​Stock up now for fermenting season

After a summer of growing your own, it's the season to forage and ferment! Foraging allows you to access many wonderful herbs, plants and fruits from nature and fermenting allows you to preserve your produce and transform it into probiotic-rich, beneficial fermented side dishes which are extremely good for our health.

How does fermenting work?

When you make a ferment of any kind, the bacteria, yeast or fungi naturally convert organic compounds such as starch and sugar into alcohol or acid. For example, lacto fermentation is a common way to ferment blueberries or to make sauerkraut with cabbage. The vegetable and fruit starches and sugars convert to lactic acid to create a natural preservative.

History of food fermentation

Although it's difficult to pinpoint the first time that fermentation was used to preserve food and make drinks, scientists have found evidence of these methods that date back to 7000 BC. This Neolithic tradition helped to create foods rich in beneficial bacteria and methods have evolved across the world over the centuries since. Examples are Korean kimchi, German sauerkraut, European yoghurt, and Indian chutney. In some cultures, such as Tanzania, cassava is made safe by using fermentation to make it into garri. Togwa, a fermented gruel, is also used safely in parts of West Africa where food sanitation can be difficult.

Usage and health benefits

Foods as diverse as yoghurt, kombucha, kefir, cabbages, soybeans, olives, garlic, radishes, peppers, berries, lemons and more can be fermented with techniques such as lactic acid fermentation. Using anaerobic digestion, sugar converts into lactic acid which is a natural preservative, supplemented by salt. These natural and highly flavoursome preserved foods are extremely good for our microbiome and gut, being packed with beneficial bacteria that are believed to support the immune system. Other benefits include reduced inflammation, support of the gastrointestinal tract and support for conditions that include inflammatory bowel disease and IBS.

Fermented blackberries

With blackberries still on the bushes, this is a great recipe to make use of these deliciously sweet foraging wonders. This is a short ferment that only needs a couple of days and results in a wonderful sparkle and lively tartness. Try this as an easy starter fermentation recipe that only takes a few minutes.

You'll need two cups of blackberries, or any other berry that you might be able to harvest, forage or buy, two tablespoons of honey, half a teaspoon of commercial starter culture or a couple of tablespoons of fresh whey and a quarter of a teaspoon of fine salt.

Put the washed berries in a pint jar and pack them down tightly with a spoon. Mix your whey or starter with a little water, salt and sugar, and pour them over the berries. Fill the jar with mineral or filtered water, leaving an inch margin at the top. Press the contents down to make sure there are no air pockets and that the berries are under the water, using a weight if you need to. Add the lid and leave the berries at room temperature for one to two days. you'll know they are ready when you can taste a little fizz, and you can then store them in a fridge for up to two months. These are delicious with cream, custard or in smoothies. They also make a lovely gift when presented in small glass jars with handwritten labels.

Sauerkraut

This is a classic fermentation and, again, it's easy to make and a great way to use up a cabbage from your garden or allotment. Sterilise your glass jar and then cut the cabbage finely and place it in a large bowl. For each 750g of cabbage, add around a tablespoon of sea salt, 2 tsp of peppercorns and half a teaspoon of caraway seeds. Massage the salt into the cabbage using your hands until it is watery or limp and there is liquid in the bowl. Add a little splash of filtered water if you need to. Add the cabbage and liquid to your jar, leaving a gap, and then press it all down with a spoon. Press a weight or clean jar onto the cabbage so that it stays under the liquid and cover it with the lid. Leave it in a cool place to ferment out of sunlight for a week, and then loosen the lid each day to remove any gases. You can test it after a few days to see if you like the flavour. Once it's to your taste, secure the lid and store it in the fridge. It tastes wonderful with sausages or as a condiment for your meals for a probiotic boost.

Stock up on your glass jars

We sell a wide range of large and small glass jars for fermenting at Wares of Knutsford, all at great prices and with superb customer service. See our latest ranges online here and why not have a go at fermenting yourself? We'd love to see photos of your projects, so do share them online and tags us!

See our preserving jar range at: https://www.waresofknutsford.co.uk/jars/fermenting-jars/