Fermented Garlic Dill Pickles

Fermented Garlic Dill Pickles

.75 Litre - 6” Fido glass jar  

3 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced

1/2 tsp whole dill seed, or leafy fronds

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/8 tsp peppercorns

4 Oak leaves (best for crunchy pickles) or try grape, raspberry, blackberry leaves, or even black tea leaves

2 cups mini cucumbers, sliced (6 mini cucumbers give just over 2 cups)

Brine: 1 Tbsp Himalayan Sea Salt (15g=5% brine), 1-1/2 cups Filtered water

·         Place spices and leaves in bottom of jar

·         Slice cucumbers using #2 on mandolin slicer - add sliced cucumbers to jar

·         Mix water and salt, stir and add to jar

·         Fit mesh screen over top of veggies and push down while folding edges down inside of jar to cover all veggies

·         Add glass weight to hold veggies down below the brine

·         Seal jar and leave on counter for 4 days

·         Taste after a few days and if OK place jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 months max

Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Preserved lemons are a traditional North African condiment where the sour and salty flavour adds a distinct taste to everyday cooking - here I am using it Raw Style.

Preserved lemons are rich in lactic-acid producing bacteria, and delicious giving a light, clean flavour to foods, sauces, and they make an excellent condiment. Both the flesh and rind of the lemon become edible once they have been fermented.

2-1/2 pounds lemons, (preferably Meyer lemons)

1/4 cup unrefined sea salt

·       Trim the ends off lemons, taking care not to cut into the flesh and then slice the lemons as if to quarter them - keeping the base of the lemon intact.

·       Sprinkle the interior of the lemons with unrefined sea salt then layer in your Mason jar, crock or fermentation device. Sprinkle with unrefined sea salt then mash with a wooden spoon or dowel until the rinds of the lemon begin to soften and the lemons release their juice which should combine with the salt to create a brine conducive to the proliferation of beneficial bacteria.

·       Continue mashing, salting and mashing until your lemons fill the jar and rest below the level of the brine

·       Ferment at room temperature for three to four weeks, and transfer jar to the refrigerator

·       Lemons can be kept for one to two years

Kombucha - Step by Step

Drinking Kombucha reminds me of a very fizzy fruit drink and when I play around with different fruit combinations the taste is divine! 

Kombucha is a fermented tea made with a kombucha starter culture (I use a scoby). The tea is prepared with boiled distilled water, sugar, fresh tea bags, and some kombucha tea from a previous batch (starter tea). 

The mixture is allowed to ferment at room temperature and can be consumed plain but I really like it after a 2nd ferment when flavoured with different fruit or juice combinations. A longer fermentation time gives a more cultured drink with a more vinegary taste - adding fruit or juice in 2nd fermentation can sweeten the Kombucha.

Kombucha
(3 quarts = 12.49 cups Cdn)
3 quarts distilled water (12 cups)
1 cup organic cane sugar
2 tea bags, Oolong or Jasmine
3 tea bags, Green
1 scoby with 6 ounces harvested tea

1st Ferment

• Bring 6 cups (1/2 of the water) to a boil
• Remove from heat, add the cup of sugar and stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve
• Add the 5 tea bags (2 Oolong, 3 Green)
• Steep tea bags for 15 to 30 minutes - remove and discard the tea bags - cool tea to room temperature
• When completely cooled, mix in the remaining 6 cups (other 1/2 of the distilled water)
  
• Pour the tea into a one gallon container (or divide between two 2-quart glass jars
• No metal should touch the mushroom (scoby)
• Add a whole scoby to the one gallon container placing the darker side down (or if using two jars, divide the scoby in half placing each half into a jar)
• Add a large scoop of harvested tea from a previous batch (when you receive a scoby it comes in a bag or jar with harvested tea)
  
• Cover each jar with a thin, clean handkerchief, white cloth, or paper towel and secure with a rubber band
• Place in a dim, quiet ventilated space 70-90 degrees for 7-10 days
• After a week or so, taste to see if it is to your liking (shorter time is sweeter)
• When tasting try not to disturb the new scoby, which grows on top of the mother scoby - poking a straw down the side of the jar is an easy way
• Separate baby scoby from mother scoby and set both aside with 6 ounces of this new harvested tea to make more Kombucha

2nd Ferment

• After the tea is cultured I do a 2nd ferment by pouring the tea into clear glass jars and add fruit or juice to each bottle (Grolsch bottles with flip tops are my bottles of choice - I buy them from the bottle recycling depot)
• Put a lid on and leave sitting in a warm place until fizzy (I keep mine in a camping cooler) just remember to release gases by burping the bottles each day
• Taste and when to your liking, strain and store in the fridge
• Work up to drinking 4 ounces or more a day - before, after, or between meals

Flavourings

I add Ginger slices to every batch but am always experimenting with new flavourings:

Pear

Blueberry

Blackberry, hibiscus

Rose Hips, hibiscus

Raspberry lemonade
Strawberry lemonade

Mango

Cranberries

Master Tonic

This tonic also known as Fire Tonic is made from foods known for their medicinal properties. The fermenting community uses Master Tonic as a preventative for immune system support and general health by drinking a one ounce glass daily, or when sick they report drinking one ounce two to three times a day for faster healing. This is my first attempt at making a batch of Master Tonic!

Ginger stimulates digestion; helps stomach upset and nausea; boosts circulation, respiration and nervous system function; is anti-inflammatory and anti-parasitic; and fights colds and flu symptoms.

Onion supports kidney function and is good for skin and hair. It is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, antibiotic, anti-parasitic, and can help move heavy metals out of the system. Helps with cold and flu symptoms.

Garlic is anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. It is also good for skin and hair,  stimulates metabolism and fights cold and flu symptoms. It is said to support spleen, pancreas, stomach, kidney and lung functions and help blood pressure.

Horseradish Root increases circulation, stimulates lung and colon function, is anti-bacterial, provides iron and potassium while fighting colds and flu.

Hot Peppers are an antioxidant, mood enhancer, good for blood circulation, spleen, pancreas, stomach, colon, lung and heart.

Master Tonic

Use equal parts of the following ingredients and layer in jar in following order:

Ginger

Onion

Garlic

Horseradish Root

Hot Peppers

Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

• Chop each ingredient in food processor and layer in a jar as you chop it
• With all ingredients layered in a jar, pour Apple Cider Vinegar over top to cover
• Put in a dark place or cover with a paper bag to keep light out
• Shake or stir daily for two weeks
• After two weeks strain liquid and save liquid in a glass jar
• Place a colander over a bowl, then spread a cheesecloth over the colander
• Empty the contents of jar onto the cheesecloth
• Gather cheesecloth corners together and squeeze out the liquid
• Squeeze as much of the liquid out as you can - this is the Master Tonic
• The remaining pulp can be dehydrated and sprinkled on soups or salads

Notes:  To bring more energy into the Master Tonic, I started mine on a New Moon and strained the liquid on the following Full Moon.