Fermentation Fetish

This past autumn, my cousin Rachel, who lives on a farm in Maine, sent me this book. It is full of all sorts of recipes for weird and wonderful fermented foods. Live, unpasturized fermented foods (and drinks) carry beneficial bacteria directly into our digestive systems, where they break down food and aid digestion. Many people believe that up to 70% of our immune system in located in and around the digestive tract, so these foods can be very beneficial to overall health. Some favorites from this book include: seaweed sauerkraut, nasturtium capers and several amazing infused vinegars. The most beloved of all however, is kombucha. I have been drinking kombucha for several years now and once I finally calculated how much I was spending per month on the stuff, I decided to try making my own. In order to make the culture you need a “mother” also known as “tea beast” and it really does look like an odd, beasty mushroom. You can usually find these mothers through a local health food store, or you can buy one here.
Once you have the kombucha mother, the rest is pretty simple.

These directions are adapted from Sandor Ellix Katz:

Mix 81/2 Cups water with 1 Cup sugar and bring to a boil in a small cooking pot.

(The culture feeds off the sugar and I have actually had the best results with straight up organic white sugar, although I have friends who have had success with agave.)

Once the sugar is just dissolved, turn off the heat and add 4 tea bags (black tea works best) or 4 teaspoons of loose tea. (If you want to add a little fruit flavor you can add a black tea that is infused with something- I have seen peach, blackberry, coconut..)
Let steep at least 15 minutes.
Once the mixture is room temperature, strain the tea into a glass container. You can see I used a container that looks like a fishbowl; apparently kombucha likes a wide container and works best if the diameter of the container is greater than the depth of the liquid (but this is a little picky, whatever you have on hand should work- vases are fine)

Add just under a cup (.8 to be exact) of the starter, which is just mature kombucha. Buy your favorite kind from the store and use that if this is your first batch and then just save a cup for subsequent batches.

Now, place the mother in the liquid, with the firm, opaque side up.

Cover with a cloth and store in a warm spot, ideally between 70-85 degrees.

Let sit for a few days and then give it a taste. It will probably still be sweet. The longer you let it still, the more acidic it will become. I like mine to sit between 9 and 11 days.

Once it is the acidity you like, take out all but one cup (this you will use for your next round) and put it in an airtight glass jar (I use recycled French lemonade bottles, with the stopper top) and store in the refrigerator for another 10 or so days. This will make it effervescent. When you make the transfer to the fridge you can play with different flavors at this point. Sometimes I add a little lemon juice, unsweetened cranberry or ginger or you can just leave it as is.
When you unstop the bottle, bubbles should rise to the surface.
Pour and enjoy.
I also tried this recipe for fruit juice kombucha, which was yummy too.

p.s. each batch you make will form a new culture- a “baby”, if you will. You can use either the old mushroom or the new for your next batch and pass the other on to a friend (or toss it in the compost.)

First day of teaching. Coming back to Jean-Pierre and my mom making pie and him saying "pi, pi!!" Lucien was fast asleep. Wherever my children are, it feels like coming home.

A lovely afternoon with Papa figuring out how to navigate this territory called blog.

January

Started the new year with a wonderful hut trip. Loaded the children in backpacks, sleds and some on their own skis. All that mountain air is a good tonic to begin anew. I am going to do a photo journal for 2010. I can't promise to stick to a photo a day, but I am going to try to come close. You can check out the photos on my flickr stream.