Pandemic Fermentations

Taken me a while to get into it, but I've started a fermentation hobby with the latest lock-downs.

With the latest round of lockdowns I've finally gotten into home fermentation.  Not beer, sadly.

Kombucha: My wife started it off by ordering a Kombucha kit for us from allaboutkombucha.ie.  That was fun to set up with the brewing tea with the sugar and watching it ferment over days. We've made about 10 liters so far. Here is my kombucha recipe on copymethat. 

Sourdough: Next I ordered a sourdough starter from kefirgrains.ie, and have been making small boules and pizzas. First attempts had issues of course, but I like the sense progress as each bake gets better. Still nowhere near YouTube quality though.  Here is my sourdough recipe on copymethat.

Yogurt: Then I figured, why not yogurt? I always run out before the next delivery. I started by extending a Glenisk live yogurt (S. thermophilus + L. casei), and have been trying various ways to maintain temperature without a yogurt maker. For me, filling the rice cooker with hot water works, the double wall keeps it at 43 C for long enough. See my yogurt recipe on copymethat.

A-Fil Yogurt: Then I ordered an A-Fil yogurt starter from kefirgrains.ie - it's a similar to Filmjolk but more tart and ferments at room temperature overnight. It doesn't set, so you can just pour it onto muesli, then add more milk to the jar to start the next batch and leave it on top of the fridge to get a bit warmer - not in the fridge.

Yakult: My wife also drinks Yakult - those little bottles of L. casei shirota sugar-milk - and I found the same fermentation trick works as with regular yogurt, so now we have a much bigger bottle of Yakult.  It just takes longer, maybe 12 hours.

Froyo: You know what I haven't seen much of in Ireland - frozen yogurt! So I  strained the Glenisk-based yogurt through cheesecloth overnight, chilled it in the freezer, blended it with a frozen tin of strawberries, some vanilla, honey & sugar and a pinch of salt.  Then back to the freezer in a ziplock, smoosh it around every now and then for the first few hours, and you have FroYo! Here is my full froyo recipe on copymethat.

Here they all are: A-Fil, Yakult, Yogurt, Kombucha SCOBY, Sourdough starter and the FroYo.