homemade laundry soap. I’m sure that many of you think I’m nuts for all of the things that I make instead of buy. With regards to homemade laundry soap, my main motivation is that I don’t like to waste money or resources. With four boys in our house, I do a lot of laundry. And the store bought detergent for a family of six, adds up quickly – even when you buy the cheap stuff. Then consider all of the plastic containers that liquid detergent comes in.

Our friends, Kevin and Lori, introduced me to this recipe years ago, and I’ve never looked back. I think it cleans just as well as the liquid stuff that I used to use. If you research homemade laundry soap recipes, you’ll find that recipes fall into two categories – powder and liquid. I use a powdered version, mainly because it is easier to make and store. I have also read that the Borax is activated by water, so it loses some of its potency when you make a liquid laundry soap.

I grate my soap pretty fine and then run it through the food processor using the sharp blade. Add a bit of the Borax and/or washing soda with the soap in the food processor and you’ll produce a fine powder. I’ve found that if I don’t get it very fine, some of the soap may not dissolve in cold water. Not a huge issue, just annoying to find little white specks of soap on your black shirt. The food processor fixes that issue.

When making this recipe, you can use pretty much any bar of soap. I am currently using Ivory soap, but have used Fels Naptha and Kirks Castile in the past. Kirks Castile has an unscented version, but it is pricey and difficult to find. Thus, Ivory. I find my Borax and washing soda at Farm & Fleet. Borax is pretty easy to find in most big box stores. Washing soda is not as easy to locate. But Farm & Fleet has it. Ah! Farm & Fleet. Anyway, I digress. Wherever you go, both will be in the laundry isle. Both are sold in large boxes. And washing soda is not the same as baking soda. Same sort of orange packaging – different product.

And finally, because someone will ask – I do not have a HE washing machine. I understand that you can use this recipe in your HE machine, because it produces very low suds.

Homemade Laundry Soap
Author: Andrea
Make sure to grate the soap into a fine powder. I use the grater attachment on my food processor to grate the soap and then the sharp blade to mix the Borax and washing soda with the soap into a fine powder
Ingredients
  • 1 bar of soap – Ivory, Fels Naptha, or Kirks Castile are good starting points
  • 1 cup of washing soda (not baking soda)
  • 1 cup of Borax
Instructions
  1. Fine grate the soap. I use my food processor’s grate attachment.
  2. Combine all the ingredients. I combine in my food processor with the sharp blade and pulse until the soap is a fine powder.
  3. Wash your food processor!
  4. This recipe can be multiplied. Four bars of soap and four cups of washing soda and Borax will last our family of six about 6 weeks.
  5. Store in containers. I used 1 T to a large load of laundry. 2 T for extra dirty laundry.

 

How to Grind Cardamom from Pods

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Cardamom Pods

Cardamom Pods

I like to buy cardamom pods and then grind it once in a while as I need it. This has two big advantages over buying pre-ground cardamom – it’s fresher tasting and less expensive. Plus I think the pods have a longer shelf life than the ground stuff.

My girlfriends and I did a little food tour in an Indian neighborhood of Chicago last summer and I picked up a big bag of cardamom pods for a couple dollars. Ridiculously cheap. If you don’t have a local Indian grocery store, you can get bulk cardamom pods through places like Mountain Rose Herbs, also. My 8 ounce bag is probably enough to last most people a lifetime – but I love cardamom in my baking. The pods are also great for make chai tea and tossing in Indian curry. Just look for green cardamom – I’ve accidently purchases black cardamom before and the flavor is completely different. The green ones are what we normally use in baking and other recipes.

The major problem with cardamom pods is getting at the little seeds inside the pods. You can cut each individual pods open and scrape out the seeds – but it takes forever. After getting frustrated with my lack of progress of getting at the seeds, I did a little internet searching and found an approach that said to buzz the pods in a coffee grinder and then pick out the pod pieces.  This works. But it is difficult and time consuming to pick out the pod pieces. Especially if you buzz them too long in the grinder.

Cardamom pods after a couple pulses in the spice grinder

Cardamom pods after a couple pulses in the spice grinder

This is what mine looked like after a couple pulses in the coffee grinder.  I should note that you could do this also in a mortar and pestle. But can you imagine picking out all of those pod pieces? Here is how I got around it. I emptied the coffee grinder into a small bowl. And I took that bowl plus and extra bowl and headed outside. We had a nice windy day today, so I was helped along by the wind, and I simply held one bowl above the other and poured the seeds between the bowls. The wind picked up the little bits of the pods and blew them away, leaving me with the seeds and a few larger bits of pod. By this point, it was super easy to pick out the bigger pieces of pod and I was left with the seeds.

Cardamom Seeds

Cardamom Seeds

Then I just spun the seeds in the coffee grinder (again – you can use a mortar and pestle) until I had them ground as fine as I wanted.  And to be honest, I didn’t spin it long enough this time around. I still had larger bits of seed in my cardamom bread that I would have liked. So spin that coffee grinder a little longer than you think you need. I like to grind extra and keep it in a little jar so I don’t have to go through this process every time I want ground cardamom. But it will still be lots fresher than what you can buy in the store.

I hope this saves you some time and trouble in grinding your cardamom!

 

Ground Cardamom

Ground Cardamom

Dinner Rolls DIY

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Shaping the dinner rolls was always my kitchen task as a kids. My mom would give me the bread dough and tell me to go at it. But honestly, I never got beyond knots and round rolls. Now, there is nothing wrong with those shapes, but sometimes you want to mix it up a little for the bread basket. So, here are some of my favorite shapes to make, along with some ideas on toppings.

Once you have the rolls made, you can bake right away or you can do what I do – freeze them. I shape them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. As soon as I have the rolls shaped, I pop them into the freezer for 30-60 minutes until they are frozen solid. Then I put them into a freezer bag and keep frozen until I need them. A couple of hours before baking, pull out the number of rolls you want and let rest on a parchment lined baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown. You can do this with one to 100 rolls at a time and it’s a great way to enjoy a little warm bread with dinner without all of the work.

And one more tip before we get started, instead of making a batch of dough just for rolls, you can use any extra dough from bread baking and turn it into rolls. Freeze them and soon enough you’ll have enough for the family dinner.

Double Knot

Double Knotted Roll

Double Knotted Roll

This is my favorite shape to do. Just take your piece of dough, roll it into a long snake and start knotting the dough. I like to run the ends through the center a couple times – I like the extra little pull apart bits to the roll.  Then tuck the ends under. The only downside to this shape, is it takes some time. If you are in a hurry, see the braided roll below.

Once your rolls are shaped, you can oil the tops and add any toppings you like. My favorite topping mix is equal parts salt, poppy seed, caraway seed, garlic powder, and onion granules.

 

Braided “Knots”

This is a quick and easy way to get rolls shaped. Take three equal size pieces of dough and roll them into long snakes. Braid the dough and then cut pieces off to form rolls. You can try to shape it gently into a ball and tuck the ends under. You’ll end up with a mixture of different size pieces and some ends will end up sticking out. Sometimes its nice to have some variation in the rolls, but if you want everything looking the same, this might not be the roll for you.

Braided rolls

Step #1 – Braided rolls

Step #2 - Braided Rolls

Step #2 – Braided Rolls

Step #3 - Final Braided Rolls

Step #3 – Final Braided Rolls

Croissant Rolls

Step #1 - Croissant Rolls

Step #1 – Croissant Rolls

This is a classic shape that is really nice for a buttery roll. Take a piece of dough and roll into a flat circle. If you want, you can oil or butter the dough at this point and add shredded cheese (parmesan or asiago are nice), garlic, or any other seeds or seasonings you like. Cut the dough like a pie and roll up the pieces from the long end. Tuck the edges around to form a little curve to the croissant and you are done.

Done! Croissant Rolls

Done! Croissant Rolls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those are some of my favorite shapes. I’ll keep adding more to this page as I get some more photos together. If you have a favorite shape that I’ve missed, please comment below!

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

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Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Sugar PumpkinSo don’t let the title of this post fool you. I usually make my “pumpkin” puree from a combination of sugar pie pumpkin, butternut squash, hubbard squash, or kubocha squash – pretty much any squash that the farmer’s at the market tell me will work. Why do I do this? Partially because of availability and quantity – some of these squashes (like the hubbard) are HUGE and will make a ton of puree. Some of these squashes are also lots cheaper than pie pumpkins. But it also helps to mix up the flavors and textures. A butternut is lots sweeter than pumpkin, but it is very wet. The hubbard is also really sweet, but it is comparatively dry. So when I mix a bunch of them together, I end up with an amazingly sweet puree that is not too wet or too dry. Do you ever want to eat pumpkin puree out of can? Me neither, but when I make homemade puree, I often find myself licking the spoon and the bowl – it’s so good. And isn’t that really what we want to be baking and cooking with?

  • Cut squash in half and clean out seeds.
  • Save those seeds! Sort them from the flesh. I like to soak mine in cold water for 1-12 hours. I guess this helps to get the sprouting process started which can help increase nutrition and digestibility – whether or not that’s true, I think they taste better soaked. Drain, rinse, toss with olive oil and salt. Roast in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes until toasted. You can mix up your seasonings also – try cumin, chili powder, cinnamon and a little sugar or even a curry seasoning.
  • Back to the squash – I’m going to give you two methods to cook it. In my opinion, they both end up tasting the same. Pressure cooking saves time and energy, but may not work if you are trying to do a huge batch.
    • To roast in oven – Place squash, cut side down on rimmed baking pan. Add ½ cup of water and roast in 400 degree oven for 45-60 minutes until it is pierced easily with fork and starts to slump. Cool until it can be handled.
    • To pressure cook – add 1 cup of water to pressure cooker. Cut squash into pieces and place into pressure cooker. Lock lid and bring to high pressure. Cook for 6 minutes. Release pressure naturally.
  • Once squash is cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scrape out the flesh into a big bowl. I usually taste a little bit of each squash to make sure it tastes sweet. You can also taste the raw squash, if you are into raw squash. If it doesn’t taste good (and you’ll know it), then toss it. I know that hurts, but it’s better now than later when you’ve made an awesome lasagna with not so great squash puree.
  • In small batches, puree the flesh in a food processor or blender until smooth.
  • You can use the puree immediately, refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze. I usually freeze in 2 cup portions (same amount as a small can of pumpkin). Bags of frozen pumpkin puree can be thawed overnight in the fridge, or more quickly by submerging the bag in hot water for 15-30 minutes.

Use this puree in pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bundt cake, butternut squash lasagna, pumpkin chili, pumpkin butter, and butternut squash soup.  Yes, I know I should post my recipes for all of these great things. I’ll get to it. And then I’ll have a blog of entirely pumpkin things. Not the worst thing in the world, I know. If you have any great ideas for using pumpkin puree, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your ideas.

 

Getting Started with Sauerkraut

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A Little Background

My first attempts with sauerkraut started several years ago when we started getting our fall CSA baskets from Sue & Gary Gauger at Natural Farm Stand in Richmond, IL. Our fall CSA baskets are always stuffed full to overflowing with beautiful squashes, onions, carrots, and of course – cabbages. Cabbages of every variety – red, green, Napa, Bok Choy, and Savoy. The first year of the CSA, after I tired of coleslaws, stuffed cabbage and cabbage wrapped tacos, I ended up gifting the extra cabbages to any friend who would take a cabbage. While it’s great to share the extra with friends, I really wanted to use the cabbages myself. So, the second year that we got the CSA, I was prepared for the cabbages and had researched making sauerkraut.

I have a German heritage and have memories of sauerkraut on my grandparent’s table, but I had never actually seen or participated in the process of making kraut. And sadly, my grandparents weren’t around any longer to teach me the tricks of kraut. All I knew was that kraut from the grocery store doesn’t taste anything like the real stuff -not even the packages in the refrigerated section.

So, I did a little research on the internet and found some good cookbook references and I that next year I started a couple batches in half gallon Ball jars in my garage. Unfortunately, I was too scared to actually eat the first couple of batches of homemade kraut. The fermenting process was too different, and I honestly didn’t know whether I was doing things correctly. Over time, I’ve done more research and slowly gained confidence in home fermenting. The resulting kraut has been worth the learning experience.

Maybe you have been to my kitchen to learn how to make sauerkraut and maybe this is your first time attempting to make sauerkraut with your extra CSA cabbages. I hope this post will help you get started with home ferments and inspire you to  try some new things in your kitchen.

Things You’ll Need

The only things you’ll need to get started are:

  1. Cabbage – any kind is fine. Fresher is better, because it will have more moisture in it if it’s been picked recently. It’s great if you can get it at the farmer’s market or stand. But cabbage from the grocery store is fine also. Once it is shredded and packed, the cabbage really reduces in size, so don’t be afraid to pick out a really big head of cabbage or use several smaller ones.
  2. Salt – any sort of salt if fine as long as it has no additives – no anti-caking agents. I use either Real Salt or Ball’s canning/pickling salt.
  3. A container to hold your kraut – to get started, you can use a half gallon or larger glass jar. A half gallon jar will hold about a 3 pound head of cabbage. If you can find a small food grade bucket, they work great also. There is no need to invest in a crock or special equipment.
  4. Optional ingredients – you can add spices or veggies to your kraut. Some popular spices include caraway, juniper berries, bay leaves, or hot pepper flakes. Veggies can include carrots, onions, hot peppers, or even apples for a sweeter kraut.
Kraut Ingredients

Kraut Ingredients

Steps to Making Sauerkraut

1. The first step in making kraut is to clean the cabbage. Usually removing the outer layers of leaves is enough to clean it. Wash it also, if necessary. Next cut the cabbage in half down the core and cut out the core of the cabbage.

Cored Cabbage, ready for slicing

Cored Cabbage, ready for slicing

2. The next step is to shred the cabbage. You can slice it with a knife into thin strips (about the thickness of a quarter). This method works well if-especially, if you are only doing a couple of heads of cabbage. I usually do a big batch of kraut when I make it, so I use a kraut board to slice my cabbage. The kraut board allows you to slice the cabbage quickly into very thin, even slices. If you decide to use a kraut board, be sure to wear knife gloves to protect your fingers from the sharp blades – honestly, this isn’t a bad idea even when you are using a knife.

 

3. After you have one head of cabbage shredded, put it into a big bowl or directly into your fermentation vessel, if it is a larger vessel. Add one tablespoon of salt for each small head of cabbage, or 3 T of salt per 5 pounds of cabbage. Also add any extra spices that you are using. I usually add about 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds or juniper seeds per small head of cabbage or 1T per 5 pounds of cabbage. Mix in the salt and spices using your hands and massage the cabbage a little. Now let the cabbage rest for 10-15 minutes. If you are doing more heads of cabbage, the resting time basically happens while you shred the next head. Now pack the cabbage into your vessel. If your cabbage is very fresh, you will probably already notice water starting to be pulled out of the cabbage and pooling in the bottom of your bowl. When you pack the cabbage, push it down hard to make sure it is really packed in. You can use a special kraut pounder, but I usually use a potato masher or my fist. You want to submerge the cabbage under the brine. If you don’t have enough brine to submerge the cabbage, check it again the next day. If you still don’t have enough brine, then you should add brine to cover the cabbage. You can make your own brine by dissolving 1 1/2  tablespoon of salt into four cups of water.

4. Now weight down your cabbage to help keep it under the brine. When I’m using a glass jar, I fill a plastic bag with brine and use that to keep the cabbage submerged. When I’m using a plastic bucket, I put a small plate over the top of the cabbage and weight it down with a clean rock or another jar filled with brine. Cover the container with a towel or other cloth.

Sauerkraut submerged in brine

Sauerkraut submerged in brine

6. If you’d like to make wine kraut – add 1/2 cup of dry white wine per 5 pounds cabbage to your container on the second day.

5. After 24 hours, remember to check to make sure that the cabbage is covered with brine. If not, add brine to cover the cabbage (see step 3). Check the sauerkraut every couple of days to see if scum is forming on the top of sauerkraut. If you find scum, scrap it off daily and wash the plate and weights. If you want to avoid scum on your kraut, you can use an airlock on your jar. Airlocks are used in beer brewing and can be found at beer brewing supply stores. They really aren’t necessary for sauerkraut, but if the fear of a little scum or mold on your ferments is stopping you from trying home ferments, then it may be worth trying.

6. Store the sauerkraut container somewhere with a consistent temperature. 60 degrees is near perfect, but higher will work also. The time it takes to mature will depend on the fermenting temperature. Start tasting the kraut after about 2 weeks. If it ferments at 70-75 degrees, it will probably be ready at 2-3 weeks. If it ferments at 60-65 degrees, it may take 5-6 weeks to be ready. The final product will be pale golden in color and have a tart, crisp flavor. You can also tell if it is ready by looking for gas bubbles being released from the sauerkraut – once the bubble stop, you know it is done fermenting. But you should really just go by taste, when it tastes good to you, then call it done. I usually end mine at about three weeks when it is fermented in my 68 degree basement.

7. When the sauerkraut is ready, you can store it, tightly covered in the fridge. I’ve kept it in my fridge for several months this way. You can also freeze it in plastic bags, which may preserve the Vitamin C better than canning, and it doesn’t hurt the texture too much. You can and should eat you kraut raw – it is perfect on sausages and pork chops. I also love it cooked with a pork roast or in a sausage soup.

8. If you want to can the sauerkraut, pack it and its juice into pint or quart jars. Leave 1/2 inch headspace and waterbath can for 20 minutes (pints) or 25 minutes (quarts). This storage method does not preserve the good probiotics of your kraut, but it saves on fridge space. Store the jars in a cool, dry, dark place.

Some additional resources

If you want to do more reading on fermentation, here are some of my favorite resources.

The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich, www.agardnerstable.com

The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz, www.wildfermentation.com

Mountain Feed & Farm Supply, www.mountainfeed.com

 

My Thoughts on Flour

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I’ve been meaning to put this article out here for a while. These are just my personal opinions on flour and food. I make no claims to know what is really affecting so many people’s bodies. Is it gluten? Or is it too much sugar? Too much processing? Too many chemicals? Or a combination of all of these things?
I don’t really know the correct answer – and honestly, I don’t think anyone really does. But, like most people, I have some thoughts on the subject. And once in a while someone asks me why I mill my own flour. People might be aware that white flour isn’t that great for us, but they wonder if there is really much difference between store bought and freshly ground whole wheat flour. And honestly, when I was first introduced to the concept of flour milling, I wasn’t sold on the idea that it was so much healthy. But it didn’t take long for me to be convinced. All I had to do was make a loaf of bread using the freshly milled flour and I was converted. The dough was softer than any dough I’d made using whole wheat flour. And the bread tasted fabulous.
I think that because we don’t hear about flour milling very often that people assume it must be something that is difficult or time consuming. If you’ve been to one of my classes, you already know that it’s neither of those things. If you grind your coffee beans most mornings, then you are already exerting the same amount of effort as I do when I grind flour. So, it’s not hard. And as a mother of four who occasionally fits in a little civil engineering on the side, I honestly don’t have time for anything that adds an extra challenge. But I do make time for things that I feel make a difference to the quality of my family’s food and health – and flour is one of the easiest places I’ve found to make a difference. Plus baking your own bread is a rewarding and relaxing experience in its own right.

Before wheat berries are ground into flour, they can be considered a live food. If they are exposed to moisture, they will sprout and germinate. When they are ground into flour, they immediately begin to oxidize. And just like your coffee beans, the flour will taste better when it is freshly ground. Oxidation also affects the vitamin and nutrient levels in the flour. Most of the vitamins and nutrients are contained in the wheat germ. There is also Vitamin E oil in the wheat germ. Over time, the Vitamin E oil eventually will go rancid in whole wheat flours. If you have ever had whole wheat flour that tastes bitter, it is likely it’s been sitting on the shelf too long. This is one of the reasons that white flour became so popular for mass production – it has the germ removed for shelf stability, but removing the germ also removes the vitamins and nutrients from the flour. White flour also has the bran removed, which contains fiber and helps with digestion. All of this processing means that white flour barely resembles the original whole wheat flour made directly from wheat berries.

kernel_jpg_935612582

Source for image: http://wbc.agr.mt.gov/wbc/Consumer/Diagram_kernel/

I can go on and on about the flour. But really, in the end, you should decide for yourself. Here’s some ideas to start:

  • Do some research on processed flour. While it can be hard to find clear, non-biased articles, try this one on WebMD as a start and then try googling processed flour. You’ll find that flour is one of the most processed foods in our grocery stores.
  • Take one of my classes or find a local class on whole grain baking. You’ll learn something new and get lots of samples. Try this link through Bosch Kitchen Centers to locate other demonstrators who teach milling and whole grains.
  • Bake your favorite recipe using freshly milled whole grain flour and see if you don’t love it.

 

Homemade Fruit Vinegars

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Making your own fruit vinegar sounds so hard. But it’s not. Have you ever had a jar of apple cider go sour accidently? Or a bottle of win or beer? Then you’ve made vinegar and probably not even known it.

I’ve made vinegar from scraps of all sorts of fruits – apple, peach, pear, raspberry, strawberry, and blackberry. I’m even giving cherry a try this spring. Your final vinegars are more interesting than most store-bought options and they have the added advantage of containing beneficial probiotics. Give it a try, you’ve got nothing to loose.

The Basics – Getting Started

Vinegars are one of my favorite ferments to play with – I have to say I’m slightly obsessed with them. I love seeing science in action in my kitchen. This stems back to high school chemistry. I think. Anyway, to make a fruit vinegar, you start with fruit, water, and a little sugar. Mix everything together in a large glass jar with a wide opening. I like the 1/2 gallon Ball jars to start with – they are cheap and easy to find at most hardware stores. I also have some large one gallon jars that I picked up at our local beer brewing shop. You’ll want to use a glass or other non-reactive container for this so the vinegar doesn’t react with the metal. Also, the beneficial bacteria don’t like the metal either. Finally, look for a wide mouth jar since you want a good air to liquid contact area. The bacteria need oxygen to do their job on the vinegar.

I use fruit scraps to get my vinegars started. I love knowing that I’m not throwing away all those apple peals or slightly mushy strawberries. You can use the stems, peels, brown spots, and mushy fruit for this. Just make sure everything is clean – both the jar and the fruit scraps. Basically, you’ll ultimately end up making something out of nothing. Fill the jar about half full of the fruit scraps. Add anywhere from a tablespoon to a quarter cup of sugar per quart and top the jar off of with water. The sugar gives the bacteria a little boost to get to work and it will affect the sweetness of your final product. Try to use water that has not been chlorinated since the chlorine will stop the natural processes that we are aiming to encourage.

As the fermentation process proceeds, the jar may start attracting fruit flies. I normally cover  my containers with a breathable cover (such as a coffee filter, paper towel or cheesecloth) held on with a rubber band. Once I start seeing the flies, the jar usually gets kicked out of the kitchen to either the garage or basement. The temperature range for the fermentation process is pretty wide – between 59 and 94 degrees F – so this gives you a lot of flexibility on where to store your jars as they are fermenting.

During the first step, natural yeast and bacteria (Acetobactor) in the air start to go to work on the sugar and they produce alcohol, essentially turning the water into alcohol. Meanwhile, your fruit is also flavoring the water into juice. You’ll notice some bubbling in the mixture, which is a good sign that your reaction is taking place. Stir the container once a day to keep it oxygenated. Stirring also helps redistribute the fruit so that the pieces sticking out of the top don’t go moldy. If you get a moldy piece of fruit, just pick it out and keep going.

After about a week or so, the bubbling will stop and you can strain off the fruit and let the yeasts and bacteria keep working on the alcohol. At this point, your chemical reaction will change and the alcohol will ferment into vinegar.

This is the point where the process gets really fun – and some people may get grossed out by this stage. But you will start seeing a gelatinous mass begin to cover the top of the vinegar. At first it will look like a foam forming on the top. This mass is called the mother of vinegar and it is actually a cellulose mass of the Acetobactor bacteria. It consumes the alcohol in the liquid and expels acetic acid – or vinegar. The mother will get thicker as the fermentation proceeds. If you have a little unpasteurized apple cider vinegar or mother from a previous batch of vinegar, you can jump start the mother formation by adding a couple tablespoons to your jar. But I’ve actually seen mothers start to form within the first day of removing the fruit scraps.

Once the mother forms, try not to disturb the jar so that the mother can remain floating on the top. If it sinks to the bottom, don’t worry. The fermenation will keep proceeding, but the jar will probably start forming a second mother on the top.

The entire process is an aerobic process, which means that your jar of liquid needs to have oxygen for the chemical processes to occur. So keep the breathable lid on the container this whole time. After about 3-8 weeks, the vinegar will be finished.

Finishing & Bottling

Now the tough question – how do you know when the vinegar is done? For me, it is mostly a matter of taste and smell. Does it smell like vinegar? Yes? Good. To taste it, stick a straw in the container, slide it under the edge of the mother, and see what you think. It’s really a matter of personal taste. The acidity level can have a pretty high range to give you a weaker or stronger vinegar. If it’s too strong, you can always water it down.

What if you let the vinegar go too long? It’ll get stronger – to a point. And then the chemical reactions start backfiring on you and it actually will start converting back to water. This can take a few months or more.

Once you have a vinegar you like, you can filter and bottle the vinegar. First, remove the mother. You can save it for future vinegars. Most of mine get composted. Then filter the vinegar through a cheesecloth and bottle into narrow necked jars. Now you can cap the jars for storage. At this point, you don’t want oxygen contact with the vinegar because you want to stop the fermentation process.

You may find a new mother form in you stored bottles. This is most likely to happen if you don’t bottle it into narrow jars. If it happens, just fish it or strain it out of  there.

Your vinegar will continue to develop flavor as it ages. I have some two year old raspberry vinegar that has wonderfully deep flavor. You can even store the vinegar for three years or more, depending on the vinegar and storage conditions.

Ideas  for Using Vinegar

Obviously, cooking is a great use for flavored vinegars. Homemade vinegar can be used in almost any recipe calling for vinegar – including salad dressings, potato salad, coleslaw, and barbeque sauce. Just don’t use your vinegar in canning recipes that call for 5% vinegar since you don’t know the actual acidity of your vinegar.

If you make up a bunch of apple cider vinegar, you can use it for all sorts of health, cleaning and beauty products. While I do use vinegar in cleaning, I don’t use it for much of the health and beauty stuff myself. If you are interested in this, do a search for uses of apple cider vinegar and you’ll find lots of ideas such as wart remover or a digestive aid. I personally like the ideas for a hair conditioner, but then again I haven’t actually attempted it myself. Although, I will admit to giving the chickens a little apple cider vinegar in their water as a probiotic.

Along the idea of probiotics, as long as you don’t pasteurize or can your vinegar, it contains natural bacteria that are good for your gut. This is the same reason that yogurt and kiefer are good for us. Even using your homemade vinegar in your salad dressings is a great way to help introduce some additional good bacteria to our systems.