To be honest, it really doesn’t feel like it’s been two months since I’ve posted anything here. I’ve been keeping myself busy with a few projects. The biggest of the projects is called Buying Club Software. The name is pretty self explainatory and it’s been an amazing learning process so far. I realize that we have a long way to go, but I’m very happy with where the project currently stands.

But, really, I digress. The motivation for today’s posts comes from the fact that I recently realized I have yet to write anything about fermentation. Here I am touting my site as a resource for fermentors and there’s not a word regarding the topic.

In the last two years, I’ve really gotten into fermenting. Depending on what crops are coming from the earth locally, you can find in my apartment an assortment of bubbling crocks, jars, growlers and carboys. I’ve been experimenting in beer, mead, kimchi, sour pickles, sauerkraut and sour beets. Miraculously, almost every experiment has gone very well. The exceptions range from exploding beer bottles, a bursting mead bottle and, recently, some very, very, very funky sour pickles. If I had to pick my favorite fermentation so far, it would have to be the Traditional Napa Cabbage Kimchi. And though I strayed pretty far from the recipe, it worked excellently as a reference point. My other go to reference for all things fermentation is Sandor Katz’s book, Wild Fermentation. If you know anything about fermentation, you’ve heard of this book, but if you’re looking to get into fermentation for the first time, I would highly recommend his book.

My friend, Jake, and I have been having some very good luck brewing beer in the last few batches. Our most recent, a summer blond, came out better than I could have hoped. And our previously beer, a double chocolate oatmeal stout was a real crowd-pleaser. I’m looking forward to our next brew, even though I’m not entirely sure what it will be.

I’d like to wrap this post up by talking about my first-ever experience pickling. I realize it’s not technically fermentation, but vinegar is a product of fermentation, so I’m going with it. I decided, having already done a few batches of sour pickles, that I wasn’t going to start with cucumbers. Instead, I chose a seasonal favorite, Fiddleheads. As the linked Wikipedia page explains, they are essentially baby ferns. And while they are an acquired taste, I could help but think, how would these little fellas taste pickled? I ordered two pounds through my local coop and pickled half of them. Based loosely off of this recipe, I used water, vinegar (duh!), garlic, ginger and dill. In one of the jars, I added lemon zest, and in the other I added three thai chili peppers. To say that I’m excited to try them in several weeks time is an understatement.

So, now that I’ve started sharing my fermentation stories with you, I’ll be sure to continue in the future. If you have any questions, or would like to share a story of your own, feel free to contact me at mhokie@thehokie.com or on twitter.

Posted in Fermentation | No Comments »