Sarah Ferments

These are my adventures in canning, fermenting, and baking.

[sarahferments]

Last night I prepared a caramel sauce for the first time. Here is the recipe for those who are curious.

I substituted brown sugar in this recipe and I think this is why the colour of the sauce is a little off. Fortunately, it got thicker once it was refrigerated overnight.

I’ll be using this caramel sauce in a pear pie later on!

[sarahferments]

Here’s a before and after of quick pickled jalapeño peppers. Another quick and refrigerator pickle recipe I regularly make. I tend to make these once every few weeks.

This time I made them I decided to remove the seeds and even the membranes. In about three days these will be ready to eat and I tend to like to chop them up even smaller into dips. Once I finish the pickled jalapeños I will use the vinegar in other recipes.

[sarahferments]

I finally took the time to prepare some quick pickled red onion. I usually make these during the fall because I tend to enjoy them with recipes that these onion pair with.

I can make these in roughly 15 minutes and once they cool I place them in the fridge and wait a few days before I use them. Most pickles I tend to prefer them to develop in the fridge for a few days before I use them.

[sarahferments]

A little before and after for my most recent pie. This is a vegan blueberry blackberry pie with a polywag on it.

Vegan pastry is always finicky and it’s something I struggle with. I’m very pleased with the outcome and will definitely make another Pokémon inspired pie design.

I’m really impressed this dough keeps its form and does not shrink when baked. Honestly, letting the dough rest overnight in the fridge does wonders. Definitely will use this dough recipe again. To make this I used a double batch from the recipe I linked below.

For anyone who’s looking for a vegan pie dough recipe: https://youtu.be/rSVoCF0reCI

Any Pokémon recommendations for me to design the next pie I make?!

[sarahferments]

I’ve read through so many traditional spicy dilly beans recipes and there was not one that I could make with my current selection of ingredients on hand.

I did not want to go through the canning process and simply make a refrigerator style micro batch. I prefer smaller batches so I can eat the contents quickly.

What I did was heat 2 parts white vinegar and 1 part water in a pot along with some sugar and salt. Then once boiling I added it to my mason jar with my beans in there. In my jar I added some peppercorns, fresh garlic, and some gochugaru for a spicy element. Once they got to room temperature I put a lid on it and then placed it in my fridge.

I’m pleased with how they turned out and I would like to make them again!

[sarahferments]

Over the years I’ve made a lot of kombucha and it’s been a very labour intensive task since my preferred method was the continual brewing method which is efficient for to make a lot of kombucha continuously.

Too much kombucha in a short period of time is overwhelming

These three flavours were great (from left to right): blackberry lavender, strawberry basil, and rosehip hibiscus

Adding herbs and floral flavours to your second fermentation is really fun and I completely recommend it!

[sarahferments]

MSG Pickles

I’ve been watching Joshua Weissman on YouTube there’s some time and the one recipe (that was not fermented) that caught my attention was his MSG Pickles recipe. I absolutely adore pickles, and even more a bigger fan of refrigerator pickles where I do not need to burn myself with the canning process and making a mess of the entire kitchen.

His recipe is perfect, and I’ve only found it on his instagram, scroll and you will see it. He says all the steps and ingredients.

I’ve made about 4 bottles of these over the last few months. I only ever prepare one cucumber at a time since I don’t need that many pickles, and I would much rather do one of these jars since it fits better in my fridge. I just keep the ratios for the brine the same as what he says in his video, and pour over what will fit in this bottle once it was filled with sliced cucumbers.

These pickles are magic and do not take long to make. Definitely give them a shot!

[sarahferments]

Kimchi Preparation

Over the last few years I got into fermentation and I’ve always been on the lookout to try different kimchi (김치) recipes that do not contain any fish due to my allergies with seafood. This has been challenging, and then you end up with a ton of kimchi that isn’t quite to your taste.

After trying a few recipes, I’ve come to find what works for me. 

What ended up working the best for me has been buying the finest ground gochugaru (고추가루), which is ground hot pepper powder. The gochugaru gives kimchi its red colour. Once I open a bag of gochugaru, I keep it in the freezer to keep it fresher for longer, and so I can easily use it for other Korean recipes.

When I make kimchi, I wilt my Napa cabbage with salt and keep massaging it. Closer to when it’s the right texture, I then begin making a paste. I tend to prefer to make a paste with the gochugaru, along with some garlic, ginger, sugar,  a splash of soy sauce, along with some miso paste for some added salt, since I am not adding any fish sauce/shrimp paste.

Next time I might experiment and try to add doenjang (된장) in lieu of the miso since like miso, it’s a fermented soy bean paste. Both are pre-fermented, so it’ll help ferment the kimchi along with adding a nice level of salt.

Definitely check out Maangchi for her Korean recipes and even her kimchi!