Roots Simple’s Last Minute Gift Guide

December 23, 2013

A KCET blogger asked a couple of Master Food Preservers, including myself, what we thought would be good gifts for homesteady types. We all came up with, pretty much, the same items. Here’s the ones I suggested:

Saving the Season by Kevin West. We reviewed this book a few months ago but I’ll say it again: this is my favorite book on food preservation.

Excalibur dehydrator with stainless steel trays. Expensive, but this thing works a lot better than those cheap round dehydrators. Truly the Cadillac of deyhdrators.

1.5 liter lactofermentation kit. Yes, you can make one yourself, but this is a nice all-glass model. Plus, when you buy this you are supporting Ernest Miller who has given countless volunteer hours to build LA’s Master Food Preserver program.

What did you give to the homesteaders in your life? Or did you forgo gifts altogether?

Does Sourdough Offer Hope for the Gluten Intolerant?

Mr. Homegrown

December 2, 2013

Bread, Fermentation, Food

9 Comments

Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis.

In the last 20 years bakers around the world have revived the art of baking with a sourdough culture. At first this revival was related to flavor, but increasingly bakers are turning to sourdough cultures in the interest of health. It’s possible that the unique qualities of sourdough cultures may offer hope to those who think they are gluten intolerant or have an allergy to wheat.

Secrets of Kimchi Revealed in Pictures

Mr. Homegrown

April 12, 2013

Fermentation, Food

2 Comments

Hae Jung shows off her special Kimchi gloves.

I spent this morning with Hae Jung Cho and Joseph Shuldiner going over some of the recipes we will be teaching at a hands-on workshop at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. Hae Jung showed Joseph and I how she makes kimchi. Here’s a few of her secrets starting with:

Fishiness! Hae Jung said you can make kimchi without mini-shrimp and fish sauce, but it just won’t have as much umami.

Then there’s the special hot pepper flakes that can be found in any Korean supermarket. They come in a course grind for kimchi and a fine grind for use as a general seasoning. Before the Portuguese arrived in Korea with peppers from the New World, kimchi was more like sauerkraut.

Before stuffing the kimchi into a crock, Hae Jung showed us a way of folding the “sohk” (the mixture of the pepper flakes, fish sauce, mini-shrimp, onions, daikon radish, some greens, garlic and ginger) between the leaves of Napa cabbage that had first soaked in brine the night before. You don’t have to do the special folding, but it’s considered classy.

From this point the kimchi sits at room temperature for a day or two and then goes into the refrigerator. We packed it into a giant crock.

I’m really looking forward to tasting this!

There Will Be Kraut–Lecture on Fermentation at the Historic Greystone Mansion

Mr. Homegrown

April 11, 2013

Events, Fermentation, Food

I’ll be delivering a lecture on fermentation as part of a two day fermentation fest put on by the Institute for Domestic Technology. From the description on the IDT website:

Let the kraut begin!

Healthy, tasty, fermented foods are the new “health foods”. Though ages old, fermented foods are nature’s natural way of food preservation, with an added twist: they’re good for you! See why über chefs of the moment are pickling, curing and fermenting their menu items from scratch.

Our guide for for the weekend Fest will be Erik Knutzen, Urban Homesteader, author and one of our popular Institute instructors.

Friday, April 26th ~ Saturday, April 27th

Location: Greystone Mansion Vintage Kitchen and Historic Library Room, Beverly HIlls

Kickoff Evening Lecture and Kraut Tasting: $20 ($25 at the door)

Friday, April 26th, 6pm ~ 8pm | Greystone Mansion Historic Library (Beverly Hills)

For tickets see the website of the IDT.

If you have never witnessed one of Erik Knutzen’s trademark PowerPoint presentations, you are in for a thrill. Not only are they educational, they are entertaining, subversive and also hysterical. Who knew fermentation can be so many things?

Erik’s evening lecture, especially prepared for KrautFest is entitled:

“Fermenting Revolution: how fermented foods can change your diet, your life and the world”

In recent years, there’s been huge interest in fermented foods, everything from traditional sauerkraut to kombucha. Health food stores even dedicate entire refrigerator cabinets to pricy “pro-biotic” supplements. Erik Knutzen, co-author of The Urban Homestead and Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World, will give an overview of the world’s fermented foods and discuss how you can make your own. He’ll cover everything from sauerkraut to pickles to sourdough bread to the great kombucha controversy to the health benefits of fermented foods. He may even discuss arctic explorer Knud Rasmussen’s untimely death from eating fermented auk meat. The evening will also feature a special sauerkraut tasting.

The evening includes a kraut tasting and book signing.