Cottage and Yard

To me homesteading is simply about doing more for yourself with what you have rather than depending on others to do it for you.

Almost everyone that wants to participate in the homesteading adventure can plant a least a small garden if only in containers on a windowsill. But you might think you have to live in the country and have lots of land and a barn to have critters on the homestead working for you.

I came across a site concerning fermentation (http://wildfermentation.com/).  Fermentations can be made from vegetables, fruits, meats, grains, milk and more. And while I had come looking for information on the preservation of foods like pickles, cabbage, meat and milk by means of fermentation the process for making fermented soft drinks or sodas caught my eye and seemed like a simple way to start making fermented beverages of my own. The fermentation is carried on by tiny micro miniature beasties. In the case of the fermented liquid beverages that I am working with the beasts are yeasts.

The process for making a carbonated drink is not complex. I made a batch of ginger ale, following the process described on the Wild Fermentation web site, however the result was not to my liking especially the strong musty smell that the bread yeast that was used seemed to produce.

It tasted a bit like ginger flavored Alka-Seltzer but was not as fizzy. I added some extra sugar and that helped a bit but it was still not what I wanted.

What really had excited me while making that first batch of ginger ale was watching the bread yeast produce its tiny little bubbles of CO2. I had a herd of millions of yeast beasts corralled in a bottle on my kitchen counter.

So what I did was simply add a bit of yeast and some sugar to a 2-liter soda bottle filled one third full of fruit juice. That should ferment, right? After sitting for a couple days the bottle became rock hard from the internal gas pressure.

I opened the bottle which gave off a loud hiss. As I poured off a sample it effervesced and the level of carbonation was much higher than the ginger ale. And it tasted much better but the fruit juice taste was a bit stronger than I thought it should be so I added about an equal amount of water and let it work for another day. This addition of water also makes the resulting drink more economical. Always a consideration to the true homesteader.

I can make a fizzy thirst quenching beverage without the high fructose corn syrup, added preservatives artificial colors and/or flavors that are so prevalent in commercial carbonated soft drinks. I need only use pure fruit juice, real cane sugar, and yeast. And as an added bonus there are no soda cans or bottles that need to be returned for deposits.

So I was finally on my way, having taken the first step to fermenting beverages.
It’s easy.
It’s fun.
It’s low cost.
It’s low tech.

I have perfected two recipes and a common variation that can be applied to each of them. I’m sure there are many other juices that will work and might even be better but these are what I have found so far that will consistantly produce a good batch of beverage.

It is so simple a child can make it, literally.

The first recipe is as follows.
Using a two-liter plastic soda bottle and a funnel that have been sanitized with a very weak bleach solution and then well rinsed:
Insert the funnel into the bottle and then:
Drop in about 1/16 teaspoon of dry yeast. Don’t worry if a little sticks to the funnel it will get rinsed in later.
Add 4 cups full of white grape juice to the bottle.
Put about 1/3 cup more or less to taste of sugar into the funnel.
Add water (chlorine free of course) to the sugar that is stuck in the funnel and wait a few seconds as the sugar dissolves and drops into the bottle
Add additional water for a total of 3 cups.
With the bottle now almost full of the juice, yeast, sugar, and water mixture put the cap on tightly and shake vigorously until the sugar dissolves.
Let stand at room temperature ( the warmer it is the more quickly the yeast will work) for 24 to 36 hours (until the bottle is nearly rock hard when you squeeze it).

I place the bottle in either the kitchen sink or bathtub while the yeast does its job. Just in case it should burst. None has, as yet, but why take a chance.
Once the bottle is hard refrigerate it to stop the action of the yeast.

Note:
DO NOT use a glass bottle. The 2 and 3 liter plastic soda bottles are designed to contain the pressure of carbonated beverages and present much less danger should one burst. It will still be a big sticky mess but at least you will not have shards of glass to contend with.

The second recipe calls for equal amounts of ingredients except that I use cranberry juice cocktail in place of the white grape juice.

The variation that can be made with either of the above recipes is to add the juice of one half of a lemon to the bottle ( strain out pits and pulp). This gives the resulting beverage a tart tangy taste. And as with the amount of sugar used the amount of lemon juice is a matter of personal preference.

And that’s all there is to it.

After serving yourself a glass or two do not immediately re-refrigerate, but leave the bottle out at room temperature until the pressure in the bottle builds back up. That way it will not be flat when you take the next serving. This soda, rather than going flat like the store bought kind, given a little time will actually re-carbonate itself.

Of course while the yeast is working at making the soda carbonated with carbon dioxide gas it also creates a small amount of alcohol. I have not measured it but sources indicate that it may between 1/4 and 1/2 percent. This is certainly not enough to have an inebriating effect on anyone consuming this soda.

At this alcohol level it would require you to drink between one and one and a half gallons to get the same amount of alcohol as provided by a 12 ounce bottle of beer.

It also has a slightly earthy yeast smell to it unlike commercial soft drinks. However, as I enjoy its thirst quenching effervescence I do not find the smell offensive. In fact I inhale deeply enjoying what others are missing.

Also, I have stopped using bread yeast. I purchased two different types of wine yeast. They sell for about $1.00 each at beer and wine making supply shops. One is a Red Star brand Montrachet active dry wine yeast 0.5 grams for $.89 and the other a Lalvin EC-1118 wine yeast ( Selected in Champagne region) 0.5 grams for $1.19.

I have only, as yet, tried the Red Star yeast and it works very well.

One last thing.  I have found is that if I am almost finished with a bottle and there is just a little liquid and yeast residue left I can merely add the sugar, water and juice to it and it will take off and go with no additional yeast being added. I have made multiple batches from one initial addition of yeast before I felt it necessary to clean out and re-sanitize the container. Just another way to economize on the production of this super soda.

So check out that site (http://wildfermentation.com/) for information on many more ways to have the micro miniature beasts of fermentation help you out around your homestead.

I have, so far, perfected one recipe for fermented soda. I call it SUPER SODA.

It is so simple a child can make it, literally.
No boiling no messy mixing not much of anything.

Here it is.

Using a two-liter soda bottle and a funnel that have been sanitized with a very weak bleach solution and well rinsed.
Fill the bottle 1/3 full of white grape juice.
Fill the next third of the bottle full of water (chlorine free).
With the bottle now 2/3 full of the juice and water mixture add about 1/16 teaspoon of dry bread yeast.
Put the cap on tightly and let stand at room temperature for 24 to 36 hours (until the bottle is rock hard when you squeeze it).
Note: I place the bottle in either the kitchen sink or bathtub while the yeast does its job. Just in case it should burst. None has, as yet, but why take a chance.
Once the bottle is hard refrigerate it to stop the action of the yeast.

And that’s all there is to it.

After serving yourself a glass or two do not immediately re-refrigerate, but leave the bottle out at room temperature until the pressure in the bottle builds back up. That way it will not be flat when you take the next serving.

Of course while the yeast is working at making the soda carbonated with carbon dioxide gas it also creates a small amount of alcohol. I have not measured it but sources indicate that it may between 1/4 and 1/2 percent. This is certainly not enough to have an inebriating effect on anyone consuming this soda.

It also has an earthy yeast smell to it unlike commercial soft drinks. However, as I enjoy its thirst quenching effervescence I do not find the smell offensive. In fact I inhale deeply enjoying what others are missing.

Originally posted: July 16th, 2008

Well, I just made a batch of soup. Not chicken and not bean. It is what I call freezer soup. When my wife rearranges the freezer and gives me the things she wants to get rid of I make soup.
This time the main items were some old but still usable hunks of pork and a small bag of chicken wing tips, along with a bag of store-bought mixed Italian vegetables and a small bag of broccoli stem pieces along with a smaller one of fried sliced garlic. We tried this garlic as a test, we put it into the freezer late this summer, shortly after the harvest.

I also added three nice size onions, a half dozen stalks of celery, a large bowl of brown white and red rice, a small container of mushroom stems left from a dinner earlier this week and a handful of parsley that was beginning to wilt in the fridge.

Since I didn’t think boiling a piece of pork even with a few chicken wings would make a good stock I decided to fry the meat first. I threw it all in a pan and fried it till everything was well browned. This then went into the soup pot with whatever I could scrape and rinse from the frying pan.

I added the usual, thyme, sage, bay, black pepper, parsley stems and any other vegetable scraps from what I was preparing to go into the finished soup. These things were simmered for about an hour. I then removed the meat from the chicken wing tips (not much) and returned the bones and skin to the pot. I also trimmed the fat from the pieces of pork and returned that to the pot. After another hour of simmering I strained the solids from the liquid stock.

With the stock back in the pot I brought it to a simmer and added the raw vegetables. Then when it returned to a simmer again I added the already cooked and frozen vegetables as well as the meat and rice. Of course I added a bunch more ground black pepper.

After just a few minutes more on the burner it was ready.

Now I can go out into the cold and get a few things done over the next few days and know there is hot soup waiting inside to warm me up.

By the way my wife said it’s the best soup I’ve made yet.

Originally posted: November 25th, 2007

It is that time of year again when the wind gets colder and the threat of snow hangs in the air. Fall isn’t over and winter has not yet begun. Time for bean soup!!!

I keep it simple, as I try to keep the other things in my life.

Here is my recipe.

1 pound navy beans. Sorted rinsed and soaked overnight in 6 cups or more of water.
Discard soaking water
8 cups fresh cold water added to drained beans in a big pot.
1 or 2 fist size smoked ham hocks rinsed off and added to pot.
½ teaspoon dried thyme.( preferably from your own garden) added to pot.
4 bay leaves added to pot.
Bring to a very slow boil (simmer)
Scoop off any of the foam that appears in the first few minutes of boiling.
Allow to simmer for 1 to 1½ hours ( I prefer my beans a little on the firm side)

While the above ingredients are simmering prepare the following:
2 large carrots, sliced thin
2 large onions, chopped course
4 or more cloves of garlic, chopped course ( or left whole if there are a lot)
4 stalks of celery with leaves, chopped course.
4 to 6 fresh mushrooms, chopped course (optional)
When the beans reach the texture you prefer lift out the hocks.
Add all the chopped vegetables.
Gently stir in the vegetables and bring back to slow boil.
Add a lot of coarsely ground black pepper (you can start with a half teaspoon)
Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more. ( Again I prefer my vegetables on the firm side)

While the vegetables are simmering in the beans separate the meat from the bones and skin.
Put the meat scraps back into the pot and turn off the heat.

Now sit back and enjoy a big bowl of bean soup with home made bread, nicely toasted and buttered. After things have cooled down a little ladle what’s left into jars and store in the refrigerator. This usually gives me enough soup so I can have a bowl every day for must of a week .

I made a pot full this morning and had my first bowl full for lunch today. It didn’t seem as cold outside after lunch as it did before.

Originally posted: November 4th, 2007