Fermentation usually occurs in the absence of oxygen. That’s why it’s commonly regarded as an anaerobic process. Beneficial microorganisms such as yeasts, bacteria, and molds break down sugars as well as starches into alcohol and acids, making your food more nutritious and long-lasting.
Whether you’re pickling vegetables or trying to brew beer at home, the following steps will help you start fermenting like a pro!
Choose the Best “Starter” Cultures
Did you know that microbes naturally exist in the air you breathe? To start fermentation, however, you’ll need a set of “starter” cultures, like whey, a Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria plus Yeast (SCOBY), or a liquid extracted from a previous ferment. Such starter cultures are highly rich in beneficial microorganisms. When added to foodstuff or beverage products, they’ll multiply rapidly and kick-start the fermentation process.
Keep Everything Clean
It all starts with clean equipment. If you want a good ferment, keep everything spotlessly clean. To prevent harmful bacteria from leaking onto your ferment, it’s important that you are thoroughly clean and sterilize your kitchen equipment.
Avoid Exposure
When your ferment gets exposed to air, proper fermentation might not take place. And this could increase the risk of food spoilage as well as food poisoning.
To prevent such incidents, submerge the fermenting food in brine (a salt solution). When fermenting solid food items such as chopped vegetables, this technique works perfectly. You can effectively control the PH by adding vinegar to the fermenting solution.
Proper Storage
To prevent air contamination, it’s imperative to store the fermented product in a sealable container. Most people utilize a simple mason jar featuring a lid that locks out air. However, there are numerous other alternatives you may want to consider.
Storage containers are usually outfitted with a valve to expel carbon dioxide gases released during fermentation. If you’re making wine or kombucha, you may want to forgo the CO2 venting since these products benefit from carbonation.
Ferment Management
The temperature has a direct effect on fermentation. Microbes usually thrive in warm environments, but the perfect temperature depends on the type of microbes you’re utilizing as well as the type of product you’re fermenting. Adjusting the temperature can hugely impact your process. Keeping your ferment in a cooler environment, like the basement of the fridge, will slow down the rate of fermentation or even halt it completely. On the other hand, heating your product can end up killing essential microbes.
The Advantages
Fermented foods are highly rich beneficial organisms called probiotics that help in maintaining a healthy gut. This, in turn, ensures that your body extracts nutrients from food more effectively.
Probiotics aid the immune system since the gut produces antifungal, antibiotic, anti-viral, as well as anti-tumor substances, and pathogens don’t thrive well in the acidic environment created by fermented foods.
Even more, fermentation helps in neutralizing anti-nutrients such as phytic acid, that’s commonly found in grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. This type of acid usually causes mineral deficiencies and also makes starches, fats, as well as proteins less digestible, thus neutralizing them is extremely important.
Conclusion
Become a better cook with the above simple tips. Brew tasty beer and make delicious vegetables through fermentation. You’ll definitely enjoy the outcome. Just be sure to do it right. Plus, you can hire fermentation services from BTR today!
