Un-Pickle with Sipping Sister
Fermentation from field harvest to bottle and jar
Fermentation isn’t just about bubbling drinks and tart pickled veggies to Andrew Cobb and Tracy Hamblin of Sipping Sister Fermentation. To them, fe...
Fermenting Safely: Do's and Don'ts Plus Some Tips
Do
Taste-test ½ cup of a new ferment and wait to see how you feel before consuming a larger amount.
Clean the kitchen and utensils beforehand.
Wash your hands with water and natural soap or vinegar.
Select glass or food-grade stoneware for your fermenting container.
Use clean bottles and funnel for final bottling.
Ferment with filtered or purified water.
Ferment with organic, fair trade sugar.
Ferment with wild honey (for meads or honey-based kombucha).
Cover fermentations with a lid and burp daily, or cover with a cloth and rubber band.
Select a warm location with good airflow (such as on top of the fridge or on a countertop out of direct sunlight).
Compost any batch that gets black or dark mold.
Always write down what ingredients you used, amounts and details of process so that you know what you did, in order to next time avoid what went wrong or repeat what went right.
Don’t
Use chlorine on your containers. It kills bacteria, and bacteria are fermentation’s friend.
Use soap unless it’s natural, see above.
Use plastic, crystal, decorative containers or metal for fermentation.
Ferment with chlorinated tap water.
Ferment with stevia, coconut sugar, agave syrup or other sugar substitutes.
Cover with cheesecloth. The weave is too loose and will allow in fruit flies.
FERMENTATION TIPS
Fermentation Gone Wrong: Warning Signs
White fuzzy mold can be OK. Peel it off and if the product still smells good, it’s fine!
Black and darker-color mold is bad.
If it doesn’t smell like food, don’t eat it. The nose knows!
When in doubt, ask a friend for their opinion. See what someone else thinks.
Types of yeasts used by Sipping Sister
SCOBY for kombucha
Wild yeasts, caught off air, fruits, ginger root
S-04 ale yeast for beer
Wild and champagne yeast for wines
Un-Pickle with Sipping Sister
Fermentation from field harvest to bottle and jar Fermentation isn’t just about bubbling drinks and tart pickled...
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