Kitchen Cultures

First came sourdough, then kefir grains, then sauerkraut. Moving on to cultured buttermilk and sourdough friendship cake, I'm now fermenting mixed corn for my poultry so that they can benefit from friendly bacteria.....

I purchased a book called "The Art of Fermentation" by Sandor Ellix Katz, a large, orange tome giving an easily read yet well researched basis for all things fermenty. It's an absolutely fascinating subject (it really is) and does an excellent job of reconnecting ourselves with the food we eat, and the nutritional availability of that food. There's home made and home grown and home cooked, but this adds a whole other level, as you're using the very air you breathe and the water you drink and the warmth and humidity of your immediate environment to create a unique foodstuff for your personal consumption - it's actually part of you and your home in a real sense and I find that fascinating.

I've been feeding my sourdough starter with organic rye flour and tap water, and it lives in a kilner jar with the lid on but minus the rubber gaskit ring to allow for release of any excess gases; same storage for the sauerkraut. The kefir grains are fed on raw milk, and the buttermilk is cultured from raw milk, then propagated with pasteurised organic whole milk, both in jam jars with the lid screwed on. The sourdough cake batter is technically a friendship cake recipe but I'm keeping it for myself, although I have given away one batch so I think that counts....does it?

A bucket of grain is soaking in the kitchen and I'll see if I can ferment that for the chickens, as they require a community of bacteria to digest the food in their crops. I have been giving them kefir and excess sourdough starter which they enjoy. Once I could get my head around the idea of fresh food existing in a state of bacterially-maintained equilibrium in these days of sell by and use by dates, it really made a lot of sense. Allowing the good and healthful organisms (from our perspective) to flourish keeps the less desirable ones in check. It's been going on for time immemorial and we have evolved to utilise these bacteria in our own systems - most people I would guess recognise the worth of say, yogurt and its beneficial cultures and different fermented foods are just other members of the family.

It also saves on fridge space; my worktop now has a beautiful array of jars and pots and bowls contentedly doing their thing with a gentle stir here, or a quick sniff there to check they're happy.