Foraging, whether in the city or country, always provides treasure.

In my neighbor’s garden there is an old apple tree. The tree and the garden is in need of care. It always hurts my heart when I see fruit of any kind fall to the ground before anyone even thinks of taking care of them. As nobody actually lives next door I thought it might be ok to go pick them. So I went over there to have a look.

The apples didn’t look that great and they would probably be terrible in most things, I thought. But when I took a bite, it was crisp  and the taste was sweet and sour at the same time – definitely a Granny Smith or at least something very close to it. Granny Smith may not be my absolute favorite but an apple like this is excellent in an apple tart or a nutty Manchego salad.

Apples in general are very useful in cooking, for both savory or sweet dishes. A chicken for example is really flavorful when roasted whole filled with apples and prunes. Different kinds of preserves such as apple compote, apple butter and apple chutney are fantastic treats that can be served with many different things, such as a sweet flavor in oatmeal, as a side to meat or together with cheese on bread. While growing up I remember having only apple compote with cold milk as an afternoon snack.

Then there are endless amazing cakes and pies that can be baked with apples. There is of course always the classic Tarte Tartine that was created by two sisters after a successful accident in the kitchen. A more unusual apple pie is the south Swedish version (Skånsk Äpplekaka) that is made with rye bread crumbs. It may sound strange but its absolutely delicious served with vanilla sauce.

If you have a lots of apples you should really consider making your own apple juice or cider. If my neighbor’s tree would give me more apples, I would definitively brew hard apple cider. Sandor Ellix Katz says, in his book Wild Fermentation, to brew apple cider is one of the simplest alcohol fermentations you can make. You just need a good-quality apple juice (preferably juiced by yourself), a jug, a cheese cloth and a rubber band. He calls it Spontaneous Cider.

Last year I got really inspired by Joanna at Zeb Bakes when she made apple cider vinegar with the scraps and pieces that were left over after making apple cake. I think it’s really clever to use something that normally would be thrown away. Joanna’s vinegar was inspired by Carl Legge‘s experiments which he describes very well in his post “Fermenting Revolution 2 – Apple cider vinegar.” The below recipe is pretty much the same as Carl’s formula (Sandor Katz suggests less sugar in his book).

I think my neighbor’s Granny Smith are perfect for this recipe. Here is what they will become:

Granny Smith Cider Vinegar

• ½ cup (about 120 ml) sugar (I use half regular sugar and half brown)
• 4 ¼ cup (one liter) water
• 6-12 small Granny Smith apples* (more or less if you are using scraps or whole apples)

Heat up the water together with the sugar. When the sugar has dissolved into the water take off the heat and let cool. This is important as hot liquid will not let the natural yeast start the process. During this time you can prepare the apples. I used whole apples, which I rinsed and cut into one inch (2-3 cm) pieces. But you can use leftover bits and pieces as well. Place the apples in a large glass jar or other suitable container. It’s good if the jar has a wide opening, (according to Sandor Katz) as a larger exposure to air helps the process.

When the sugar solution is cool enough (about room temperature) pour it over the apple pieces. Place a plate on top to weigh down the apples (I took a bowl and a mortar). Place the container in a warm place. To avoid fruit flies, cover with a cheesecloth or kitchen towel (fastened by a rubber band). Stir and taste the apples every day. (After about 3 days I could see small bubbles and the flavor was sweet and fizzy. This is a good sign, the fermenting process is doing what it should do).

After 7-10 days, the apples have done their job and you will need to strain them through a sieve. Pour back into the jar and let stand for another 7-14 days. Continue to taste your batch regularly. It will soon start to taste more like vinegar than cider. When you are happy with the flavor, strain the liquid again and pour the liquid into sterilized bottles and seal them properly. The film that will be created on top is called “Mother of Vinegar” that can be used as a starter for your next vinegar.

* You can of course use any other kind of apple in this recipe. You can also make vinegar with other kinds of fruit and berries. Sandor Katz mentions in his book that almost any fruit scraps and peels can be used for making vinegar. He suggests pineapple, grapes or even overripe bananas.

In this Autumn Foraging series see also Leaving Brooklyn in Search for Rose Hips with a recipe of Rose Hip Sherry.

Illustrations by Johanna Kindvall

The post Autumn Foraging: The Neighbor’s Apples Become Your Cider Vinegar appeared first on EcoSalon.

More everyday foods than you think are fermented.

One can barely walk down the street these days without tripping over a DIY sauerkrauter, cheesemaker, home brewer, or pickler. Fermented foods are all the rage, but they’re cool for more reasons than fashion. Fermentation is good for the gut, and increases the digestibility of foods; it’s a reliable preservation technique; and research shows that it increases the nutrient content in certain foods.  The best reason to eat fermented foods though is flavor. The process of fermenting adds layers upon layers of complexity to foods. As an illustration, think about the difference in flavor between milk and cheese, or cabbage and sauerkraut, or grape juice and wine.

Coffee
Coffee beans are surrounded by a stubbornly sticky pulp. After picking, they are crushed to loosen the pulp, then fermented. The length and technique of the fermentation process, along with roasting, determines the final flavor of the coffee.

Chocolate
is a crucial step in chocolate production, removing bitter tannins and imparting complexity.

Tea
The differences among teas can largely be explained by the method of processing, as most teas come from very similar plants. All teas are oxidized, but some teas, such as pu-erh undergo a second fermentation that imparts a unique flavor

Sourdough Bread
Sourdough bread is fermented with the help of wild yeasts that are unique to a region, climate, or even kitchen. Mixing wild yeast culture into flour and water to make bread will create bubbles that cause the bread to rise, and give the bread a characteristic sour taste.

Cheese
Cheese is really milk gone bad (in a controlled way) All cheese consists of milk, culture, and sometimes coagulant. Different cheeses began with different cheese cultures, some of which have been handed down for generations.

Cultured Butter
Cultured butter is butter made from soured (again in a controlled way) cream that is then whipped or churned to separate the whey from the butterfat. This extra step is what makes cultured butter more expensive than regular butter.

Crème fraîche
One of the most versatile dairy products around, crème fraîche is soured cream, the precursor of cultured butter, and one of the easiest and most foolproof cultured dairy products to make at home.

Yogurt
Yogurt is milk that has been cultured with two very specific strains of bacteria: streptoccus thermophilus and lactobacillus bulgaricus. Most yogurts in the grocery store are filled with artificial additives, colors, and sweeteners. When shopping, look for plain yogurt containing nothing but cultures and milk. Or make your own.

Kefir
Also known as drinkable yogurt, kefir is a cultured dairy product similar to yogurt, but it contains more strains of friendly bacteria than yogurt.

Salami
Salami and other cured meats made the traditional (slow) way are actually fermented. The meat is mixed with salt and spices, inoculated with a special culture, and then allowed to cure naturally, without additives. That’s why, when you bite into a really fine artisanal salami, you can usually detect a slight tang. That’s the fermentation.

Wine
To make wine, the grapes are mixed with yeast and allowed to ferment before aging.

Beer
Beer is made from fermented mashed grains like hops and wheat. Differences in flavor and body come from manipulating the ratio of ingredients and adding other flavors.

Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is another very simple home fermenting project. You can ferment cabbage easily with just salt, or you can use a lacto-fermentation method by adding a little yogurt whey. Try it here.

Pickles
Traditionally, dill pickles were made through fermentation. Now they are most often made with vinegar. The traditional types are making a resurgence, however, and can be found in specialty stores carrying local products. Or you can make them yourself.

Kimchi
There are more varieties of kimchi than cars, but all have a delicious funk in common, and that funk comes from fermentation. Kimchi is made like sauerkraut but may contain different types of vegetables and seasonings, sugar, and often some type of dried or fermented fish product.

Kombucha
This popular drink, like yogurt, and unlike wild fermented items like sauerkraut, is the product of a very specific culture. The culture is a spongy, slightly slimy disc that is sometimes called mother and sometimes called a skoby. The culture ferments a mixture of black tea and sugar into a tart, slighty fizzy drink that some people insist is a cure-all for many ailments

Fish Sauce
Where does the dipping sauce in Thai and Vietnamese restaurants get its pungency? From the fish sauce, which is made of mashed up whole fish, packed in salt and fermented. But beware. Not all fish sauce is created equally. Some brands are produced through a chemical process, not a natural fermentation process.

Vinegar
Vinegar is made by fermenting wine with a “mother,” which is a stringy mass of bacteria found in unpasteurized vinegar. It’s easy to make vinegar at home from leftover wine and culture, either purchased or obtained from another vinegar.

Miso
The salty paste used in Japanese cooking is made with a special koji culture, rice or barley, and soybeans. Many people think it’s the key to Japanese longevity.

Tempeh
This meaty tasting soybean cake, popular in Indonesian cuisine is a product of fermenting cooked soybeans with a special mold. If the tempeh sometimes appears moldy, that’s because it is. But rest assured, it’s like the mold in blue cheese and ok to eat. Here’s a great recipe for pan-fried tempeh

You might be surprised by how many common, beloved foods are fermented. But, there are dozens more less common ones such as injera, the tangy, spongy bread made of teff that is used to sop up the juices of Ethiopian and Eritrean stews; many of the shrimp and fish pastes used in Korean and other Asian cuisines; Norwegian rakfisk; and Icelandic hákarl, one of the more challenging fermented foods.

Images: Teo, Victoria Chan, Gianfranco Cardongna, Yo Ames, Vanessa Barrington

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