Week 5: Soaking, Sprouting and Fermenting

During the month of March, our class had the pleasure of getting acquainted with different fermentation, soaking and sprouting methods. 

Fermentation is the process that happens when microorganisms like yeast and bacteria convert sugars from fruit or vegetables into probiotics. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that aid our gut in digestion and energy production. 

Kefir

My best outcome was making water kefir. The kefir granules fermented into a cloudy beverage that I then flavored with blueberries and lemon juice. This result was a yogurt like drink that was sweet and tasty!

Kvass

Kvass is a fermented beverage using salt and beets. In an effort to reduce sodium, I tried to make it with vinegar and sugar. The result did not yield active fermentation and was not very palatable. The traditional method was much to salty to enjoy. I hope to try making this again in the future. 

Sourdough Starter

My sourdough starter was ripe in 3 days. I have made sourdough starter before and never had it develop so quickly! I have my starter stored in my fridge and plan to wake it up and bake with it in the future.

Pickled Vegetables

I pickled red onion in red wine vinegar and the result has been a delicious acid flavor which I added to salads and tacos. I also pickled carrots with coriander and orange, which tasted delicious! When pickling the carrots, I did not combine and warm the brine beforehand, which resulted in crunchier carrot

Sauerkraut

I chose to make a reduced sodium sauerkraut by soaking the salted cabbage in water for 5 minutes. I believe this inhibited the beneficial bacteria from growing and did not produce palatable sauerkraut.

Sprouts

The sprouts were reluctant at first, but eventually sprouted. I think it had to do with my tap water, which is high in chlorine. Once I switched to the RO water we purchase, they were much happier! The sprouts became a beautiful garnish to the carrot soup I made for my CYO recipe!