Kimchi, Kefir, Sauerkraut and all other fermented foods

It can make a nice salad with apple, carrot, nuts

Good with gnocchi too

awesome. thanks both

could heap it on top of veggie hot dogs too I guess

Any ideas for kimchi pizza variations? Here’s one with mozz, pecorino and spring onion. Also tried kimchi and Stilton with tomato base which was good.

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Has anyone got kefir grains they'd be happy to donate/sell/provide for forum donation? Or can point to an online supplier they've had success with? Much appreciated, thanks!

Looks good. I was going to try doing a pizza version of Kimchi Jjigae with some thinly sliced belly pork, tofu, spring onions and tomato. Maybe some of the korean pepper paste on the base too for that sweetness.

Whereabouts are you ?
Milk Kefir ?

Pork belly would be a welcome addition for sure. Had a new batch of kimchi on the go this past week so will try something like that soon.

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Hi, thanks for replying - milk kefir, yes. Hackney but happy to move about.

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What was the change in conditions that caused the black mould do you think? Humidity?

Yes I think it was the change in humidity, which I haven’t controlled very strictly tbh.

-Also not sure if the plummeting temps last week might have allowed the other mould to outcompete the lactoB. Will report back.

Have you tried harvesting some good mold off a different salami? When i made some i had good results buying a posh salami from somewhere, skinning it and then putting the skin and mold in warm suggar solution, leaving it for a bit, then spraying it over the salami.

Then once you have it around, i didnt have to do it again, as my wine cooler / drying chamber was innoculated

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The latest batch of sprout kimchi has got mental on its fermentation. They’ve turned into little fizz bombs inside a week, whereas the last batch took a fortnight to get to the same stage.

I put a bulb of fennel in this mix along with some diced radish and wondered whether that might have affected it.

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I enjoy the irony of me having to buy a fancy salami every time I try to make one myself. Good shout, will try today, great setup you’ve got there.

haha. Yes it is slightly absurd. Whenever there was overlap between salami (or salumi) then i dodnt need to do it again

Anyone in cycling distance of TW11 and fancies some free milk Kefir grains , pm me .
I have used these with un pasteurised Straight from farm milk a couple of times and therefore folk worried about that should perhaps not try them , Ive and given loads away , they have multiplied rapidly and produce a lovely kefir ( I bought them originally from a commercial supplier).
Please do you your research and make you’re ok to take this stuff .Im not taking any responsibility for their use and don’t want any payment , but you quickly end up with excess and I’d like to give some away .
Quite often I mix grains in a smoothie or just eat as is , i just want want to spread , what I think is a great food ... it really fills you up too.
Glass jar and a sieve is pretty much all you need to get started .

Ran outta Kimchi awhile ago and finally got the chance to make another batch.

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Anyone else making cultured butter?

Meals from a local chef always have amazing butter which he makes in house.

He uses yoghurt to culture his but as we already make our own kefir I have been using this to culture the cream.

To a couple of pots of cream which I decant into a jar I add a couple of tablespoons of kefir and a few kefir grains. Leave out at room temp for 3-5 days with a bit of kitchen towel over the top to stop bugs and dirt getting in.

Chill for a few more days to allow the flavour to develop. Then into a chilled food processor and churn until the butter milk separates out. Tip out the butter milk and retain for pancakes etc. Then add ice cold water and churn again, discard the water. Repeat the cold water and churn thing until the water coming out is clear.

Onto a clean work surface spread the butter out using a bench knife and more water will fall out. Keep on spreading out the butter and discarding the water that comes out. Once it is close to dry I put the butter on a clean drying up cloth and wrap it up tightly and squeeze out any remaining liquid. Then cut into the butter some salt or other flavouring. If feeling fancy wrap it up in cling film to make a roll so you can cut off roundels of butter.

Its a completely different beast to supermarket butter, much more flavour and we now frequently have just bread and butter instead of bread and cheese for lunch.

Next I want to get local unhomegenised organic cream to hopefully improve flavour even more.

That sounds really cool and kudos

Couple questions - how much do you reckon that butter costs vs butter from supermarket?
Do you need a food processor to churn?

Appreciate it’s not a money saving thing, it just seems quite a lot of effort for butter but you have my attention

Just whipping normal butter is also a revelation

600ml cream yielded approx 350g butter and 200ml buttermilk. These are guesstimates. But flavour is complex and interesting and I am time rich so the reward is worthwhile.

So it costs about £2.10 to make 350g butter which is cheaper than nice Cornish butter from the supermarket. If I use organic cream the price will increase but buying cream on special offer is perfect for this.

Now I have started this I don’t think my wife will accept a return to normal butter for spreading on bread but it’ll be tolerated for cooking!

Doesn't that just make it soft? Or does adding air improve the flavour?

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I've not tried adding yoghurt to cream yet but will give it a go. Have you tried adding smoked salt? Not an every day thing but really good in food or on meats