Let’s Learn: How To Ferment!

Making sourdough bread has been a phenomenal activity this year in many parts of the world. People turned to alternative ingredients in times of food shortage or as a new hobby to keep themselves occupied during time at home. However, making sourdough is just one method of fermentation. Why not expand your horizons and further explore the fascinating world of fermentation? Once you get used to it, this could be part of your new daily routine.

We’d like to invite the Cookpad community to join us as we host our very first lacto-fermentation recipe challenge. It might sound complicated but it’s nothing to worry about. In fact you may have tried lacto-fermented food before, like kimchi, sauerkraut or kefir. Lacto-fermentation is actually a really simple method that can be applied to most kinds of vegetables and fruits. Although it’s easy to create delicious fermented food, we have very few lacto-fermentation recipes on Cookpad, shame! It’s time for our great Cookpad community to rise into action! Share your experiments and explorations into this fun and useful method, and bring your fermentation knowledge to the forefront.

BENEFIT

- Lacto-fermented products bring fruitiness, acidity and umami to everything they touch.
- It is reported that lactic acid bacteria have a beneficial impact on intestinal health. This ‘feel-good’ food could noticeably improve your health and wellbeing.
- Super easy food preparation! While you’re sleeping, microbes work diligently to make the raw ingredients edible, adding flavour and making it more digestible so that your gut can absorb nutrients more efficiently.

ABOUT THE CHALLENGE

1. Choose your favourite vegetables or fruits, apply lacto-fermentation methods and log the process on Cookpad as a new recipe
2. Please use the hashtag #lactofermentation in the recipe description
3. You can show your creativity in the combination of fruit or vegetables you use, or by adding strong flavour profiles such as garlic or chilli peppers.
4. All participants will receive an exclusive E-book including all recipes entered into the challenge.

METHODS

Surprisingly simple! All items you need are a glass jar, water and salt. That’s it!

Step 1: Wash your chosen vegetables and/or fruits lightly
Step 2: Put your glass jar on to a scale and set the scale to zero.
Step 3: Put your chosen ingredients into your jar and pour water in to cover all the ingredients. Then log its final weight.
Step 4: Calculate 2.5% of the final weight (water plus ingredients). Then measure out this weight in salt.
Step 5: Decant the water from the jar to any pot, bowl or jug. Add the salt to the decanted water to make saltwater.
Step 6: Pour the saltwater back to the jar.
Step 7: Use a weight to ensure the vegetables/fruits stay submerged under the surface of the water (this creates the anaerobic environment for your fermentation). You could use a glass ramekin, glass weight or a plastic bag filled with water (no tin
foil or metal). Place this on top of the ingredients to stop them floating.

INSPIRATION!

Take a look at the recipes shared so far by our community Cooks in just the last few days! Isn't it inspiring!! Join us by sharing your own recipe ideas, or trying out some of our new lacto-fermentation recipes and sending us a Cooksnap.

Reference: The Noma Guide to Fermentation
The Complete Guide to Fermenting Every Single Vegetable