WINE, ambrosia, food of the gods! I watched Sandor Katz make a wild (did not use a starter) fermented country wine from strawberries at one of his wonderful workshops. So we started our own batch (using wine yeast though!) of 6 gallons this year, which will be ready by next year’s festival in 2014!

The wonderful Curds and Wine store in San Diego generously provided all the equipment and supplies to make the wine. They carry everything you need (including the rack space if you don’t have room in your house– see pic below) to make the good stuff– wine and cheese!

What I liked

• The early sections of the book cover the history, techniques, and equipment used to make kimchi.
• The recipe pages are well laid out and easy to understand.
• Beautiful photos of the the finished dishes and of the step-by-step procedures.
• The “tips” on many of the recipes are very helpful. In fact, many of them could be moved to an earlier part of the book (e.g. “Chinese cabbage and radishes are the most important vegetables in Korea.”) I’m looking at you, Dr. Han!
• The recipes are divided into two major sections: Traditional and Fusion. The fusion recipes use non-native vegetables such as green bell peppers, carrots, and cauliflower. These recipes are a nod to other cultures and give great ideas on how to prepare kimchi with more readily available veggies (at least here in the United States).

What I didn’t like

• Most of the vegetables mentioned in the book are native to Korea/Asia, and the Traditional recipes are based largely on them. I had never seen or even heard of several of the ingredients (e.g. the “vitamin” leafy vegetable, and the glue plant or glueweed).
• In the introduction, the author eludes to an unabridgged version of this book (presumably not translated, as I could not find it on Amazon) which contains 111 recipes! Why hold out on us? I would definitely pay more than $20 on Amazon for the full unabridged version!
• Many of the recipes are practically duplicates of each other, varying only slightly in one version being the “watery” version of another (e.g. Young Radish Kimchi, Young Radish Watery Kimchi)
• The translations are inconsistent at times.
• The descriptions of the various vegetables are helpful (especially because they focus on the native Korean vegetables, which may not be available here), but not every listing has a picture, which would be helpful (.
• I would love to see another edition to correct the numerous inconsistencies.

Nitpicks aside, Good Morning, Kimchi! is a solid, reliable volume which deserves some space on your fermentation bookshelf.

Overall, I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Now, are we saying pickled green strawberries are this year’s darling ingredient, like Brussels Sprouts were last year? It’s too early to say, but we have seen them making guest appearances on the menus of trendy spots around town such as Nate’s Garden Grill. Of course, we’re leap-frogging the trend as usual by fermenting them rather than quick-pickling (learn the difference!)

Lactic acid fermentation of strawberries is difficult, due to their high sugar content (which tends to ferment into alcohol) and because of their naturally high acidity (pH around 3). But green strawberries seem to have less sugar content than their ripe counterparts. So I found some “quick-pickled” recipes (made with vinegar) to get some inspiration on the spices, but tried brining them instead.

Eventually I did get fermentation activity, and the green berries softened up nicely. They still had a lot of crunch, like a cucumber, with just an essence of berries.

I think they go well with a creamy mild cheese (think brie or camembert), sliced on a sandwich, sprinkled into a salad, or simply stirred into some yogurt or porridge.

How would you use them, Fermenters? Add your comments below!

Warning: Images may not be suitable for young children.

Q: Did we really try fermenting chocolate Easter bunnies? A: No. But this guy spent a few hot days in the back of a U.S. Mail truck before reaching his destination. April Fool’s!

Q: Do fermentation and chocolate ever go together? A: YES, actually. When the cocoa beans (the part of the Theobroma cacao plant from which we make chocolate) are first harvested from the pod (about 30-40 in a pod), they are surrounded by a pulp which has a high sugar content. The pods are allowed to ferment in order to separate the seeds from the pulp. In fact, in ancient American cultures, they used to put the pulp, beans and all into a dugout canoe and let it all ferment together, creating an alcoholic, chocolatey drink! Now THERE’s a party!

Check out these informative videos for more information about the history of chocolate and fermentation from the Getty Museum (thanks to Merry R. for sending to us!)

Source: Uncorking the Past: Ancient Ales, Wines, and Extreme Beverages, J. Paul Getty Museum

“Clip 3″ from  Uncorking the Past: Ancient Ales, Wines, and Extreme Beverages

In his latest book, The Art of Fermentation, author and fermenting guru Sandor Katz writes about several traditional methods of fermenting eggs throughout the ages:

• Bury peeled, hard-boiled eggs into a crock of fermenting vegetables. The acidity of the fermenting brine will protect the eggs from nasty pathogens.
• “Century” or “thousand-year-old” eggs from Chinese cuisine, in which raw eggs are preserved in a paste made from baking soda, lime (not the fruit), salt and ash, and stored for 3 months.
• In the Basque country (Spain), they made a simple brine of water and lime to keep eggs preserved through the winter months, when hens don’t lay as many.
• Miso eggs- in this style, egg yolks are pressed into a layer of red miso and fermented for a few days. The taste and texture resemble cheese.

We also found a simple brine recipe for lacto-fermented purple eggs (dyed with beet juice) from Melanie over at the Pickle Me Too blog.

We haven’t done much experimenting fermenting eggs ourselves yet, but one of our favorite ways to enjoy eggs is soft-cooked over some kimchi!

The recipe is based on one found in this book:

Fruits & Vegetables

• Sage Mountain Farm- appear at most farmers markets
• Suzie’s Farm- farm is in San Diego proper (near Imperial Beach) in the Tijuana River Valley, 1/2 mile from the ocean; appear at most farmers markets; also have their own farm stand and CSA
• JR Organics- farm is in San Diego county; appear are at most farmers markets
• Sprouts Farmers Market- not an actual farmers market, this is a regional small-store chain in the southwest; has a decent, fairly consistent organic section; a wider array of vegetables than fruits; they do buy from all over the world, so if local is important to you, check the label (peaches and blueberries don’t grow in December in the northern hemisphere, e.g.)

Seeds, Nuts & Grains

• Whole Foods- organic corn tortillas; organic (bulk) oats and other grains/flours; organic bulk beans
• Trader Joe’s- has a decent selection of raw nuts (which you can soak/dehydrate yourself!) not necessarily organic or locally sourced. According to Trader Joe’s, if their packaging does not list the country of origin, then it is from the U.S.

Meat

• Da-Le Ranch- in Lake Elsinore, CA; pastured chicken, beef, pork, eggs, and other small game animals; at most farmers markets in town
• Living Earth Ranch- Potrero, CA (SD county)- over 200 acre ranch in San Diego county; pastured chickens (whole); at several farmers markets in town
• Descanso Valley Ranch- pastured chickens (whole); Leucadia, Little Italy Mercato farmers markets
• Catalina Offshore Products- locally sourced/sustainable seafood; this wholesale fishmonger also sells to the public
• Sage Mountain Farm-  sells pastured beef, and I heard through the grapevine that they may begin selling pork
• Glacier Grown- ranch based in Montana, they make twice yearly deliveries to southern California. Grass-fed beef and bison; also raw honey. I buy a lot then store it in a chest freezer

Milk & Dairy

• Trader Joe’s Cream Top milk- unhomogenized, pasteurized organic whole milk; a private label product which actually comes from Straus Family Creamery, a fine northern California farm.
• Claravale Farm- raw cow milk, raw goat milk, cream, butter, ice cream and cheeses; available at some local stores and the Hillcrest Farmers Market
• Organic Pastures Raw Dairy- central California; available at Sprouts and local co-ops; raw cow milk, butter, cream
• Kerrygold butter- from Ireland, where all cattle are pastured (by law); most supermarkets, Trader Joe’s, and Costco carry it
• Cheeses- Trader Joe’s carries a fine selection of cheese, some raw (aged at least 60 days by law); they seem to have the best prices when compared to other stores

Eggs

Pastured eggs; seems like there are more and more pastured egg sellers popping up these days; I recently found two new vendors at local farmers markets. Expect to pay around $7/dozen for pastured. If I’m courting a new egg vendor, I always ask them about how they raise the chickens.

• Paradise Valley Ranch (aka Avocado Lovers)- at farmers markets; I’ve only seen them carry eggs at North Park farmers market; $7/dozen
• Da-Le Ranch- at most farmers markets (except Hillcrest); $7/doz.
• Suzie’s Farm- has them at their farm stand, and I think they just started carrying them at farmers markets; $8/dozen
• Descanso Valley Ranch- newer pastured egg sellers; Leucadia, Little Italy Mercato farmers markets; they also sell meat birds; eggs $7/doz. or $15/flat which has 30 eggs BEST DEAL!
• Your neighbor who raises backyard chickens- if you’re lucky enough to live next to an urban farmer, this is probably your best bet for local, pastured chicken eggs! That is, unless you raise your own!

Pastured, unwashed eggs

What exactly is “real” food and a “traditional” diet?

• Meat- pastured animals, meaning they spend most of their lives outside, eating pasture, grazing, mating and giving birth naturally, etc. “Organic” is lacking with regard to meat quality because, e.g. a cow can still be raised in a facotry and simply be fed organic grains
  • Beef- grass-fed, as cows evolved to eat and digest silage (grass), not grain; cows will sometimes eat seeding grasses, which are grains, but it’s not a major part of their diet
  • Chicken- pastured, getting to run around, eating grass, bugs, larvae, etc.
  • Pork- pastured, not confined, eating veggie and fruit scraps; they’re great recyclers, eating just about anything
• Bone broth- made from the bones, some meat, cartilage, and connective tissue of pastured animals; has amazing mineral content, and gelatin (which is good for us); the good stuff is slow cooked for up to 3 days
• Milk & Dairy
  • Personally I don’t buy raw dairy because I find it tends to ‘sour’ faster than pasteurized milk. Actually it is still perfectly fine to use ‘sour’ raw milk to make cheese or yogurt. But since I only use milk for coffee, it doesn’t work as well. Unhomogenized is the perfect tradeoff for me.
  • See Where is My Milk From? to learn the exact place where dairy products originate; enter the plant code from the carton, e.g. plant 06-93
• Eggs
  • Pastured (not pasteurized!) eggs mean the hens get to run around on the ground, eating bugs, worms, larvae and grasses (they’re omnivores!) They are usually more nutritious than “vegetarian fed” hens, and usually have a deep yellow or orange yolk
  • Pastured eggs are usually not washed (meaning they might have some dirt, dried droppings or hay on them). Do not wash eggs until you are ready to use them, as they contain a helpful bloom which protects the eggs from pathogens.
  • Outside the fridge, unwashed eggs will keep a month.
  • “Free-range” label is a dodgy marketing term and generally means nothing
  • “Organic” label is also not trustworthy, because the hens may still be raised in batteries/factory farms, and are just fed organic grains
• Fats
  • Coconut oil, olive oil, and fats from pastured animals (tallow, lard); avoid any kind of oils (like canola) which are usually processed with high heat or harsh chemicals
• Organic Vegetables and Fruits, grown locally and as seasonally as possible
• Fermented foods- DIY! duh!
• Seeds, nuts grains, flours that have been soaked, sprouted, or fermented; soaking is a traditional method of preparation, and reduces phytates and enzyme inhibitors, both which block absorption of other minerals, and are thus called “anti-nutrients”

I’ve just skimmed the surface here; there are entire books and blogs dedicated to Real food.

Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle is a wonderful, complex and nuanced film about family, love, motherhood, restaurants, and of course, kimchi, a source of pride for the Korean people. It is in Korean with English subtitles. The plot revolves around a family with two grown step-siblings. Each has a very different perspective on life. The older sister, Jang-eun, is an award-winning chef, meticulous and driven. How meticulous? In one scene, she wants the finest quality sea salt but her normal salt seller doesn’t have any and tells her to go to the supermarket. Not satisfied with that answer, she goes to a dry seabed nearby and spends weeks digging holes and building an oven so she can make her own sea salt, the old-fashioned way.

The younger brother, Sung-chan is more down-to-earth, working as a produce distributor. His gifts are more instinctive and his knowledge of produce and kimchi is remarkable. The two wind up competing against each other head-to-head in a national kimchi championship.

And of course, the KIMCHI! The cooking scenes made me shoot up off the couch with excitement! Fast cuts were shown long enough to see the many different ways kimchi is prepared and celebrated. I also learned a lot about the traditions and history (mostly during the contest scenes) and found myself pausing to take notes. For example, did you know that white kimchi (not spicy) was made for many years before red peppers were introduced to Korea?

Along the way, you learn about familial relationships, mostly around mothers and their children. This metaphor is also expanded to the entire country. There is a nice interweaving of modern scenes with flashbacks to fill you in on the multiple plotlines. The scenery is beautiful. I’ve never been to Korea, but the film showcases its beautiful countryside.

I loved this movie! I will certainly watch it several more times to catch all the great food shots!

I recommend watching with a box of tissues to get you through the emotional scenes, and of course, a nice bowl of spicy kimchi. And be ready to call your mother after watching.

And lastly, here are some kimchi recipes when the inspiration strikes.

Available on Netflix instant streaming.

PS I don’t know what the first film in this series is about, but from what I’ve read, this is not truly a “sequel” in that this film doesn’t pick up where the first left off.

Adding red pepper powder

UPDATE: Once mixed together, this combination does NOT keep very well. You should eat whatever you make within one or two days.

So when Naomi Devlin, a blogger from across the pond, wrote a nice writeup of Winter Pickles that she culled from the blogosphere, and asked us to contribute! Naturally we offered up our signature slow sauerkraut recipe.