Any fermentation fans (fanatics?) here?

[samanthaoverton]

@AnchoredHomestead, Here is a link about kombucha. I learned a lot on this site.

https://www.kombuchakamp.com/what-is-kombucha

And this one if you want to make your own SCOBY from scratch.

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-kombucha-scoby-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-202596

I've been making my own kombucha for a few years now. Love the stuff! It's (mostly) gotten me to stop drinking pop (soda).

I also make my own yogurt. It's (mostly) gotten me to stop eating ice cream, and home made is soooo much better, and better for you than the crap you buy in the store. Some of it isn't even yogurt!

I cheat with yogurt..I make it with half n half..talk about perfect. No worries about thickness, etc also I use it for sour cream for tacos etc.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

So about tepache.. love it. You can go sweet with a shorter ferment and if you go longer..it oddly tastes like a blonde beer..

Hops in kombucha second ferment makes it taste like a light IPA.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I cheat with yogurt..I make it with half n half..talk about perfect. No worries about thickness, etc also I use it for sour cream for tacos etc.

Yum! I do the same with milk kefir. Heavy cream makes it just like sour cream, but the grains are difficult to remove because it's so thick.

 

[Sally PB]

I cheat with yogurt..I make it with half n half..talk about perfect.

When I make yogurt, I use fat free milk. After it ferments, I drain most of the whey out of it, so it is THICK! I used to take it to work in a pint jar. I'd stand the spoon up in the middle, and say, "Can your yogurt do this?" Then I'd turn the jar upside down. "Well, how about this?"


I have a use for the whey, so it isn't wasted. And I have really thick yogurt, even thicker than Greek style yogurt from the store.

 

[samanthaoverton]

Oooh I've always wondered if someone had tried that! I am getting hops. I LOVE dark beer..I wondered if there is a way to make it taste like a dark beer as well?

Hops in kombucha second ferment makes it taste like a light IPA.

 

[samanthaoverton]

I've wanted to try milk and water kefir. Now with water kefir. I read you have to put a fig and raisin in it or something. Is it possible to just do sugar water..I haven't done it before.

Yum! I do the same with milk kefir. Heavy cream makes it just like sour cream, but the grains are difficult to remove because it's so thick.

 

[samanthaoverton]

Have you tried those cultures where you don't have to use a yogurt maker? It's set out at room temp. I've wanted to try them..you or anyone tried them?

When I make yogurt, I use fat free milk. After it ferments, I drain most of the whey out of it, so it is THICK! I used to take it to work in a pint jar. I'd stand the spoon up in the middle, and say, "Can your yogurt do this?" Then I'd turn the jar upside down. "Well, how about this?"


I have a use for the whey, so it isn't wasted. And I have really thick yogurt, even thicker than Greek style yogurt from the store.

 

[Sally PB]

Have you tried those cultures where you don't have to use a yogurt maker? It's set out at room temp. I've wanted to try them..you or anyone tried them?

I don't have a yogurt maker. You don't need one. If you have a cardboard box and a couple of towels, you have a yogurt maker. I make yogurt in canning jars, but any jar will do. I like glass jars because they don't react with food. Oh, if the jar had a metal lid, don't use that; cover with a paper towel secured by a rubber band.

Here's what I do:

Line the cardboard box with one of the towels.
Put your starter culture (some yogurt) into a bowl.
Heat the milk to 180-185 F. Cool to 120 F. Pour the milk into quart canning jars, saving about a half cup, which I pour into the bowl with the starter. Mix that well, and pour the mixture into the quart jars. Stir milk/starter in the jars. Cover the jars, put them in the box, cover with the other towel, and let it sit for 6-8 hours.

Voila! Yogurt.

More notes on what I do:

I make a gallon at a time. A 6 oz container of plain yogurt is enough to culture a gallon. I use 5* quart jars, and cover with plastic caps. After 6-8 hours, I drain it using nylon mesh bags like what you can buy to store vegetables in. (In fact, that's what they are.) I drain it for about an hour, saving the whey. I dump the now-really-thick yogurt into a large bowl and mix in some honey. Save some of the yogurt before you put in the honey for your next batch of yogurt. (Honey doesn't mix very well into cold things, so I do it while the yogurt is still warm.) Store in glass jars in the fridge.

* I need 5 quart jars to make a gallon, because the volume of a canning jar is a quart all the way up to the rim, leaving no room for starter or stirring, or trying to move the jar without spilling.

 

[Sally PB]

Some more thoughts on making yogurt....

You can buy a container of yogurt to use as culture, or buy some dry culture and use that. I used to use store bought yogurt, but ordered a culture and have been using that for awhile. I like it better. I save about a cup of the drained yogurt in a jar in the fridge for the next batch. Duly marked "Yogurt Culture" so I don't eat it.

The first batch I made with the dry culture was kind of thin. THAT IS NORMAL! The culture is "waking up," I think. Every batch since has been what I was expecting it to be.

If you drain it, SAVE the whey! Google "uses for whey," and you'll find there are a lot. I put it on my blueberries, and the plants love it. Strawberries would love it too. Actually, most plants would love it, but acid loving plants really love it.

I've also:

Used it in place of water when I make bread
Fed it to the chickens by mixing it with their food to make a mash
Used it to cook rice
Put it in smoothies

Some people can drink it straight, but I can't.

 

[samanthaoverton]

I don't have a yogurt maker. You don't need one. If you have a cardboard box and a couple of towels, you have a yogurt maker. I make yogurt in canning jars, but any jar will do. I like glass jars because they don't react with food. Oh, if the jar had a metal lid, don't use that; cover with a paper towel secured by a rubber band.

Here's what I do:

Line the cardboard box with one of the towels.
Put your starter culture (some yogurt) into a bowl.
Heat the milk to 180-185 F. Cool to 120 F. Pour the milk into quart canning jars, saving about a half cup, which I pour into the bowl with the starter. Mix that well, and pour the mixture into the quart jars. Stir milk/starter in the jars. Cover the jars, put them in the box, cover with the other towel, and let it sit for 6-8 hours.

Voila! Yogurt.

More notes on what I do:

I make a gallon at a time. A 6 oz container of plain yogurt is enough to culture a gallon. I use 5* quart jars, and cover with plastic caps. After 6-8 hours, I drain it using nylon mesh bags like what you can buy to store vegetables in. (In fact, that's what they are.) I drain it for about an hour, saving the whey. I dump the now-really-thick yogurt into a large bowl and mix in some honey. Save some of the yogurt before you put in the honey for your next batch of yogurt. (Honey doesn't mix very well into cold things, so I do it while the yogurt is still warm.) Store in glass jars in the fridge.

* I need 5 quart jars to make a gallon, because the volume of a canning jar is a quart all the way up to the rim, leaving no room for starter or stirring, or trying to move the jar without spilling.

Wow that is neat. I know there are thermophilic starters and mesospheric. The one gets heated the other doesn't. I use great value plain Greek yogurt for my starter. Are you using a specific brand, it's warm where I'm at..I'm betting I could try that sometime and stick it on the porch, like sun tea

Update; hadn't read later post. What type of dry starter do you use?