Project Fermentation

Big day here in the apartment!  Not only was it BOXING DAY but for the first time we tasted the Sauerkraut!  My Mom suggested rinsing it before eating (to remove some of the excess salt).  This improves the kraut tremendously.  It’s still not great, but it’s ok, better than most of the kraut of my memory (although my Babcia’s is still better, what IS her secret?). 

The Kim-Chi however is fantastic!  It too is improved by rinsing, but is also nice as is right out of the fermenting bucket.

Also, I've started Project Hard Apple Cider!

Ingredients:

1.89L bottle of organic cider - $7

EVERYONE warned me to stay away from ciders with preservatives (potassium sorbate, etc.) so this is just pure organic apple juice.

1 packet Campaign yeast. - $1

The pack says it’s for 4-22L of juice but I just dumped the whole thing in.  Hopefully since there is only so much sugar the extra yeast will just die off.

Equipment:

1 (glass) jug

Apparently you can use just about anything as a fermenting vessel but the proprietor at the home-brew store says there should be no more than three fingers of air between the surface of you cider and the airlock.  The jug LOOKS like a proper carboy… and it was “free”!

1 airlock - $1 (with rubber stopper sized to fit fermenting jug)

Christmas eve I added yeast to the jug of cider, no stirring just dumped it in right on top, like the proprietor of the home-brew store recommended, and by the morning it was bubbling away merrily!  Millions of millions of tiny bubbles form in the cider and rise quickly to the surface, every few seconds the airlock silently “pops” releasing some gas.  It’s actually quite hypnotic.

For now the whole kit and caboodle is sitting on the kitchen counter.  Should be about a month before we know how it tastes.  Can’t wait!

Any experts (or people who know more than me) with advice? Please leave a comment!