Thar She Blows...

If you stopped by the Facebook page or over on Instagram last week, you might have noticed I had a bit of a debacle with the Cider Experiment. I was wrapping up some work in my office when all of a sudden I heard a loud noise, somewhere between a pop and a bang, that seemed to come from our storage room.

Lucky!

When I opened the door, the pleasant yeasty apple smell of hard cider hung in the air. There was a tiny puddle seeping out from one of the cases that we had stored on the floor, and was creeping its way to the floor drain. By some stroke of luck, it happened to be the one case that we'd closed the cardboard lid on. Cautiously, I opened the box, to find that one of the bottles of cider had, in fact, over pressurized and exploded. I chuckled to myself about how lucky I was that it was a self contained mess, snapped a quick picture, and started cleaning up.

I picked up a couple of the intact bottles, and brought them out to our bar area. I knew I needed to get them into colder storage, so I rinsed and dried the bottles and put them in the fridge. When I went back to get more, I thought it was silly to make a bunch of trips back and forth, so I slid the case out of the puddle and picked it up. This, friends, is where everything went wrong.

Aftermath

The soggy cardboard bottom gave out. I could feel it start to happen, but the only thing I could do was squeeze my eyes shut and try to put the box back down. That didn't work. Six more highly pressurized glass bottles hit the concrete floor at my feet. They, too, exploded. This time, however, there was no cardboard to contain anything. Shards of glass flew out in every direction, even bouncing off the wall behind me, some 15 feet away. My shins took a direct hit: pieces of glass went through my pants and actually cut me. Cider went everywhere.

After some much grumbling and cleaning up, all is well. I got the rest of the bottles cleaned off and packed away in the fridge. I also learned the valuable lesson that all of the warnings you see about exploding ferments are quite real. Next year, all of our cider will be packaged in well ventilated boxes with lids while they rest before being refrigerated.

On the plus side, no one was seriously hurt, and that batch of cider is really quite good. Explosions and mess notwithstanding, I'm pleased with how it turned out and am looking forward to making more next year.

Have you ever had a ferment get out of control like this? I've heard from a few folks already who have had similar experiences. What about you?

Making Yogurt

I'm kind of fussy when it comes to yogurt. I like a few of the brands out there, but more often than not I find most commercial yogurts to be thin and overly sugared. Perhaps worst of all, I'm seeing more and more brands of yogurt with so-called "added fiber" in the form of inulin (a.k.a chicory root extract, or fructoogliosaccharides) on their ingredients list, which I'm totally intolerant of. Between that, and all of the preservatives... well, I'll just pass, thanks.

Besides, it's really easy to make yogurt at home. I have this little 1 quart yogurt maker that I bought a few years back, and I love it. I think calling them "yogurt makers" is sort of a misnomer, but yogurt incubator just sounds weird, I guess. That's all it does, though: keeps the temperature at a cozy 110F or so, which is perfect for the bacteria to work their magic.

The recipe I use is equally simple:

• 1 Quart Whole Milk (1/4 cup set aside to thin starter yogurt)
• 1/2 cup yogurt. I use a Greek-style yogurt with as many different kinds of live cultures as I can find. (Zoi, Oikos and Fage are all ones I've tried, with success.)
• 2 Tablespoons powdered milk. This is not necessary, but I use it to boost the protein and make a thicker yogurt. Feel free to use or omit, as you choose.

First, I take the milk and powdered milk, and stir them together in a saucepan over medium heat. My goal is to bring the milk up to a low boil, without scorching it. Once it starts boiling, I take it off the heat and set the pot aside, so it cools back down to somewhere between room temperature and 110F.

While that's heating up, I like to pour the reserved 1/4 cup of milk into a small measuring cup, and add the 1/2 cup of yogurt, stirring gently until well blended. I try to get rid of as many yogurt lumps as possible, so that it's evenly distributed throughout the batch when all is said and done. I also prefer to get this done as early in the process as I can, so that the yogurt starts coming up to room temperature. In my mind, the bacteria needs to wake up from their refrigerator-induced slumber and could use the head start. I may just be projecting, though... not being a morning person, and all.  

Once the milk has cooled, I add in the thinned yogurt. If the milk is still on the warm side, I'll temper it by adding some of the warm milk to the thinned yogurt first, much like you'd do making an egg custard. It brings them closer to temperature, without shocking the thinned yogurt with an abrupt change in temp. Once everything is combined and smooth, I fill the jars per the manufacturer's instructions and put them in the maker. I leave the jar lids off but put the machine lid on, and set the timer for 12 hours. Once the 12 hours is up, the jars come out, lids go on, and into the fridge they go for about 3- 4 hours to stop the culturing process. 

Once chilled, they're ready to eat. I like mine over some granola with honey or maple syrup for a little sweetness. If you prefer fruit yogurts, just add a dollop of your favorite jam right before eating. No preservatives, nothing you can't pronounce... just happy, yogurt-y goodness!

(Want more info on making yogurt at home? Check out this page over at Cultures For Health! They have a TON of information on all sorts of cultured foods.)

What's your favorite way to eat yogurt?


PS: This post has been shared on the Homestead Blog Hop. Click  the link to see more like-minded posts from around the web!

Around the Web

Peeping Chicken. One of the lesser-known
perils of having a home office. 

One of the (many) nice things about making apple butter is that it takes a long time to do it right. Cooking it slow and low, until all of the sugars and flavors condense down...not only does it make for good food, but having a pot on the stove means I can justify staying inside and surfing the internet for interesting stuff.
Plus, the house smells heavenly...

• Some of the new girls should start laying eggs for us any day, now. Read this piece from The Chicken Chick to see how I can tell. 

• While we're talking about roasted tomatoes- I totally want to make up a batch of this salsa.

• I have big plans for the spring. (Seriously, I try to live in the moment, but... there's always a list!) This post from Chism Heritage Farm is going in my prep file for raising meat birds next year. 

• Do you make your own yogurt? I do, and I've often wondered if heating the milk first was really necessary... check out NW Edible Life for the answer.  

• I'm always on the lookout for new blogs to read... CraftyPod is my current rabbit hole. Check out her tutorial videos on English Paper Piecing!

• It's peak blackberry time here. This scone recipe from Fat of the Land looks wonderful!

• Here's another new-to-me blog, called Twill Power. Lots of great weaving info and inspiration! Speaking of weaving... I'm going to be warping my loom today, for a new project. You know, since I'm tethered to the stove and all. ;-)

Time to process some more apples. Oh! Speaking of apples... the cider is starting to ferment- there's foam building and I even saw my first bubble from the airlock today. The test batch is totally old school- wild yeast only. Cross your fingers!

Have you come across anything interesting this week? Share it with me over on Facebook!

Prolific Pods

My garden is being taken over by the Rat's Tails again. I planted maybe half of what I did last year, and I still can't keep up with all of them. I go out and pick some every morning and again in the afternoon, but the pods seem to grow exponentially, over night. It's like Invasion of the Body Snatchers over here.

I'm trying a different tactic today- instead of picking off individual pods, I'm pruning the plants back to a new flower stem, in hopes that it will buy me some time in between harvests. Only time will tell how that turns out, but in theory, it should work out nicely. I'll keep you posted.

For now, though- here's what I got from trimming:

Pile of Pods

All cleaned up

But what to do with them? Why, pickle them, of course! Last year I let them get way too big, and the pods got too tough and woody to really be enjoyable. I thought lacto-fermenting would soften them up enough, but it wasn't quite enough. The flavor was great, though- briny, spicy and they kept some of their radish bite, although it was toned down a bit. This year, I wanted to make sure to get a batch in while they're still small.

Fermentation Station

One of the things I like best about making fermented pickles is that it's really forgiving. I can make the batch as large or as small as I want, so it's excellent for experimenting. I got about 2 cups of tails today, so that was plenty for a little batch. I used a cup of brine from the sauerkraut I made previously, just to kick start it, but all you really need is salt, water, and whatever spices. Here's the run down of what's in my jar:

• 2 cups rat's tail pods
• 4 oz carrots, sliced 1/8th inch thick. 
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon mixed pickling spice (use whatever brand you like)
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 cup existing brine
• 2 cups water

Everything went in the jar, in the order you see them above. I cleaned the pods, then sliced the carrots on my mandolin, and dropped them both into the jar. Next I peeled the garlic, and plunked that into the jar, whole. In went the pickling spice and salt, and I shook the jar really hard at this point, to combine everything and kind of bruise up the veg a little bit. The liquids went in last, and then I carefully sunk a smaller jar inside as a weight to keep the veggies submerged. Once that was in to my liking, I used a piece of cheesecloth and one of the rings to keep any debris out of the brine while it's fermenting. 

(If you want to try this, and don't have live brine to use, double the salt and use 3 cups of water total.)

This will sit on the counter for about a week- since it's so warm right now, it should ferment pretty quickly. I'll keep an eye on it to make sure everything stays submerged, since it's under the liquid where all of the magic happens. I'll also need to skim off any foam that may show up on the surface, but for the most part, this will be hands off from here on out. I'll start tasting the pods after 4 days or so, and when it's to my liking, stick a lid on it and put the jar in the fridge to slow any future fermentation. (Unlike a vinegar pickle, it never stops- but the cold will slow it down considerably.)

Easy peasy! Have you ever tried making fermented pickles? 

Homebrewing Basics- An Introduction

For whatever reason, even though I have a LOT of different hobbies, I'm always on the lookout for new ones. Homebrewing is something I've been interested in trying for ages- I mean, it's crafty, and it's beer- so by all accounts a perfect fit for me. I've just never managed to get around to it... until now.

I recently had the pleasure of listening to a presentation hosted by our local library called "Homebrewing: An Introduction to the Basics", presented by Don Roberts. Don is the co-owner of Homebrew Heaven, a local brewing supply store, and an avid home brewer.

In his presentation, Mr. Roberts gave an overview of what's involved in making beer, wine, cider and mead (a honey-based wine). The biggest takeaway for me was the understanding that in concept, beer, wine, and cider are all created using the same basic techniques.

Here's the super-simplified version:

• Brewing: Using a recipe, the ingredients are gathered and combined. Generally, there's some cooking involved prior to the addition of yeast, in order to kill off any wild yeasts so the brew yields true to the yeast that's been chosen. 
• Fermentation: Wait #1. The yeast does what it does best: takes in sugar, and gives off carbon dioxide gas, alcohol, and energy. Depending on what is being brewed, the time for this step will vary.
• Bottling: When the fermentation phase is complete, the nearly-finished product is carefully moved from the fermenting vessel to the bottles. If additional carbonation is desired, additional sugar could be added at this point for a short, secondary fermentation in the bottle.
• Bottle Conditioning: Wait #2. This is the last, and possibly most difficult stage, in which the final product gets to rest for a period of time (beer is one to three weeks, I'm not sure on the others) before consumption. 

The presentation was true to its title: a very high-level look at the basics, geared more towards whetting one's appetite than teaching actual technique. It certainly did the trick, though- as soon as their next class is scheduled, I'll be signing up. I'd like to get a hands-on look at the process in action, before I try to attempt it myself.

Until I get to take the class, however, I'll be doing some research and reading up on the subject. Do you have any experience brewing your own homemade beer, cider or wine? Tell me all about it!

Food Preservation- An Overview

There's a lot of information out there about canning, which is a pretty great thing, in my opinion. Often times, though, it can be overwhelming to read a story about how the writer processed and canned a couple hundred pounds of, say, tomatoes- in just two days! I love the idea of doing that, don't get me wrong- but for most people, unless you're planning on taking a day off from work and/or inviting some friends over, it's just not practical. 

I don't know about you, but for me, if something is impractical or inconvenient I find it difficult to fit it into my day- let alone make it a routine. This is where knowing your options comes in handy, and a really great place to start is over at the National Center for Home Food Preservation website. There are also a number of excellent bloggers out there who focus on food preservation, but I'm getting ahead of myself already. 

Freezing. Dehydrating. Canning. Fermenting/Pickling. Curing/Smoking. These are all ways to store different foods, and in many cases can be done in small batches so that it's not a huge time commitment. Freezing can be as simple as doubling a recipe, and packaging up the extra half for another time. I do that often when I make soups- I'll freeze up individual portions in jars, so we have them for later. (Yes, you can freeze in glass. You just have to allow space for expansion- I'll go over this in another post.)

Dehydrating is a great way to preserve things- and you can do it with more than just fruit. If you're a hiker or a camper, getting into dehydrating your trail/camp foods can save you a chunk of change. Vegetables (hello, zucchini), herbs, meats and even some soups can all be dried at home. I have a dehydrator that I use, but an oven works just fine, if you're just wanting to try it out. Remember, people have been dehydrating things since long before our modern appliances came around, so you don't need fancy gear to get started. 

Canning... oh, how I love canning! Taking fresh, in-season food and making it shelf stable is practically magic, in my book. Yes, there are safety issues that you need to be aware of - like botulism - but once you know the rules it's easy to play the game. There are TONS of great resources for canning; tried-and-true recipes, that will turn out safe to store as well as delicious, provided you follow the instructions.

Fermenting and Pickling are also great ways to preserve things, and they go way beyond the sandwich pickles that you find in the grocery store. Sauerkraut, kimchi, giardiniera- I think nearly every culture in the world has their own signature fermented/pickled dish. Fermenting takes a little more time, but that's how it was done, before you could go buy gallon jugs of vinegar. Not that there's anything wrong with a quick pickle... they certainly have their place too. 

I haven't done much curing and smoking, for no reason other than I just haven't gotten around to it. I do, however, have plans to build a smoker this year. I love smoked salmon, so when that season comes around, I want to take a stab at it. Of all the methods above, though, curing and smoking do take the most time but a good portion of that is hands-off. 

Of course, these are just broad categories to describe the processes you can use to preserve things. We'll go over each one in more detail over the next few weeks, complete with recipes and links to other great sites to get you started. Until then, check out the basics over at the National Center, and start thinking about your favorite preserved foods so we can talk about them over on Facebook!

What's your favorite method of preserving?