This is a completely unpolished list of opinionated fermentation recipes that friends, family, and colleagues have asked for. Yes, all measurements (except for random spoons of this or that) are in the metric system. No, I will not convert them to "freedom units".
- Recipes
- I do workshops
- An opinion about jars
- Is it mold?
- Build a Fermentation Chamber
- General Fermentation References
- Amazake
- [Oat] Amazake
- Basic Lactofermented Pickles
- Basic Miso Paste
- Beet Kvass
- Blueberry Mead
- Country Wine
- Ginger Beer
- Honey Garlic
- Indian Pickle
- Kimchi
- Koji
- Kombucha
- Lactofermented Hot Sauce
- Miso
- Natto
- Rye Sourdough Starter
- Rye Sourdough Bread
- Sake
- Sauerkraut
- Seitan (Fermented)
- Shio-Koji
- Skyr
- Tempeh
I do [remote] workshops.
Your fermentation vessel is something you should have an opinion about. I prefer the 1.0L Cylinder Weck Jar for all of my fermentation because it releases CO2 when there is enough built up but keeps enough inside to prevent surface mold. Fido jars also work but the seal is tight enough that I worry about explosions. In all cases, round jars are preferred over square jars for pressure distribution reasons (again, to prevent explosions). The main problem is that large jars are hard to come by. For convenience, this square Fido jar has worked well for participants in my workshops (just burp often to reduce explosions).
My preferred jar is the 1.0L Cylinder Weck Jar. Don't forget to purchase the Jar Lid, rubber gasket, and clamps (all on the same page).
You'll only need one! However, most friends and particpants in workshops get bitten by the Fermentation bug after their first fermentation experiment and actively start emptying jars in their kitchen in order to start another experiment. If you think this will be you, buy 4-6. You can never have too many jars.
For my normal ferments (veg pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi), I prefer the 1L size because there is generally enough headspace for fermentation bubbles. Without the headspace, I've needed to put a place under my jar to catch any spillover. There are other ferments which require much less space, for example, small batches of hot sauce, miso, or soda experiments; in this case, use an appropriately-sized jar that allows for some headspace but not too much.
Remember when embarking on your fermentation journey that you're dealing with live organisms and sometimes you grow dangerous mold instead of good bacteria. When in doubt throw it out. If it looks red, green, orange, blue, and fuzzy, definitely throw it out. Trust your nose. Your ferments should smell delightful.
Check out the /r/fermentation subreddit for mold examples.
Sometimes it's Kahm's Yeast (and that's fine to eat). Sometimes your ferments get cloudy because of all of the yeast in your ferment (also ok to eat).
I built a temperature controlled box to help with many of my projects. This is inspired by the Fermentation Chamber documented in "Noma's Guide to Fermentation".