Hein Family Enterprises

First Recipe

The Experiment

Lacto-fermented Rhubarb

When one thinks of lacto-fermentation, one doesn’t usually turn to rhubarb. As a child, rhubarb was a sour vegetable fit only for pie and custard with plenty of sugar added. When we got rid of all refined sugars from our diet a number of years ago, I didn’t have much appetite for unsweetened rhubarb. As my palate cleared, I discovered that my rhubarb has a sweet flavor behind that initial sour taste; enough natural sugar for lacto-bacilli to work on.

My first effort at lacto-fermented rhubarb produced two pints. The first one we began eating as soon as the three-day incubation period ended. I was disappointed with the results. However by the time we got to the end of that jar, they had aged into a very fine flavored, crunchy pickle. The second jar was just as good.

I allowed my second batch to age in the refrigerator for several days before beginning to eat. They started out great.

The Recipe (makes 2 to 2 ½ pints)/h4>

• Pull, trim, and wash several rhubarb stalks.
• Cut the stalks into ¼ inch thick slices.
• Measure 8 cups of slices into a mixing bowl.
• Add one table spoon of Celtic Sea Salt and one capsule of as innoculant.
• Mix this thoroughly until the salt and Spectrabiotic are well distributed.
• Allow your misture to stand for about one hour for the salt and Spectrabiotic to begin pulling juice from the rhubarb.
• 

  Jar and Pounder

  Pack the rhubarb into two regular mouth pint jars. (Use a ½ pint also if necessary.) Use a small wooden vegetable pounder to push the slices down firmly after every 2 or 3 spoonfuls in your jar. After about 2 inches in the jar, the juice should be coming to the top each time you press it down. By the time the slices are nearing the top, you should have enough liquid that the pounder would displace enough liquid to make it run over the top of the jar. Leave about one inch head space.

• Cap the jars with good fitting lids and allow them to stand at room temperature for three days.
• Put the jars into the refrigerator for several days to age.

Enjoy eating. They add a nice flavor to bean dishes, or any meal that requires a pickle.

I have tried this on cooked rhubarb and will report on the outcome next post.

If you are interested in purchasing a small, wooden vegetable pounder, contact me to arrange size, price, and shipping details.

email: woodturnedart(at)vcn.com (replace the (at) with @)

Ellis Hein

There has been some question about whether or not spring has come. My garden has its own opinion. Peas are growing, onions and garlic are looking good, the apples are leafing, and my mangels and parsnips need replanting. That seems pretty conclusive evidence.

If I want lacto-fermented mangels (a type of beet), I will have to get that bed redone. (See the recipe below.) I don’t know if the 25º F nights that got my seedlings or if some underground pest ate them off. The package says, “Plant in early spring.” I will hope this still qualifies as “early” spring.

Some sources indicate that beets (and mangels) are difficult to lacto-ferment without getting alcohol, which would mean a yeast ferment instead. That is why I recommend inoculating such ferments with Simplexity Health’s Spectrabiotic, a blend of eight beneficial bacteria that is also micro-blended with Super Blue Green® Algae to give the bacteria the nutritional boost to get going quickly. Using this method, we have not had problems.

If you grow mangels like I grow mangels, the sizes are varied. I can’t state that you grate a specified number of roots to make a quart of fermented mangels. These roots can get 10 pounds and not be woody. If you grow mangels, the greens are delicious also. Try steaming them. Eat with a garnish of fermented oatmeal for a dressing.

The Recipe

• Scrub, peel, and grate enough mangel roots to fill (packed) a quart jar plus some extra.
• Add one table spoon Celtic Sea Salt.
• Add one capsule Spectrabiotic
• Mix thoroughly and let stand in your mixing bowl until the salt begins to pull the juice out of the grated mangel. (The mangel will appear to wilt.)
• Pack the mangel into the quart jar leaving about one inch head space. A vegetable pounder works well for packing jars.
  

  vegetable pounder

• Cap the jar with a good lid and let sit on the counter-top for three days. Transfer the jar to the top shelf of your refrigerator. You can eat your fermented mangels right away, but they improve in flavor over the course of a few weeks of aging.

Ellis Hein

“Oatmeal, said the National Public Radio news analyst with that tone reserved for unpleasant, non-glamorous foods. He said it as though oatmeal and soup, foods for economic hard times, were a come-down for the palate of people of culture.

Obviously then, this is a call for cultured oatmeal. It is a taste treat that will enliven the most hum-drum bowl of soup or will serve as a stand alone dish.

Cultured foods are built upon the refinements provided by those same bacteria that make your gut healthy.

To elevate your oats, do one (or both) of the following recipes.

Cultured, Rolled Oats: Recipe #1

• If you have a roller mill, such as the Marga Molina, start with organic oat groats. Run the oats through the roller mill to produce a medium to fine flake. If you don’t have such a mill, begin with already flaked, organic oats.
• Mill slightly less than 1 cup oat groats or use 1 3/4 cups of oat flakes.
• Put the oat flakes in a pint canning jar.
• Add 1 1/2 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt.
• Add 1/2 capsule of Simplexith Health brand acidophilus.
• Put the lid on the jar and shake until the salt and acidophilus powder are well distributed.
• Add enough non-chlorinated water to the jar to cover the oats and to leave about one inch head space.
• Put the lid tightly on the jar and set on the counter for three days at room temperature. The jar may overflow once the bacteria get active, so set it in a bowl or on a towel to catch any excess liquid.

If your fermented oats have a grey, fuzzy mold on top or otherwise smell bad, feed them to your compost. They should have a kind of cheesy smell and taste somewhat reminiscent of cottage cheese. At least that is what the smell and taste seem like to me.

Fermented Oatmeal: Recipe #2

• Cook your oatmeal in your usual manner. Let it cool until it is not warm to the touch.
• Measure out enough oatmeal to fill two pint jars, leaving about one inch of head space.
• Add one tsp. Celtic Sea Salt and one capsule of Simplexity Health’s Spectrabiotic. (A blend of eight beneficial bacteria)
• Stir well and place into the jars. Cover tightly and let stand at room temperature for two to three days

Again, these should have no mold on top and should smell acidic. The taste is beyond description! They will be somewhat fizzy from dissolved carbon dioxide, which will be released when you open the jar.

At the end of the three days you will have a jar of lactic acid preserved oats. Now invite that NPR news analyst over to enjoy your oatmeal!

You can blend your cultured oats with fruit for a smoothie

Use straight from the jar as a dressing on steamed asparagus or steamed greens.

Serve with nuts and raisons or other fruit as a healthy snack.

Blend with herbs, such as dill, for a non-dairy, salad dressing.

Or just sit down with jar and spoon until it is all gone.

Recipe by Ellis Hein