North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Jay Cutts <orders@cuttsreviews.com>]

I've had some experience with various kinds of fermentation, to the 
extent that those who know me are always suspicious when I offer them a 
new food or beverage.  "Is that /fermented/?" they ask with wrinkled noses.

I use a 6 hour approach.  It's very simple.  Blend the stuff (fruit, 
etc.  Anything with sugars or starch.) with water.  Add live yeast.  Let 
it sit at room temperature if it's warm outside or with a small heat 
source, eg., in the oven with the light on or in a box with a 15 watt 
light bulb, covering the box to hold in warmth.  Usually 6ish hours is 
enough for it to be ready.  If you let it go long, it will have no 
sweetness and more fizz.  If you stop it short, it will be sweeter and 
less carbonated.  In either case there is hardly any alcohol in it, but 
there is enough trace alcohol to be slightly noticeable.

I usually put it in the fridge before opening it.  Otherwise it may foam 
over too much when it's first opened.  Did I mention it should be in a 
glass jar with a tight lid?

After refrigerating, it will continue to ferment in the fridge and seems 
to keep at least some level of carbonation.

I have used this method to make a simple ginger beer.  Just blend fresh 
ginger in water, strain and add honey or other sweetener. 

I also make a fermented yam "sauce" that I use instead of yogurt.  It's 
fermented with yogurt culture instead of yeast. It's great!  I call it 
Yambo.  This is not a beverage but it IS a fermented food.  You can do 
the same with blended up oatmeal or other cereal.

I also like to make Ethiopian bread (enjira) out of teff flour that has 
been fermented.  To ferment the flour I mix it uncooked with water and 
use a combination of yeast and yogurt culture.

Banana beer is apparently widespread in traditional African cultures. 
You can probably find some recipes for that.  I looked it up once.  
Looked to me like you just sort of smash up and try to strain some 
bananas, stick the liquid into anything that will hold it and let the 
natural yeast, flies and dust do their thing.  I did try it once 
because... well, because it was there.

Best,

Jay

Jay Cutts
Cutts Graduate Reviews
800-353-4898 day or eve, 7 days
(In NM, 505-281-0684)




R. Keith Etheridge wrote:
> As mentioned in the cider revival link , people have and do make 
> alcoholic beverages with what's available. To simplify it, wine is 
> made from the fermentation of fruit and
> beer is from the fermentation of grain. This is   not absolute, as 
> there is persimmon beer and I think sake is made from rice.As I now 
> have an abundance of pawpaws,
> I searched the internet for a pawpaw beer recipe. I could find none. 
> In the NAFEX persimmon book there are three persimmon beer recipes 
> from early America. On the
> internet there several primitive beer recipes. Ten days ago I 
> developed a recipe substituting pawpaws for persimmons using an 
> Afro-American slave recipe with modifications. Six large pawpaws 
> mashed with a cup of cornmeal baked to a loaf,cooled, put in a gallon 
> container with eight honey locust  pods , broken in small pieces,
> , a slice of toast and a packet of baking yeast and covered 
> loosely.Water was added to make a gallon. Its kept on a plant 
> propagation mat at 78 decrees.It seems to be
> fermenting ok and most of the solids have sunk to the bottom. 
> According to the recipes it will be evaluated in 20 days.Beer or slop? 
> As I took biochemistry in "48 as
> freshman in vet school at the University of Illinois.Suggestions welcomed.
> Keith central Illinois
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