Progress Report

In the primary fermenter: 3 gallon batch of Memorial Day Honey-Maple Mead.

In the 1 gallon small-batch testing jug: Wild Yeast All-Maple Mead (went in on 6/16)

In a recycled salsa jar in the fridge: Beet-Hot pepper spicy fermented chutney.

I had to throw out a batch of sauerkraut that went bad, sadly. I came back from Ghana to find it molded on top and smelling of serious rot. You can't win em' all. This is really my first setback in the sauerkraut arena- everything else has been coming up roses. I have fresh cabbage and beets stored in and am ready to dive into the next batch. Try, try again!

Some background

Here's my philosophy: you should try anything. Why not? Why shouldn't I throw some vegetables in a jar and let them sit out under brine for a few weeks, just to see what happens? Why shouldn't I be responsible for making my own food, rather than spending dollars to support a corporate food industry that is by all accounts unconcerned with the health of its customers? Why shouldn't I experiment?

If you make your own, in many ways you can taste the effort and the hand craft that went into it. You can go further towards being self-sufficient and running your own home economy. You can create flavors and smells which have never existed before in the world and are delicious to boot. You can keep traditional methods of food preparation alive for generations to come. You can do it all! Go forth and ferment.

All credit for any success I have in these endeavors goes to my parents for raising me the right way and teaching me to ask questions and be mindful of what I eat and where it comes from, to my brother the farmer for being ahead of the curve on everything sustainability-related and for inviting me to dinners at the Hive, and to Sandor Katz, whose recipe I used for my first batch of sauerkraut.