My Journey Into the World of Fermentation
Ukrainian Fermented Cucumbers with Dill and Garlic
Before we dive in. For anyone craving dessert, I have a 6-inch Matcha Coconut Cream Burnt Basque Cheesecake available for $38. Text me at 614-975-1712 to claim.
You all know how much I love fermentation. Some of you might have even seen my giant S.C.O.B.Y on the season 1 finale of Taco Mafia (episode 8). My journey into the world of fermentation isn’t very neat, but I want to begin by sharing one aspect of that journey in today’s newsletter.
I first became interested in fermentation, grain fermentation specifically, through the world of beer and beer-making. I was a bartender at a craft beer bar called Bodega in Columbus, Ohio. I worked there from winter of 2010 through summer of 2011.
At that time, we were the only bar in Columbus to have 50 or so taps. I started to learn the difference between top (ales) and bottom (lagers) fermentation. For example, bottom fermentation is a process that uses “bottom-fermented” yeasts such as Saccharomyces carlsbergensis. These strains of yeast ferment at lower temperatures, somewhere between 5 C to 10 C (41 F to 50F). Top, on the other hand, ferment at high temperatures between 16 C to 24C (60 F to 75 F).
But the type of fermentation that I became obsessed with was spontaneous fermentation. The fermentation process for spontaneously fermented beers looks like this. First brewers fill a coolship—fancy word for the container with lots of surface area that holds the wort— with wort (the water, grains, hops solution that becomes beer) and leave it for several hours to both cool down and to collect the wild yeast and bacteria. As this is happening, the microbiota (microorganisms found within a specific environment) starts to ferment the sugars that are in the wort. The next step is to pour the beer into barrels and let the yeast/bacteria transform the inoculated liquid over the course of one to three years. Yes, some beers can take up to 3 years to complete. And we were just complaining about Panettone taking 3 days.
The majority of breweries that specialize in spontaneously fermented beers are based in Belgium but in the last ten years spontaneously fermented beers became much more popular in the United States. For those of us who are lucky enough to live in Austin, we are 30 to 45 minutes away from some of the best spontaneously fermented beer in the world made at Jester King. I vividly remember, as if it was yesterday, waiting in line back in December of 2016 (very very long line) for their first bottle release from their spontaneously fermented program, now known as SPON. Believe it or not, I actually took my parents to keep me company. The things you do for love. And yes, I do have some of those bottles stashed away for a special occasion or two.
This fascination with spontaneously fermented beer converged eventually with the world of sourdough baking. I like to refer to beer making as liquid grain fermentation and bread making as solid grain fermentation.
The product that lies at the heart of this intersection is of course, KVAS! Kvas is a low alcohol (ABV) carbonated fermented beverage that is made with sourdough rye bread, fermented red rye malt, and rye starter. After making your first batch of kvas, you will create a “kvas starter” that you can use to inoculated new batches in perpetuate. This is exactly where the two worlds met. To make kvas, I needed 100% rye sourdough bread. There was absolutely no where to buy this type of bread in Austin. So the only option I had was to teach myself how to bake sourdough rye bread. I, of course, started by creating my own rye starter, this was back in 2016, and the rest is history. In the most unexpected of ways this journey lead me to where I am now.
I was going through a lot in my personal and professional life at that time, 2014 through 2016 were especially tough years. Fermenting became a type of therapy. Every night I fed my rye starter the world was silent. For those hours that I was occupied baking or fermenting, the world was kind and pain-free. These fermentation rituals allowed me to slowly regain control over my life.
There is so much more I want to say on this topic, especially the role that fermentation played in my identity formation, but I will save that story for another time. I want to finish by saying that I will continue to write about the different types of fermentation: lacto-fermentation, fermented dairy, fermentation of cereals and legumes, kombucha, water kefir, ginger bug, kimchi, and more.
I am excited to share with you all my process for making crème fraîche or smetana (made from raw or pasteurized milk), dairy kefir, sour cream, ryazhenka, ayran, yogurt. I am also excited to show you my Kombucha maintenance process and my favorite way to make kvas.
Next week’s newsletter will most likely focus on the role of fermentation in Ukrainian cuisine. But who knows where the writing winds might take me.
Two of My Favorite Books on Fermentation:
RECIPE OF THE WEEK:
The Best Fermented Cucumbers with Dill and Garlic / Kvasheni Ohirky / Квашені Огірки
Ukrainians love all things sour, which explains the central role of fermentation in our diet, more on this next week.
In my family, instead of worrying if the dish is salty enough, everyone is always concerned about the dish’s acidity. My dad never forgets to ask “Do we need to add more pickles or sauerkraut?” One of the first things I started fermenting in my kitchen were cucumbers which due to their high water content can be tricky as they are prone to fast decomposition—getting mushy.
In Ukraine, we add cherry, horseradish, or blackcurrant leaves to help the cucumbers stay crispy. You can use grape leaves or even black tea leaves as a tannin-rich substitute. The best place to look for cherry and blackcurrant leaves is at your local farmers’ market.
Equipment:
1 Quart Jar
Scale
1 Coffee Filter
Rubber bands
Ingredients:
1 kilo of whole kirby cucumbers
2 stalks dill, with the dill flowers if possible
10 peeled whole garlic cloves
3 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 pieces (1-inch each) horseradish (optional) (can be purchased at Central Market)
2 cherry leaves (optional)
2 blackcurrant leaves (optional)
Brine:
1 liter of water
40 grams kosher salt
Method:
Prepare the cucumbers by washing, drying, and trimming both ends off them.
In a clean jar, pack the cucumbers upright, interspersing them with dill, garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, horseradish, and optionally cherry leaves or blackcurrant leaves.
In a separate bowl measure out 1 liter of water and add the salt, stirring until the salt is fully dissolved.
Pour the brine over the cucumbers making sure everything is covered. It is very important that the cucumbers stay submerged. You can use fermentation weights or do what I do and fill a zip-lock baggie with water and place it on top of the cucumbers (see example above).
Cover the jar with a coffee filter and secure it with a rubber band. Depending on the room temperature the fermentation can take between 1 and 3 days.
Pro Tip: Cucumbers ferment best at 65F.
BAKING NEWS:
February 24th will mark two years since the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. A portion of sales (20%) from this weekend will go towards funding an ambulance for International Aid Legion. My friend Anna Voloshyna, a Ukrainian cookbook author and chef, is organizing a fundraiser in San Francisco to raise funds for the ambulance. Let’s help her reach that goal! Don’t forget to place your order. Your support means the world to not just me but all of Ukraine.
NEWS:
20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL won a BAFTA for Best Documentary! The film is made by Mstyslav Chernov. He is a Ukrainian war correspondent, videographer, photographer, and photojournalist. You can watch the movie on PBS, on Amazon with a PBS subscription (you can do the 7-day free trial), YouTube for $1.99, or Vudu for $2.99.
Quick synopsis of the film:
A team of AP Ukrainian journalists became trapped during the besiegement of Mariupol for 20 days. The journalists continued to document atrocities of the full-scale Russian invasion. Mstyslav used the footage from those 20 days to create the film. Mstyslav and his colleagues were able to capture images of mass graves, bombings, dying residents of Mariupol including children, and many more horrors. As a result of their immense bravery and tremendous sacrifice, these atrocities will never be forgotten or erased bravery and tremendous sacrifices.
“It offers a vivid, harrowing account of civilians caught in the siege, as well as a window into what it’s like to report from a conflict zone, and the impact of such journalism around the globe.”
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