More on the Fermentation Front

Have I talked about fermentation before?  I don't remember and honestly, I don't feel like looking back in what few archives I have here so I'll just give you a brief rundown on what it is and why you should think about trying it.

Nourished Kitchen is a treasure trove of info and recipes for foods that are GOOD for you.  Do you ever wonder how people in the "way back" days preserved their foods?  Veggies, meats? How did they make whatever condiments they might have used?  What are they health benefits to eating fermented foods? This website and THIS page, specifically, will tell you all the answers to those questions and more. They have an email list you can sign up for and receive helpful tips and probably recipes too although they have TONS on their site.  They also have a blog and even meal plans! Go check them out and tell them I sent you. ;o)

So, here is the recipe for a basic fermented ketchup from their website.

homemade ketchup, an old-world recipe

• Yield: about 1 pint
• 
  
• Prep: 5 minutes (active) mins
• Cook: 3 to 5 days (fermentation) mins
• Ready In: 8 mins

Deeply robust with the rich-sweet flavor of concentrated tomato, this ketchup differs from the cloying sweet varieties you find in the grocery store. Allspice and cloves, traditional inclusions often omitted in most store-bought varieties, bring a level of depth that would be otherwise absent. Not a particularly quick food, this homemade ketchup is slowly ripened and aged over a period of three to five days as beneficial bacteria metabolize the food’s natural sugars, creating a condiment that is potently rich in food enzymes and probiotics. It’s a traditional process, lactofermentation, that increases the nutritional value of the foods we eat and love. This recipe and over 100 others are included in the latest of Nourished Kitchen’s online cooking class: Get Cultured! How to Ferment Anything.

Ingredients

• 2 cups tomato paste (preferably homemade)
• 1/4 cup raw honey (maple syrup or whole unrefined cane sugar)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp fresh whey* (divided)
• 2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar (plus extra for thinning the ketchup, if desired)
• 1 tsp unrefined sea salt
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

Instructions

1. Spoon tomato paste into a large mixing bowl and fold in raw honey or other natural sweetener of choice.
2. Whisk in one-quarter cup fresh whey or vegetable starter culture into the sweetened tomato paste along with apple cider vinegar, sea salt, allspice and cloves. Continue whisking these ingredients together until the paste is smooth and uniform.
3. Spoon the homemade ketchup into a mason jar, top with remaining two tablespoons fresh whey or vegetable starter culture, cover loosely with a cloth or lid and allow the ketchup to sit at room temperature, undisturbed, for three to five days.
4. After three to five days, uncover the homemade ketchup and give it a thorough stir before transferring to the refrigerator. Naturally fermented homemade ketchup will keep for several months in the refrigerator.

One thing about this recipe that might make it difficult for just ANYONE wanting to make this RIGHT NOW would be the fact they MIGHT not have whey sitting around in their house.  Where do you get whey?  Well, I'll tell you where I got mine: I bought raw milk, made cheese out of it and saved the whey which separated from the cheese, put it in glass jars and froze it.  Hopefully this won't hurt the whey's duties in this recipe... it was chilled in the fridge but not frozen, although the recipe calls for "fresh whey".

Now I just sit back and let it ferment for a few days and then I get to try it... (on the kids... I mean... with dinner...for EVERYONE). I will report back and let you all know how it turned out.

p.s.  I got a pint jar full as well as a tall, skinny jelly jar full. :o)

In other fermentation news, Saturday I made 5 pints of sauerkraut, another fermented food, and my husband and I LOVE it!  He ate more of it than I did so hence the reason I had to make more. ;o)  Another thing I make that is fermented is Kombucha.  I had forgotten I'd made a batch and now it still sits there in it's glass, gallong jar and it's "Mother" is about 2 inches thick or more... with another one growing on the bottom.  Guess I will make a fresh batch and try a new twist I recently learned about.... home-made fermented grape kombucha soda!  I'll make it and test it and get back with you to let you know how it tastes.  I can't rightly post something that's nasty can I???  ;o)

Stay tuned !

Shake Your Can-Can

Okay, I don't know where that title came from, but at any rate, I've been busy lately canning all the wonderful goodies my mom has brought to me from their farm.  Here is the latest I've made:

Here is the recipe for the candied jalapenos, in case any of you were interested.

Candied Jalapeno Rounds

There aren't words that exist to describe how addictive these little savoury, sweet, spicy, crunchy, garlicky pickled jalapeno rounds are. Put them on sandwiches, tacos, rice or bake them into cornbread.  You'll need more and more!

Ingredients:

•  3 lbs fresh, firm jalapeno peppers, washed
• 2 C cider vinegar
• 6 C white granulated sugar (I don't see why you couldn't substitute any other type of sugar, i.e. turbinado)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 3 tsp granulated garlic or 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. Wearing gloves, remove the stems from all jalapenos. The easiest way to do this is to slice a small disc off the stem-end along with the stem.  Discard the stems.
2. Slice the peppers into uniform 1/8-1/4 inch rounds.  Set aside.
3. In a large pot, bring vinegar, sugar, turmeric, celery seed, garlic and cayenne to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 min.  Add the pepper slices and simmer for exactly 4 min.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peppers, loading into clean, sterile canning jars to within 1/4 inch of the upper rim of the jar.  Turn heat up under the pot of syrup and bring to a full rolling boil.  Boil hard for 6 minutes.
4. Use a ladle to pour the syrup into the jars over the jalapenos.  Insert a knife into the bottom of the jar two or three times to release any trapped air pockets.  Adjust the level of the syrup if necessary. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel and fix on new, two-piece lids to finger-ti tightness.
5. If you have left-over syrup, and it is likely that you will, you may can it in half-pint or pint jars too.  It's wonderful brushed on chicken or added to potato salad.
6. Place jars in canner, cover with water by 2 inches.  Bring the water to a full rolling boil and then set timer for 10 minutes for half-pints and 15 min for pints.  When timer goes off, use canning tongs to transfer the jars to a cooling rack.  Leave them to cool for 24 hrs.  When fully cooled, wipe them with a clean, damp washcloth and then label.
7. Allow to mellow for at least 2 weeks, but preferably a month before eating.

I haven't tried these yet but I'm still in that 2 week wait time.  You can bet yer britches I'll be partaking as soon as they're ready though!  I'm thinking of a Ritz cracker with a piece of Colby-Jack topped with one of these would be YUMMO!

Stay tuned for my review!

Also on the canning front, I've put up apple jelly, blackberry jam, strawberry-fig preserves, salsa, dill pickles and "come and get it".  Y'all just let me know if you'd be interested in any of those recipes.  Simple simple simple!

Farm / Homestead update:

House planning is going well. Waiting to hear from the bank! :o)
We've added 9 more chickens to our animals (8 hens and a rooster). The first group of hens we got have just started laying.  I went outside the other day and found 3 or 4 eggs but only 1 the days since then, if any at all. 
We've also been gifted a black lab puppy.  I call her Tootie... for a good reason.  ;o)

The garden is still giving us a few cherry tomatoes and peppers here and there but it's almost time to mow it down.  I'm thinking of trying some cabbage for a fall crop.  I need to make another big batch of sauerkraut!

OH!  We discovered we're in a good spot to attract feral honey bees so I'm hoping The Dude or Paw can help me by building a bee hive so I can try to get some.  I'd LOVE to be able to make our own honey for our family... and to sell some too if there's an abundance.

Sorry for the gap in posts.  Things have been so crazy busy here lately that I've not really had the time, although I have plenty to post about.