Assignment 4: Fermentation
Hey people! I hope you’ve been able to go out and finally enjoy indoor dining again (especially since it rains quite often). Today’s topic will be in contrast to what we associate with summer cooking as I’ll go through a fermented nectarine and ginger recipe.
If you recall the image of fermented cucumbers shown in my first blog post, I was left wary of the fermentation process, as I had ended up with a white film covering the brine, which itself looked like "swamp water"; it turns out, both occurrences were not toxic (though not the most desirable traits in a fermented product) and showed proof of something called Kahm Yeast (Mountain Feed, 2019). Now that I know what causes it, I speculate it came up because I was using a teaspoon to keep my cucumbers underwater and nothing else, meaning the contents of the jar had a high exposure to oxygen, which is an important factor in the formation of Kahm Yeast.
In order to realize today’s recipe, I am following the fermentation technique shown by the YouTuber Joshua Weissman (2019).
The ingredients you will need are:
- 3 nectarines
- Ginger (according to taste)
- Salt
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| The 3 ingredients you'll need |
Recipe
1. Start by sterilizing a glass jar.
2. Cut the nectarines in quarters. Twist them around the pit. Cut the flesh in thin slices.
3. Peel and cut the ginger in thin slices.
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| Nectarines and peeled ginger cut in thin slices |
4. Put the jar on a digital scale and choose the tare mode so it appears as weighing 0g. Put the nectarines, the ginger and enough water to cover the fruits and record the total weight.
5. Calculate 2% of this total weight in grams and add this amount in salt to the jar.
6. Shake the jar to dissolve and disperse the salt and put a plastic bag filled with some water or a rock on top of the nectarines to make sure they are constantly covered in brine.
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| The nectarines + ginger mixed with 2% of salt and weighed down using a plastic bag filled with water |
7. Let sit at room temperature for 3 to 14 days depending on how tart you want your ferment to be. Remove the bag, close the jar and place in fridge. Use as needed for several months.
I need to do maths now?
In the video, Weissman explains fermentation occurs as a result of the glucose present in the fruit or vegetable transforming into lactic acid, this process being called lactofermentation. He uses the technique demonstrated in The Noma Guide to Fermentation (Redzepi & Zilber, 2018) where 2% of the total weight of the fermented mixture is added in salt for most fruits and vegetables, and 3% for those prone to mold, like cucumbers.
In order to obtain the best and safest final product, you’ll need to use your phone calculator and punch in a few numbers. But fear not, I got you covered: after having weighed the contents of the tared-out jar, ie the nectarines + water, multiply this number by 0.02, and you’ll have the quantity of salt you need to add. In my case, since the contents weighed 945g, I had to add 0.02 x 945 = 18.9 = 19g.
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| 2% of 945g = 19g of salt |
You can use the same formula with different units of weight, but obviously make sure you keep everything in the same unit. So using my example, since 945g equal to 33.3 oz, I would need to put 0.02 x 33.3 = 0.67 oz of salt.
Explanation
Beecher (2014) explains fermented vegetables are safe to eat, even after several months, because the aforementionned lactic acid resulting from the process of lactofermentation kills harmful bacteria and the toxins they produce. He also affirms fermented vegetables can actually be safer to eat than raw vegetables. However, you must still adhere to the principles of food safety by cleaning the produce you will ferment, sterilizing your jars and avoiding cross-contamination with tools that could have been in contact with raw meats for example.
In the sanitation certification provided by Traincan we had to do as part of Food Theory I, we learned bacteria need 6 things in order to live and multiply:
1) Food
2) Acidity
3) Time
4) Temperature
5) Oxygen
6) Moisture
Having nectarines sitting in salty water seems like an ideal breeding ground for bacteria but for the following factors (Beecher, 2014):
- Firstly, aerobic bacteria (ie those needing oxygen to survice) won't survive underwater
- Then, proper fermentation will lower the pH of the mixture to 4.6 or lower, at which point bacteria cannot survive
- Finally, as the glucose contained in the nectarines will turn to lactic acid, bacteria won't have any food source
And that's how it becomes and remains safe to eat for long periods of time!
Tasting
I’ll start by saying that this time there’s no presence of Kahm Yeast, hooray! Also, mind you I opted for a quick fermentation of 3 days; feel free to ferment yours for up to 2 weeks, or if you happen to have lots of nectarines on hand, why not ferment them for different lengths of time and see what version you prefer?
First, take a look at the final product:
As the fermentation was short, the nectarine slices have started to become soft but are still discernible from each other. The brine has acquired this beautiful orangy shade that is slightly cloudy and some small bubbles can be seen at the surface.
If you put your nose in the jar, it definitely has this fermented smell that reminds me of alcohol.
While it's edible and I can tell the ferment won't make me sick, it's definitely a weird experience and not really my cup of tea, probably due to the fact that it feels like eating soft salty nectarines. It's actually quite unnerving for nectarines, which are naturally so sweet, to taste not only completely devoid of sugar but salty instead, and that's certainly something to mentally adjust to if delving into fermentation. At least this proves the fermentation happened correctly, as most of the fruits' glucose has been converted to lactic acid.
The ginger, however, has stayed almost as intact as when I put it in 3 days ago, and has retained its refreshing strong flavour.
The taste of the final product does not offer much nuances and you can definitely tell it's slightly gazeous, like sparkling water. By trying to discern which areas of my taste buds get activated, I would say it's the tip and sides of my tongue, the latter being were the main receptors for sour flavours are.
Suggestions
What I would do differently would be to go ahead with flavouring agents, either by adding more ginger or putting Christmas-ey spices such as cinnamon sticks or cloves, to spice up the mix and give it more nuances than the one-note salty-spritzy fruit punch I got.
As for how to use it, it would be interesting to try recipes where fresh nectarines are substituted for fermented ones. For example, when looking at fermentation techniques, I found quite a few recipes of fruit tarts that made use of fermented fruits; so what about using fermented nectarines to make a crumble, a compote or a pie?
And that's the end of this blog as part of CMDI 1029 Food Theory I at George Brown College. It has been a great experience designing the interface of this blog and it certainly has been challenging, in a good way, to find ideas for the posts as well as the content of each week's question. I will keep this blog online and it will stay in the ether of the Internet, so do not hesitate to check it again from time to time or to leave a comment.
Until then, stay crispy!
Alex
Answer to last week’s question
It turns out all answers were correct! That just goes to show mushrooms are a really unique ingredient.
a) The largest living organism on planet Earth is a network of parasite mushrooms in the Oregon forest (Patton, 2015)
b) Yes, you can dye textiles using mushrooms (Roehl, 2016)
c) Japanese farmers of old were right in affirming that lightning increases the amount of mushrooms in the area it impacts (Ryall, 2010)
d) Before trees and plants, the surface of the Earth used to be covered with giant mushrooms (Schultz, 2013)
References
Beecher, C. (2014, March 11). Fermenting Veggies at Home: Follow Food Safety ABCs. Food
Safety News. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2014/03/fermenting-veggies-at-home-follow-food-safety-abcs/
Mountain Feed. (n.d.). Fermentation FAQ: What is the cloudy film in my ferment? Is it safe?
Patton, V. (2015, February 12). Oregon Humongous Fungus Sets Record As Largest Single Living Organism On Earth. Oregon Public Broadcasting.
https://www.opb.org/television/programs/oregon-field-guide/article/oregon-humongous-fungus/
Redzepi, R., & Zilber, D. (2018). The Noma Guide to Fermentation. Artisan Publishers.
Roehl, T. (2016, September 23). #159: Dyeing with Mushrooms. Fungus Fact Friday.
https://www.fungusfactfriday.com/159-dyeing-with-mushrooms/
Ryall, J. (2010, April 10). Lightning Makes Mushrooms Multiply. National Geographic.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/100409-lightning-mushrooms-japan-harvest
Schultz, C. (2013, July 17). Long Before Trees Overtook the Land, Earth Was Covered by Giant Mushrooms. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/long-before-trees-overtook-the-land-earth-was-covered-by-giant-mushrooms-13709647/
Weissman, J. [Joshua Weissman]. (2019, March 9). The Guide to Lacto-Fermentation: How To Ferment Nearly Anything [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u80eGi6pTso
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