Ferments + Flour got interviewed...

By Lisa from FoisGrasAndFunnelCakes.com! She's based out of Oakland and writes a blog mapping out her own cooking adventures! I love all of her experiments with jams and jarred conserves using unique flavor combinations. Recently she started a series of interviews for local artisans and Ferments + Flour was lucky enough to make the grade! We got to talking about how we started and what inspires us over at Craftsman & Wolves in SF.  Thanks Lisa!

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

PICKLES FOR SALE

There are still plenty of jars of CLASSIC SAUERKRAUT and KIMCHI RADISHES left for sale! Sold in 8 oz. containers. Make sure you get yours today! The radishes are excellent on rice and I love putting the sauerkraut on sandwiches and salads. 

We're on Good Eggs!

The time has come! I'm so excited to report that Ferments + Flour finally has a published Webstand on GoodEggs.com!

For those of you who don't know what Good Eggs is, let me begin. They are a wonderful company that started up here in the Bay Area (and are expanding!!) to bring local producers together under one roof to share their goods with fellow locals. You order online, and they deliver everything in one bag, whether you live up in Marin or down in Mountain View. Their online marketplace sells things from fresh produce to pantry staples, to grass-fed meats. The variety is amazing, and the quality is even better. I've already ordered a couple times from them and they are an incredible group of people who deliver excellent customer service along with excellent quality product. Now I'm fortunate to be a vendor as well!

The view of the Webstand.

Anyways, after lots of preparation, all of my products have made their way onto a Webstand, presented by Good Eggs. All of my seasonal shortbreads, pickles, and Kombucha are available to all, just like they are here! On top of having an incredibly helpful staff, their website (especially for a vendor) is so organized; it's easy to view items by category, date ordered, etc. Example: you can order those peaches with a pound of chuck together to be picked up on Thursday.

If you're looking for an alternative and convenient method of ordering Ferments + Flour products, be sure to check out our Webstand on Good Eggs! 

Kombucha For Daysss

I officially have more Kombucha than I know what to do with--I used to never think that was possible. Usually I space out the times I create new batches so I'll always have a steady supply on hand. This time I managed to make two 2 gallon jars simultaneously, leaving me with, yes, 4 gallons total. They need an entire fridge just for themselves.

Hogging the entire fridge.

Basically all this just means is that I need your help! I may have made an abundance, but it's nonetheless a delicious abundance and I couldn't be happier with the outcome! This time I created a green and black tea base. In addition I will be offering 3 flavors! You can of course enjoy your Kombucha plain, or I will have freshly squeezed APPLE JUICE available as well as the ever so popular and freshly squeezed LEMON-GINGER!! I didn't know which one I liked more so I thought I'd share both of the bests with everyone.

My hard working SCOBY (his name is Bart).

Remember you can get your Kombucha by emailing me at fermentsandflour@gmail.com or just purchasing through a PayPal account via this website. I offer 2 different sizes: either 12 oz. for $3.75 or 750 ml. for $7. Feel free to email with any other questions as well!

Choose size:

12 oz $3.75 USD 750 ml $7.00 USD

Make sure to include what flavor you would like during checkout.

Kombucha Mustard Recipe!

Because I've been making kombucha for so long, there are times when I have an abundance of it, but am kind of tired of drinking it...Other times I'm too lazy to bottle it, and it over-ferments--resulting in kombucha vinegar! Either way, whenever I have excess kombucha (or kombucha vinegar on hand), it's nice to use it in other recipes instead of just drinking it. 

I found this recipe on the Cultures for Health website, which is a great source to purchase various fermentation bacterias. From kombucha to tempeh to miso, you can find all of the living culture necessities to make your food effervescent! 

Culturesforhealth.com Ingredients: Whole mustard seeds Kombucha Sea salt (optional) Herbs and spices (see below) Use a glass container or ceramic crock. (Canning jars work well). Fill the container about half full of mustard seeds. Add sea salt to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon per quart). Add well-fermented kombucha tea to cover the seeds with about 1/2 inch of liquid sitting on top of the seeds. Cover the container loosely. A loose lid, towel, or paper coffee filter will work well. Check the mustard seeds periodically and add more Kombucha as necessary to keep them covered and moist. As the seeds absorb the kombucha they will swell, and it is important to keep them sufficiently moist. After a week or two the seeds will be soft and will pop when you bite them. At this point the seeds are ready for the blending stage but can continue to sit and ferment for up to a month if desired provided they are kept moist.  One the seeds are sufficiently soft, use a food processor or blender to blend the mixture to the desired consistency. More kombucha can be added to give the mustard a thinner consistency. Vinegar can also be added to increase the level of tang. Customizing Your Mustard: A number of herbs, spices and sweeteners can be added to create a custom taste your family will love. Garlic cloves: can be added during the brewing process or the blending stage Honey or maple syrup: add during the blending stage Chiles: can be added during the brewing process or the blending stage Turmeric: adds a yellow color if desired; add during the blending stage Your favorite herbs: add during the brewing stage

Fresh Pickles! Kind of Misleading...

...Only because pickles aren't, really, fresh. I can say, however, that I just freshly bottled some golden beet pickles that have been fermenting for a couple of weeks now! 

My local market never fails in providing me with beautiful varieties of produce from around the area. This time I noticed the glowing golden beets that looked like they were destined to ferment. They were young and tiny, perfect for any preparation. I must have picked out 5 pounds, and they were all intended to sit in my crock. And sit, and sit, and sit. 

Steeped with jalapeño, garlic, and ginger, these beets have a subtle flavor and are not heavy on the spice. They are still super crunchy and haven't yet taken on the intense effervescent mouth sensation, which makes them super easy to eat, even alone. I'm already a fan of thinly slicing them and eating them alone, or with a light dressing. But I've also repurposed them in soups, salads, and garnishes. 

Get them soon because there's a limited amount and I'll eat them all if you don't!

Fermented Foods: Good For Your Soul + Your Gut!

I'm sure you've always heard how probiotics (and prebiotics) are good for your digestive tract, and help the bacteria in your tummy pass the food along. Foods like yogurt and kefir have had the most publicity containing these benefits, as advertised through various popularized products and television ads. However, I'm here to remind you that there are other fermented foods that provide these benefits! That means pickles, vegetables, miso--even things like soy sauce, fish sauce, and vinegar. 

Thanks to Dr. Mercola and his recent article about Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride's GAPS Diet, ferments foods are a highlight in the diet's guidelines for a happier gut! GAPS is short for Gut and Psychology Syndrome, referring to people suffering from not only an irritated gut, both those who suffer from all kinds of autoimmune disorders ranging from arthritis to Crohn's Disease to allergies to even fatigue. And according to Dr. McBride, these examples of disease have solutions that can be traced back to digestion. 

"In terms of Gut and Psychology Syndrome, we are talking about the functioning of the brain of the person," Dr. McBride explains. "Any dysfunction of the brain is usually connected to what's going on in the digestive system. In Gut and Physiology Syndrome, we're talking about the functioning of the rest of the body. Hippocrates… made a statement that all diseases begin in the gut. The more we learn now with all our modern scientific tools, the more we realize just how correct he was."

So basically all of our health relies on what we put in our mouth? Correct. More specifically, if you have any of the mentioned diseases and conditions mentioned in the article (below), the GAPS diet is especially helpful for you!

www.mercola.com

If you're a person suffering from an inefficient gut, odds are that you're digestion is suffering from poor nutrition, leading to the inability to form the good bacteria--as well as an becoming a host for an abundance of polluting bacteria to take over. And apparently this problem inhabits many people without it being immediately recognized. After all, it's hard to decipher that a problem with your bones or organs is originating from what's going on in your stomach and intestines. Even if you're not suffering from any major health disruptions, Dr. McBride believes in the "heal and seal" method of living "...to drive out pathogens and replace them with beneficial flora."

There are certain factors in order to follow the GAPS diet, which include removing insoluble fiber from your diet (as odd as that sounds)--as it feeds the bad microbes in your body--and making sure the foods you ingest are well-cooked as to avoid anything raw (in order to properly break down in your body).  Then the fermented foods are mentioned!!

I thought it was extremely interesting how she acknowledged Raw Food Diets and the problems that occur when you're only ingesting plants in their purest forms. When we eat raw, we're not absorbing as much nutrition and nourishment because we're cleansing. Admit it, when you eat raw, its because you're on a cleanse, whether it's for a week or as a lifestyle change. You're cleansing you're body with plant purity! There's nothing wrong with that, but when you're cooking your veggies, you're breaking down those cell walls so you can become nourished with what the plant has to offer. Otherwise its purely insoluble fiber that's going to pass right through us anyways. And that's where fermented foods come into play. 

"...as we ferment the vegetables, we break down their cellulose structure. They become less of a cleansing detoxifying food and more of a feeding and nourishing food." 

 "The natural cultures all over the world through the millennia have understood this," she says. "That is why they developed methods to make plant foods more of a "feeding/nourishing" food, and digestible for the human digestive system. The methods that they have developed to make plants more digestible are cooking and fermentation. That is why grains were always fermented or cooked. Fruits and vegetables were fermented and cooked.When we ferment and cook plant foods, we break down their structure. They become less of a detoxifier… [and] move into the group of feeding/nourishing foods. "

Not to mention, fermented foods have an amazing number of other benefits (especially if you're vegan), which include B vitamins, lactic acid, enzymes, and other the other kinds of bacteria present in the atmosphere. 

Dr. Mercola goes on to say...

"One thing that many do not realize is that fermented foods are some of the best chelators available. The beneficial bacteria in these foods are very potent detoxifiers, capable of drawing out a wide range of toxins and heavy metals. According to Dr. McBride, the GAPS Nutritional Protocol restores your own detoxification system in about 90 percent of people, and the fermented/cultured foods are instrumental in this self-healing process.

And you don't need to consume huge amounts either. Caroline recommends eating about a quarter to a half a cup of fermented vegetables, or cultured food such as raw yoghurt, per day. Kombucha, a fermented drink, is another great addition to your diet. The key is variety. The greater the variety of fermented and cultured foods you include in your diet, the better, as each food will inoculate your gut with a variety of different microorganisms."

Yay fermented foods!