SOUR IS SWEET

The ancient craft of fermentation is having a modern-day revival, writes Dan Stock

Whether you’re drinking in a cool bar, eating at a hot new restaurant or even shopping in the supermarket these days you’ll see three words everywhere: kombucha, kefir and kimchi.

And while they are three very different products they have one thing in common: they are created through fermentation, one of the biggest food trends of the past few years.

At its simplest, fermentation is a process of preserving food so it can be eaten in future — something humans have done since time immemorial, whether by drying or pickling, curing or burying underground.

There are countless products of fermentation — beer and wine being the most obvious, but cheese and yoghurt, sauerkraut, soy sauce and sourdough are as well — that are created through a process where microbes such as yeasts, bacteria and moulds break down and transform the molecules in the food.

This ancient cooking technique is having a modern revival due to a renewed interest in “living food” — specifically food that helps maintain a healthy digestive system through “good” bacteria.

One of the world’s leading chefs, Rene Redzepi, used various fermentation techniques to propel his restaurant, Noma in Copenhagen, to being the best in the world, and has just released a tome for the professional chef and home hobbyist alike documenting that journey in The Noma Guide to Fermentation.

But closer to home, Sharon Flynn from The Fermentary in Daylesford, Victoria, has been leading the fermented food charge, beginning her “microbial journey” initially as a way to help heal her sick daughter’s antibiotic-ravaged tummy.

“When I got into fermenting it was about gut health, but then I started looking into it more and realised it’s about flavour. We’re being ripped off with the flavour of products that once were fermented but are now manufactured industrially,” she says. “Fermentation takes time, and time is the enemy of food manufacturing.”

As Rene writes in his book: “Once you have these incredible products at your disposal cooking gets easier while your food becomes more complex, nuanced and delicious. People argue over the correlation between fermented foods and an active gut health. But there’s no denying that I personally feel better after eating a diet full of fermented products.”

FIRST STEPS

Fermentation is a process of “controlled rot”, Sharon says. “There’s a fine line between fermentation and rotting, we want to get rid of those bacteria that cause rotting.”

They are generally salthating or oxygen-loving bacteria, so using salt to preserve and shutting out the air will give you a delicious ferment.

There’s little that can go wrong with creating a ferment in a clean environment, Sharon says, but if you get black or pink mould on your ferment, you should discard and start again. “Use your senses. If your kraut is soggy and smells eggy then it’s probably not a good batch and you should get rid of it.”

EQUIPMENT

This is a very simple, ancient process, so don’t get too caught up in buying expensive equipment, Sharon says — a jar, something to “pound” the vegetable into it, and something to weigh it down, is all you need.

Carbon dioxide, which is the result of a happy ferment, needs to escape from the jar, otherwise there may be spills, breaks or seeps. A jar with lid is the simplest, just leave enough “head” room and remember to “burp” your ferment every day (take lid off to release the gas)

Sharon says an air lock system will give you a predictable ferment. Pick up an S-bend air lock at home brewery shops, and fit into a drilled hole in a normal jar lid, with a rubber stopper.

A “follower” is a liner — simply something placed over the top of the vegetables before the weight, to help keep the vegetables down. It should be non-reactive and clean — like a cabbage leaf, or plate.

For the weight, Sharon says a large rock is great — just boil it for about 10 mins to get rid of any dirt — or use a muslin bag with pie weights in it.

COOL KRAUT

To make a kraut — fermented cabbage — all you need is salt and a good cabbage. That’s it, Sharon says.

However, there are a couple of key things to remember. Firstly, weigh your cabbage — look for a heavy cabbage as you want one dense with liquid, as this will help keep the oxygen out of the jar — and then chop it into consistent sizes.

Use the finest, highest grade salt you can — you’ll need 1.5-2% salt to cabbage. Massage this into the cabbage in a large bowl, using a wooden muddler rolling pin, or your hands.

Massage for about 10 minutes, until the cabbage is juicy and shiny. “When you grip it, it will drip with water, that’s when you can stop,” Sharon says.

Next, when you put the cabbage into the jar (dishwasher clean is fine) it has to be packed very tight, pushed down with the muddler after each handful of cabbage. You want to get rid of any air pockets.

As gas is released during the ferment, leave about 10 per cent of the jar free — the more headroom, the less likely it will be to leak. Store at room temperature.

Sharon says the kraut should be “satisfyingly sour” within two weeks. Keep tasting over the next week or two and when it’s as sour as you like, clean the lid, replace, and keep your kraut in the fridge, where it will last for up to a year.

“I personally feel better after eating a diet full of fermented products”

RENE REDZEPI

FLAVOUR SAVOUR

Once you’ve perfected your basic kraut, you can start experimenting with flavouring it. Once your cabbage is dripping add your choice of