Fermenting for Foodies

Health, Taste and Tradition

About

Welcome to Fermenting for Foodies!  I’m Emillie, and this is my website dedicated to all things deliciously fermented.

History

I came to the world of fermented foods through my family. Between the four of us we were either allergic or intolerant to a huge list of foods, from celery to sulfites, from shellfish to eggs, and a whole lot of other things in-between. We all suffered from a host of autoimmune conditions, eczema and sensitive digestive systems. We had trips to the pediatric allergist, the hospital and pretty much every alternative practitioner available.

In the end it was our Family Physician who suggested that we start eating fermented foods. Though we had tried a number of probiotic supplements without much success, and my knowledge of fermented foods was limited to beer, wine and yogurt, I was willing to try anything.

In 2014, I made a resolution to feed my family something fermented at every meal.

After checking out every fermented food cookbook available in our library, local bookstore and on the internet I quickly realized that there was a problem. It seemed like everyone was so focused on the health benefits of fermented foods that no one was really focused offering a variety of delicious recipes! So I started this blog as a way to document my family’s fermentation adventure and to share some of our delicious fermentation-based recipes.

Just a few short years later, fermentation has made a huge resurgence with many people offering delicious recipes and fermented products. My family is also doing so much better with our digestive issues. Most of our food intolerances are gone, and my kids aren’t even reacting to all of their diagnosed allergies! (Perhaps growing up played a part, but I can’t help thinking that our fermentation-friendly diet helped!)  I’m still gluten free, so many of my recipes are gluten free; however, the wheat eaters around here do make a mighty fine sourdough.

About Emillie

I am a stay-at-home mom with two busy kids and a love of cooking. Like so many stay-at-home parents, I am always torn between feeling like every day is a holiday and wondering how much longer I’ll be able to keep it all together.

However, I am not easily summed up by my wooden spoon and apron. I am a child of my generation, and I have spent most of my life exploring a random experiences.

  • I’ve got a Master’s in Neuroscience (I love science).
  • I lived in Ireland for 2 years.
  • I cycled all over Europe on a tandem bicycle.
  • I love to write fiction, garden and bicycle my kids around town in my boxbike.

Favourite Ferments

These are my favourite ferments. You will always find them somewhere in my house, though not always in the kitchen because I like to tuck ferments into closets.

Feel free to donate if you enjoy the website.  I appreciate the recognition, and I will use all monies received to directly help to cover the cost of hosting Fermenting for Foodies.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. hi Emillie!

    I’m new to Canada, (just moved to Boton-Est, in QC, near Sutton & Magog,) and slightly experienced with fermenting. I’ve made great Kimchi, at home in florida, and yogurt in past years. I’ll try your vegie kimchi eventually but must say use the fish sauce is easy ~ safe ~ long as you see it fermenting ~ and adds a depth of flavour. (Don’t know where to buy it around here yet!) My recipe also calls for a bit of cooked sweet rice flour (cook in a pan with a little water + a teas. of sugar) too .. otherwise similar. And I ferment it at least 5 days ~ even in florida. About your yogurt recipe ~ very simple and thanks for explaining the “why” of heating the milk. I do not yet know what “denatured milk proteins” are but trust it’s an important step. Any Non-dairy milk ideas? (no dairy for me these days ~ or very little) I’m not into almond milk and cannot touch soy ~ coconut would be good I think but the only kind that is unadulterated that I know of is canned. Thanks for your input. Great info ~ clearly stated too! cheers ~ Josie

    Reply

    • I have a bunch of non-dairy yogurt and other vegan recipes (like sour cream, cheese, etc). Here’s a link to some of my vegan recipes: https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/archives/1142 Thanks for the advice about the fish sauce. Brad has a shellfish allergy, so we tend to steer clear of those sorts of things, however it probably would add the depth of flavour. I just need to try making some DIY fish sauce. 🙂 Traditional kimchi is fermented with dried prawns. If you wanted to add fish sauce I would stir it in after fermenting.
      I was in Magog a few years ago for holiday. It’s very beautiful around there. Cheers

      Reply

  2. I’ve come across your website when googling for info on how to take proper care of my newly adopted milk kefir. Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge and experience! I’m keen on learning about fermented foods, so your website is a delight for me to peruse. Seems that you live on Vancouver Island? I am located in Vancouver in the GVRD.

    Best wishes, vera

    Reply

  3. Emily,
    HELPPPP…. i’m worried… I was drinking my Gingerade Kombucha which i love and all of a sudden i felt the slimy texture and viscous consistency of the scoby, which i SWALLOWED… should i be worried about this..? i once heard of a guy who had swallowed an amoeba and somehow it went to his brain…!!!! do you know if the scoby will survive in my stomach..?

    Reply

    • You will be fine. People eat scobys all the time. It’s just the same yeasts and bacteria that you get from drinking kombucha.

      Reply

  4. Hi Emily,
    I made kombucha for the first time and within 5 min of drinking about 2 oz.. I had a strange reaction…I started feeling a gripping cold sensation first going down my arms then down my neck and upper back. Somewhat like chills. Not sure how long it lasted. It began to go away it would come back every now and then. I also had diarrhea but no vomiting. Within 3- 4 hours I felt fine. Do you have any idea what happened, My daughter drank the same amount and was fine. The scoby looked perfectly healthy with no signs of mold.

    Reply

    • Hi Karen, Was it your first time drinking kombucha? Or at least non-processed kombucha? (The stuff in your grocery store is usually not an active culture.) Here’s a whole post on what can happen when you try a new ferment. I had a similar reaction to miso and water kefir. It should go away with time, as long as you aren’t allergic to any of the ingredients. https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/archives/1425

      Reply

  5. Just getting into fermenting. I have made some really good pepper sauce and a really lousy (lol) batch of half sour pickles. Enjoying every minute of it. Thanks for the tips and recipes.

    Reply

  6. Hi, Emillie!

    I’m relatively new to the world of sourdough starters / natural yeast and I really enjoy your sourdough pancake recipe. I’ve made it several times and put sliced apple or pear and made them into turnovers and they’re really good.

    I just have one question regarding the use of sourdough starter / natural yeast. I’ve been looking all over the Internet trying to find out how much natural yeast or sourdough starter I need per cup of flour. I know the generally accepted view is that you need about 2 and 1/4 teaspoons of instant yeast for about 4 to 5 cups of flour but to me it seems like trying to get a clear answer about the amount of natural yeast or sourdough starter for the same amount of flour seems to vary person to person.

    Do you have any advice? I’m currently using a starter that I think Maybe slightly over 100% hydration. Its texture is kind of similar to a very thick pancake batter. You can pour it but it’s kind of solid and really sticks to stuff. It used to be about 100% hydration, but somewhere along the way I kind of messed up and it might be at more like 120% but I’m not really sure. Like I said, I’m new to this world and so I’m kind of just stumbling around right now.

    Reply

    • Hi Vincent, Thanks for your feedback. It’s always nice to know if my recipes work out as well for other people as they do for me.

      Unfortunately, there isn’t a good rule of thumb for a starter to flour ratio. It really depends on how long you ferment and how active your starter is. I generally start out with a small amount of really active starter, then leave my dough for a LONG ferment. I like the flavour of a longer ferment, as it is more sour and less yeasty. As you get use to baking with sourdough you’ll develop a feel for it. Things will be different in the winter versus the summer, and depending on the type of grains you use.

      Your starter should be quite thin, especially as it ages, since the yeasts will be breaking down the grain. Pancake batter sounds about right. However, feel free to add a little extra flour if you think it’s too thin. Sourdough is definitely an art as well as a science! Cheers, Emillie

      Reply

  7. Hi Emillie,
    I have featured two of you amazing articles in my post about Gut Friendly Desserts. A friend of mine made the peanut butter and banana pudding and she and her family loved it!

    Reply

  8. Hello Emily,
    What happens to Sour Cream with extended fermentation other than it us obviously lactose free? Does pure Cream fermented ever be ome a thickened Curd / cheese ? Without the milk proteins to curdle can pure Cream be one a sliceable cheese or is Mascarpone as stiff ss it gets (cream mixed with lemon).
    Thanks very much
    Brian

    Reply

  9. Greetings from Hawaii, Emily! I was wondering if there is a way to contact you, as I am curious as to your opinion of a vegetarian/vegan diet and adequate nutrition in the adolescent stage. I am 16, and I believe that the fermenting methods that you advocate are very helpful in unlocking the potential of various foods, but was simply curious if you may be able to provide more insight as to what one can do if he/she is on a vegetarian vegan diet and what types of vegetable ferments are best for obtaining the fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K)

    Reply

    • Fermenting certainly makes food more digestible. I soak and ferment all my grains, sprout all my beans and lentils. Fermenting soy (into tempeh) really increases the nutrition. Eating lots of green vegetables will help with calcium, etc. if you are vegan. I think variety is key to a healthy diet, vegetarian, vegan or otherwise!

      Reply

  10. Hi Emillie,
    I’ve been using your sauerkraut recipe for 2 years now. I try to get fresh organic, crisp cabbage and I always add a little liquid from the last batch to the new batch. Over time I have found it has gotten less and less tangy. It also stays pretty crispy. Not at all like store bought ferments. Is this a good thing? I really like it.

    Reply

    • Store bought sauerkraut is usually made with vinegar, so it’s fairly different. You don’t need to recycle your brine from one jar to the next, as the cabbage provides its own culture that develops through various stages as it acidifies. Using a starter culture probably alters that process, but if it works for you, then that’s fine!

      Reply

  12. I’d like to have a go at making tempeh starter following your instructions. Do I have to use soybean tempeh to make the starter or can I use any? I’m currently making a batch of haricot bean tempeh as the local store didn’t have soybeans.

    Reply

    • It should be fine to make culture from any kind of tempeh. You just need to let it spore! It’s the spores that will culture your next batch. Good luck!

      Reply

      • Thank you! I have made two batches of tempeh from the haricot beans (Navy beans in US I believe) and it’s fine. I’m trying to keep one of them going to spore to harvest the starter, but it’s been going for nearly four days and only has one or two tiny spots of black on. Is something stopping it from continuing to culture?

        Reply

        • Hum… I’ve never tried to culture with something other than soy beans, so maybe that’s it. You could try leaving it for another few days. Or just eat that batch and try with soy later. I order a lot of specialty food online. I have a good recommendation if you are in Canada. Otherwise you could try buying soy beans from amazon.

          Reply

  13. Hi Emillie,

    I have Rickettsia (a tick-borne disease similar to Lyme disease). I started taking kefir milk on Thursday 6 June but noticed the symptoms of this illness I have started returning from 10 June. I have stopped taking the kefir milk from this morning, 12 June meaning I had it only for 6 days.

    You aren’t supposed to have any raw animal products whilst being treated for Rickettsia, which may be the problem. However the lady I bought the kefir milk from told me it had been made with pasteurised milk, not raw milk. I’m dismayed that all these symptoms have returned since I’ve been feeling generally a lot better of late compared to the last 8 months. Since being on double antibiotics for a week in every month since January 2019, my system must be craving probiotics, hence my wanting to try kefir milk. I’m terribly disappointed at what has transpired.

    Can you help by perhaps having more knowledge about kefir milk and rickettsia and whether it’s suitable, whether symptoms that return are just temporary etc.?

    I look forward to hearing from you, and thank you.

    Kind regards,
    Bridget Green
    (South Africa)

    Reply

  14. Hi there

    I’d like to get your opinion on home made yoghurt making

    I recently made some home made yoghurt via a good quality yoghurt maker

    Sadly it left me with an upset stomach

    The only thing I may have done wrong was to add kefir milk aswell as cows milk along with the starter culture

    There is some talk of cross contamination which I don t really understand would this have been the reason I didn’t tolerate it ??

    Many thanks

    Tim

    Reply

  15. I’m in the middle of a pickle ferment. Closed
    Glass jar. I’ve never fermented in a container
    That I can see into. It’s getting cloudy, and I’m
    Noticing stuff at the bottom of the jar, whitish
    Film, didn’t know if that was normal? Please
    Let me know.

    Reply

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