Home Fermentation - Kombucha, Kefir, Kimchi, Sourdough, Yoghurt, etc

[Judge Holden]

As some of yall know, I have always enjoyed making sourdough bread and have been keeping a starter culture going for years at this point. However in recent months I have started to become more interested in other fermented foods and drinks both for taste and for the health benefits they provide. After a fairly successful experiment in Kombucha winding up (got good results but was too fiddly and required more attention than the yield was worth) I am shortly going to be producing my own Kefir, and should that be successful and easy I plan on expanding into Kimchi.

Since I am probably not the only kiwisperg interested in this kinda thing, im opening this thread so that any of you faggots can comment on your fermentation exploits and anything you find works well/poorly

 

[Graffiti canvas]

If you wander into beer making, Don't let the starter kits fool you both in how it tastes and how "easy" it appears.

Outside of the kits, even doing just a gallon for a 12 pack is a fuckton of work that can get botched quickly and needs lots of specialized and sometimes expensive gear that makes doing it at home in your kitchen a bitch.

Between controlling fermentation temps, C02, contamination sources and hygiene practices, by the time you're done you've got a marginally acceptable brew that will most likely have shit floating in it and not be enjoyed much by anyone but yourself.

Craft beer is cheep these days. There's literally no need to pursue this in your kitchen anymore

 

[ES 148]

Beer is for the uncivilized, as opposed to that most elegant drink, Monster

 

[DuckSucker]

Craft beer is cheep these days. There's literally no need to pursue this in your kitchen anymore

I got into it, even enjoyed it and got all the shit, built a cooler mash tun, all the shit, and to be honest if you do get all the equipment and spend the time, it can come out better than the average cheap craft beer, but youre absolutely right.

For a 5 gallon batch, especially all-grain, youre starting at normal working hours and probably wont be done and have it put in the fermentation bucket until 4 or 5 in the afternoon. Then you have to monitor fermentation, for two weeks at least, and if you bottle, bottling also takes an entire day. After that you have to wait another two weeks to a month for it to bottle condition, and then another week in the fridge to cold crash the beers and knock the yeast and all the shit floating in suspension down to the bottom of the bottle, and you have to be careful when pouring and transporting it so as to not stir it back up.

It's really mostly enjoyable for the sort of cooking and science aspects of it.

Sourdough on the other hand is something everyone can enjoy, and is great.

 

[Graffiti canvas]

youre starting at normal working hours and probably wont be done and have it put in the fermentation bucket until 4 or 5 in the afternoon

And if you're married, probably have to listen to your wife low key bitch all day about the smell of cooking your mash.

It's really mostly enjoyable for the sort of cooking and science aspects of it

The chemistry part of it was the most enjoyable for me as well. But once I understood it all and it no longer was a discovery/research/test process, I stared at all the crap I had accumulated in order to do it properly and considered necking myself.

 

[Red Hood]

If you wander into beer making, Don't let the starter kits fool you both in how it tastes and how "easy" it appears.

Outside of the kits, even doing just a gallon for a 12 pack is a fuckton of work that can get botched quickly and needs lots of specialized and sometimes expensive gear that makes doing it at home in your kitchen a bitch.

Between controlling fermentation temps, C02, contamination sources and hygiene practices, by the time you're done you've got a marginally acceptable brew that will most likely have shit floating in it and not be enjoyed much by anyone but yourself.

Craft beer is cheep these days. There's literally no need to pursue this in your kitchen anymore

Well there is, if you're doing it out of interest in the process and just like making things for yourself. There's no reason to make your own tables anymore when it' more efficient to buy them, but woodworkers still build their own furniture.

Also making 5 gallons of mead or cider is super easy. We used to do that in college.

 

[IV 445]

when I see the title all I can think of is
STEWIN' AND BREWIN'

 

[millais]

jenkem

 

[Judge Holden]

REPORT ON THE KEFIR

After about a week and a half of fermenting a batch daily I am pleased to announce I am producing a pint of extremely good quality kefir every day now. Got a really good taste to it (got a nice cheesy edge to it if I let it ferment a few hours longer) and the tongue fizz thing that the artisan kefir from the local hipster market has (except its literally 10 times cheaper). Initially it was fairly yeasty and tasted pretty similar to sourdough starter but after about 5 days of brewing and re-brewing that taste has gone away.

Would strongly recomend any faggot here to try this

 

[heathercho]

REPORT ON THE KEFIR

After about a week and a half of fermenting a batch daily I am pleased to announce I am producing a pint of extremely good quality kefir every day now. Got a really good taste to it (got a nice cheesy edge to it if I let it ferment a few hours longer) and the tongue fizz thing that the artisan kefir from the local hipster market has (except its literally 10 times cheaper). Initially it was fairly yeasty and tasted pretty similar to sourdough starter but after about 5 days of brewing and re-brewing that taste has gone away.

Would strongly recomend any faggot here to try this

If you can make Kefir, Kimchis will be easy. There are many types, not just your regular red chili cabbage one.
Also Nukazuke. That's a favorite of mine but more "involved".

 

[Meat Poultry Veg]

Also making 5 gallons of mead or cider is super easy. We used to do that in college.

That's why I've only ever made mead and fruit wine--the sugar is already made. I don't have to deal with this sorcery that is turning grain into malt.

 

[MembersSchoolPizza]

Craft beer is cheep these days. There's literally no need to pursue this in your kitchen anymore

There may be no need, but it's a lot of fun.

And wine, on the other hand? No, heck no. You can make *fantastic* wine for a lot, lot, lot less than you would spend on bottles of even halfway decent wine.

 

[Floating in Ether]

There may be no need, but it's a lot of fun.

And wine, on the other hand? No, heck no. You can make *fantastic* wine for a lot, lot, lot less than you would spend on bottles of even halfway decent wine.

I can make a case of rum for about 10 bucks in materials. More effecient than making undistilled libations.

 

[MembersSchoolPizza]

I can make a case of rum for about 10 bucks in materials. More effecient than making undistilled libations.

I can't say any of my attempts at distillation have been worth writing home about. Except good ol' applejack, which is cheating.

 

[Floating in Ether]

I can't say any of my attempts at distillation have been worth writing home about. Except good ol' applejack, which is cheating.

Three distillations then on to the activated charcoal works for me.

 

[Varg Did Nothing Wrong]

I make kimchi at home semi-frequently, haven't made any this year but I'm waiting to get some proper Korean red pepper flakes. I like to put broccoli and daikon in my kimchi.

 

[Biggimus Bettimus]

You can literally make half-decent hard apple wine with

1) cheap AJ from the store
2) pack of yeast (I got a buttload of free champagne yeast from a wine supply store, and some free buckets, but you only really need a yeast that'll survive up to your desired %'age. Bread yeast goes up to about 8%, whereas the champagne yeast goes more to 10-15% and will give a nice carbonation. But if you really want that cheap bullshit, do bread yeast.)
3) OPTIONAL - jug
4) OPTIONAL - airlock

I say OPTIONAL because I have known people to literally just. Poke a hole in the top of their gallon jug of AJ, strap a balloon around to simulate an airlock, tape it down, and pour the yeast in. However, obviously, this has its risks and is a bit grody.

Disinfect it all, put it all in, fuckin' leave it for at least a week. Drink.
I generally get a bit fancy and steep some cinnamon+cloves in the AJ before putting it into the jug, and add some raisins to the bottom of the jug to ensure the yeast gets nice 'n' strong, but it doesn't really need all that.

Also have made dandelion wine and tea wine. Very fun experiments, and as said above, don't need to deal with the magick of malting grain.

I also do love making sauerkraut. Always have at least a jar. That, and pickled beans. Gotta have it.

I heard somebody say you can make homemade yoghurt using storebought stuff as a starter in the malck you're gonna use; has anybody tried that specifically?

 

[TFT-A9]

I'm likely going to start baking my own bread fairly soon and honestly I'm going to bake sourdough because it's impossible to find a decent loaf of it anywhere here. Gonna go look for a good starter kit and these motherfuckers with their bland-ass soft-crust "sourdough" can fuck right off, shit's insulting.

 

[StrawberryDouche]

REPORT ON THE KEFIR

After about a week and a half of fermenting a batch daily I am pleased to announce I am producing a pint of extremely good quality kefir every day now. Got a really good taste to it (got a nice cheesy edge to it if I let it ferment a few hours longer) and the tongue fizz thing that the artisan kefir from the local hipster market has (except its literally 10 times cheaper). Initially it was fairly yeasty and tasted pretty similar to sourdough starter but after about 5 days of brewing and re-brewing that taste has gone away.

Would strongly recomend any faggot here to try this

After 2.5 years, I would like to know how or if your kefir undertaking ended. Mine ended in stress and guilt. I love the shit. I was getting very high quality, delicious product. But. No one but me would drink it because they're all faggots. Eventually, the grains started to reproduce faster than I could make it. I would separate them out and give them fresh milk, but they just kept growing. I ultimately started dumping them down the drain. I got all up in my head about how they're valuable, healthful, ancient organisms and I was a monster. Thus ended my kefir career. Who's the faggot now?

These days I'm very into preserved lemons. They're divine and no one dies. I've tried preserving limes, too, but they don't transform into something magical the way lemons do. I use the preserving salt in all kinds of cooking.

 

[Judge Holden]

After 2.5 years, I would like to know how or if your kefir undertaking ended. Mine ended in stress and guilt. I love the shit. I was getting very high quality, delicious product. But. No one but me would drink it because they're all faggots. Eventually, the grains started to reproduce faster than I could make it. I would separate them out and give them fresh milk, but they just kept growing. I ultimately started dumping them down the drain. I got all up in my head about how they're valuable, healthful, ancient organisms and I was a monster. Thus ended my kefir career. Who's the faggot now?

These days I'm very into preserved lemons. They're divine and no one dies. I've tried preserving limes, too, but they don't transform into something magical the way lemons do. I use the preserving salt in all kinds of cooking.

Still going strong, and harvesting a pint of it erryday along with kimchi, occasional sauerkraut, and sourdough. Usually I just eat the excess grains or dump them in smoothies.