The Advent Calendar window Green Tip is from Judy today, and she would like to tell you about fermenting and preserving food. With Christmas being the season of excess, and hopefully a bit of time off, this could be a fun and productive way to save food. Why not get the family involved?
We hear a lot about how wasteful our society is these days and about the vast quantities of food that go to waste. Although some of this waste can only be prevented by farmers and supermarkets changing their systems, a great deal of it is food that has been left at the back of household fridges and forgotten about until it has gone off and has to be thrown away. So in order to avoid wasting fresh food, maybe surplus food that we’ve grown ourselves, or perhaps just food that we’ve bought and know we won’t get round to eating before it goes off, there are many different ways to use it to make delicious ferments and preserves to spice up future meals and eat as healthy snacks.
Of all the ways to preserve food, such as: pickling, jam making, chutney making, freezing, which are all great, fermentation, when used as a method of preserving, is in a class of its own. Not only does it require no cooking, thus saving the associated cost and carbon emissions, but its nutritional value is also enhanced by the micro-organisms responsible for fermentation. Out of produce, which could have otherwise gone to waste, you can create a real feast for the senses.
If you can put the time and effort into preparing home preserved fruit and vegetables, the flavours are just amazing. You will have food that tastes far superior to anything commercially produced, and which includes none of the added chemicals used to prolong the shelf life of shop bought foods. You can make a whole range of sweet, sour, salty, pungent, aromatic, and spicy flavours. But the list of foods that can be fermented doesn’t end with colourful jars of fruit and veg. There are crusty sourdough breads, creamy yogurts and cheeses (both dairy and vegan) and fizzy or still soft drinks and even alcoholic beverages. The possibilities of fermenting are endless and the results can be delicious and nutritious.
Fermented food contains beneficial bacteria and is good for your gut micro-biome, but don’t overdo it. You need to get used to new, fermented foods gradually, so you don’t overwhelm your digestive system. Small amounts to start with are best. The BBC Good Food website has lots of recipes for pickles, jams and chutneys as well as
ferments. Here’s a link to a simple sauerkraut recipe https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/
recipes/simple-sauerkraut
If there is enough interest, we hope to run some sessions next year on fermenting and preserving in conjunction with growing food at the Community Allotment. It would of course involve lots of tasting of the end products. If you would be interested in coming along to learn about either growing or fermenting and preserving or both, then please get in touch and let us know, so we can keep you informed of any courses planned. Contact us via email, social media, on 07311 705705 or at ECO HUB. Have a great Christmas everyone!