10 fermented foods you can make at home

I recently read a light guide to homemade fermented foods, and I think it is good enough to share here. The core idea is simple: many ingredients can be fermented, from vegetables, fruit and grains to milk, legumes and even eggs, as long as the process is well controlled.

The ten recipes covered are quite varied. There is kimchi with napa cabbage, grated radish, garlic, chili and ginger, left in a sealed container for about two days. There is traditional sauerkraut, soaked in chlorine-free water and fermented at room temperature for 3 to 7 days before going into the fridge. There are also garlic pickles, two versions of cucumber pickles, and a sourdough sandwich with cheddar, turkey and cranberry sauce cooked in a pan.

The part that interested me most was the drinks and protein recipes. Kombucha is made from black or green tea, sugar, a kombucha starter and one SCOBY, fermented in a shady spot for 7 to 10 days, then bottled for 1 to 3 days to carbonate. Tempeh is made from 250 grams of soybeans soaked for two days, dehulled, boiled, dried, mixed with starter and incubated for roughly 30 hours at 30 to 40 degrees Celsius. Yogurt and fresh cheese are on the list too, with temperatures and times included.

I should be honest about one thing: the health claims in the article mostly cite other books and websites without clinical evidence, so it is best read as general information. The tempeh measurements are also a little inconsistent between raw and cooked soybeans. Even so, as a list of ideas for starting fermentation at home, the article is practical and easy to follow.

For anyone here who is just getting started, my personal advice is to pick the simplest recipe first, use a truly clean container, and note the temperature and fermentation time. From there you can learn which flavors suit you best.

Source: HaiBunda