Fermentation is Food Preservation
When most folks think about fermentation, they typically think of the fun kind that produced alcoholic beverages. While this is certainly the case, especially given my day job, I also like to play around with other types of fermentation that is an ancient form of food preservation. Matter of fact, before refrigeration and pasteurization, fermentation was the defacto method to ensure food preservation and potable water. Simply put, without fermentation, I doubt human civilization would have advanced to where it is today.
Which bring me to garden food preservation: each year my wife, myself and our friends “put up” the bounty that comes in from our garden. We use all forms of traditional food preservation methodologies, but my favorite is fermenting with brine to induce lacto-fermentation. Depending on the food item (sauerkraut, hot sauce, pickles, etc.), my brine mixture varies from 2.5% to 4.5% salt water brine mixture. This time around, I used a 2.5% brine mixture for my sauerkraut, with a 1.25% addition of sugar to help ramp up vigorous microbial activity. I’ll be packaging my ferments tonight after 12 days in fermentation.
There is so much you can ferment from your garden, and I suggest checking out these books to help you get started: The Noma Guide to Fermentation and The Farmhouse Culture Guide. All helped me preserve the garden bounty for months to come. Enjoy, and happy fermenting!
Fermenting sauerkraut in custom made mason jar fermenters.
