Maggots and Vinegar--My Learning Curve With Fermented Foods

Hew Boy, have I been having some fun learning how to ferment things! It seemed to be going well for quite awhile, but then I hit a few bumps in the road. I guess there are too many biological processes involved when you're not sterilizing your food to death. Things can go awry, horribly awry.

The beet juice thing was awesome for a few weeks. I kept brewing new batches and drinking a small glassful every morning. Note that in the recipe I've been using, it calls for placing a piece of sourdough bread on top of the beets. This introduces beneficial beasties as well as keeps the beets under the liquid, which is critical. So, there were the beets and the liquid, topped by a piece of sourdough bread (it was the top half of a sourdough bun, which fit perfectly into the jar), then the jar was covered with four layers of cheesecloth tied snugly around the rim.

I will never forget the morning I took the cheesecloth off my most recent batch of fermented beet juice. I had eagerly been anticipating the newest batch, but when I looked in--OH MY GOD!! (I've had a lifelong aversion to wormy things of all sorts)--the sourdough was crawling with maggots! Just crawling with them. I have NO idea how that could have happened. Four layers of cheesecloth! The cheesecloth was suspended at least an inch above the bread. Maybe the bread needed to be fully submerged in the brine (it wasn't) but still, how could a fly have gotten to it to lay eggs? And we haven't even had many flies this year. That week was the first time I had noticed any in the house at all.

It was so traumatizing I haven't been able to make more beet juice since then. When I get brave enough to try it again, I think I'll use something else to hold the beets under the brine. Something inert like a small cup or plate.

I am so glad I didn't totally freak out and drop the jar on the floor. That would have been great--glass shards, beets, blood red juice, a sloppy piece of bread and MAGGOTS EVERYWHERE. I would have just lost it. Luckily, I maintained control of my faculties enough to get the jar out to the compost bin and dump it before the worst of the willies set in. Bleck!

The next adventure had to do with my sourdough starter. I was making a new batch of ginger ale and had all the ingredients in the bottle except for the yeast. As I mentioned before, I've started using a tablespoon of my sourdough starter in place of commercial yeast, and have really liked the results. So I got the starter out of the fridge, opened it, and held it up to my nose. Instead of the pleasant yeasty aroma of sourdough, my nose was assaulted with the pungent smell of vinegar. My sourdough had turned to vinegar--Oh No! It's true I'd been abusing it lately. I left it out on the counter too long without feeding it one time. I think that's what did it. If you've never worked with sourdough you might not realize the liquid that forms on top of the starter is pure "hooch"--grain alcohol--so, yes, it's possible for your starter to turn to vinegar. In wine-making that's why fermentation is done in narrow-necked containers, to keep the vinegar-making beasties out. But I had left my wide round bowl of starter out on the counter (for a very long time) which was just a big ole' welcome sign for them.

So then I had another problem. Here I was with a three liter bottle of ginger ale all ready to go except for the yeast. And I didn't have any sourdough starter nor any commercial yeast. I decided to see what would happen if I just let it go as is. Would there be enough wild yeasts present on the ginger to get the process going and allow it to ferment? Well, guess what--it worked! It took about two or three days, instead of the usual one day, but it carbonated itself. Yay! I learned something really valuable--adding yeast was never even necessary. It just speeds things up a bit.

Aside from these lessons, my other fermentation projects are going well. I've made fermented chard stalks which are coming along nicely, as well as a fermented salsa that's not half bad.

Live and learn, though. These sure have been some interesting food adventures.

The Perfect Batch of Homemade Ginger Ale

I finally did it! I've been experimenting with homemade ginger ale for awhile, and although the results have always been passable, this week I finally brewed the perfect batch.

The big difference this time was that I was out of commercial yeast, so instead I used a tablespoon of my sourdough starter. I think the gentler action of the starter was just what was needed. The result is a sweet, tart, fizzy drink with the perfect gingery kick--and no hint of alcohol flavor, as some of the other batches had. The fermentation went just long enough. I think commercial yeast is probably far too active, so that the window of time between the perfect carbonation for ginger ale and having it turn to ginger beer is a much narrower one. Letting it ferment with natural yeasts gave me a wider window.

Here's my recipe:

(Makes one 3-liter bottle)

A chunk of ginger, peeled and grated--I like a lot, a piece up to the size of my palm, maybe a little less
Juice from 1 1/2 lemons
1 tablespoon sourdough starter or 3/8 teaspoon commercial instant yeast
1 1/2 cups sugar
Filtered or otherwise chlorine-free water.

Peel and grate the ginger. Mix the grated ginger (and its juices) with the sugar, lemon juice, and some of the water. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Pour into the bottle, top off with remaining water plus one tablespoon sourdough starter. Screw on the lid and shake well. Leave at room temperature for a day or longer. I use a large (3-liter) soda bottle. Do not use a glass container unless you have a fermentation lock as there is a danger of explosion as the carbonation builds. Even with the plastic bottle you will want to check it frequently. Give the bottle a squeeze every few hours. When it reaches a point where it doesn't yield under the pressure of your squeezing, it's time to put it in the refrigerator. This will stop (or nearly stop) the fermentation process. At this point it should be ready to drink. If you try it and it's not fizzy enough, set it back out at room temperature for awhile and taste it again in a few hours. When it achieves the desired carbonation, refrigerate it again. I use a fine-mesh tea strainer to strain each individual glass as I pour it, but you may want to strain it all at once and re-bottle it.