ferment change 4

"On your mark, get set, go!"

For me, Ferment Change started with a doughnation. Year two, the party grew to a few hundred, workshops multiplied, and the Tour de Ferment was born. Year three, the party grew some more, the workshops continued to inspire yet more ferment in the community, and "le Tour" became even longer. This year, who knows? Bigger and better, that is for sure. But considering the nature of the beast, it is what you put into it.

So, feel like learning how to ferment some sauerkraut, kombucha, or brined vegetables? Come on down to the Ecology Center this Friday night (7-9pm) for a free workshop! Directions and more info can be found here.

Can't make the first one? Enjoy the workshop with Sandor Katz at the North Oakland Farmers' Market on Saturday May 14th. Check out more info here.

Feel like tasting a ton of different ferments, and/or perhaps sharing some of your home fermented items with other passionate fermented folk? Maybe you missed out on a workshop, or are hoping to have a little more one on one time with Sandor? Make sure to make it to the Humanist Hall on Sunday May 15th. Check out details here.

Love riding your bike on a nice afternoon while enjoying various styles of homebrew, and meeting a bunch of like-minded people? Join us on May 22nd for a tour of 8 different stops where you will enjoy beer, wine, mead, cider, whatever the hosts have brewed or hauled out of their archives. Check out info at the Ferment Change site or drop me a line at geodylan at comcast dot net to rsvp for the ride.

Oh, and I beat that rock.

hey, it's fuyu!

Tell me, what would you do if given a thousand pounds of ripe fuyus?
Inspired by last year's experiments with goo I took action.....

Take one box of the crazy-soft goo balls (between 24-36 fruit) and rip off and compost the stems and upper leaves. Toss the rest into an 8q pot and mash with a potato thingie. Chuck this into a big gauge colander and stir around with a spoon-like object. When most the pulp is through, remove most the skins and compost 'em. Pour the remaining mess into a clean 5 gallon bucket. Repeat this process 6 more times, adding a quart of orange blossom honey at the end. Stir thoroughly and you have something like this. I covered it with a nylon grain bag to keep the flies and monkeys out and took to stirring it every few hours.

By day two and a half, the froth had set in. It was getting on near that time to put this beast into a large vessel before it decides to go eat some sugar elsewhere. I got out a huge piece of glass for just such occasions, scrubbed it a bit and left it overnight to soak some more. The next morning I check on the yeastie beasties and they have shoved the nylon bag into a slight dome, stretching it some, causing it to hold tight to the bucket rim, thus keeping the foam from climbing out. I removed the bag at first sight and it released the cork a bit. A few quarts or so of foam blurbed on over the edge.

Safely behind glass, I could now judge the true character of these wild organisms. They were chewing up the persimmons pretty good, but the pulp still had the consistency of a runny flan. I added a gallon of tap water and swirled it around as well as one can when you find yourself agitating a 45 pound glass container with 5 gallons of orange snot in it. I gave it my best, then left it alone. Checking a few hours later, some separation had occurred and I finally felt like this experiment was leaning toward success.

Now, more than a week into it, I wonder if I should have made more. Maybe a lot more. Then I think, that's crazy! I couldn't post something about that, people would think I'm nuts!

Then my brew buddy gives me an update of the madness we have going in his backyard. He sends a link. So now, if you have any interest in what one might do with a mad amount of ripe persimmons........

Because, really, using seven boxes only puts a tiny dent in 170!