by Jerri Dried Milk Kefir Grains are awesome to work with, or to have on hand as a back up for current grains. NWFerments can help you get started if you've always wanted to start on that probiotically awesome journey! You'll notice the dried grains will have some larger pieces along with some smaller pieces, and that they are brownish in color€.oh, and they smell a bit pungent! All normal so make sure you have a good quality, regularly pasteurized milk to get started. I lucked out with some organic milk that was marked down, but still had plenty of days before its best by date. You'll need a quart jar, and just 1 cup of milk to get started....
by Jerri I recently tried second fermenting my kombucha brew (no scoby involved, hit the road baby!). It did get more pop and fizz to it, but the flavor was pretty blah. Lucky for me, I have frozen strawberries on hand all year long for smoothies, so let's put some pizazz in my booch! It's super easy! Because I can't fathom the idea of getting strawberries in and out of a Grolsch-style bottle, I took a chance on a mason jar and a new seal/lid. If the seal is good, it should hold in any gasses that form so I can get carbonation and a good second ferment. Assemble your goodies “ this a quart size jar. I prefer to...
by Jerri Vappu (May Day) is celebrated May 1st in Finland, usually for an entire week. It's said this Finnish holiday rivals that of Christmas and Easter! Banks and government offices (liquor stores too!) are all closed. Originally in the 1700s, the upper class would go horseback riding to enjoy the new greenness of spring “ since the 1800s, it morphed into university students celebrating academic achievements. Today it also includes workers, with everyone celebrating not only students' successes, but the current spring weather and the coming of the summer solstice. Celebrations actually start on April 30th, vappuaatto, or Vappu Eve. This is when the statue symbolic of Helsinki, The Daughter of the Baltic Sea (Havis Amanda), is cleaned and...
by Jerri I get giddy when I get a chance to make butter! It's hard to find good cream that is not Ultra Pasteurized or a heavy whipping cream, so when you do, you'd better make something GOOD with it. When my kids were younger we'd have a weekly raw cow milk drop, and I would immediately scoop off the cream and we'd have a shake-shake-shake party to make butter. After the butter was made, my kids would do drive-bys with a spoon and it'd slowly disappear before even being applied to a food! And now I have learned that you can culture the cream FIRST, and then make butter “ LOVE that idea! You can use just about any...
by Jerri At NW Ferments we absolutely LOVE the mesophilic (a.k.a. œroom temperature) yogurts. We carry the Matsoni, Filmjolk, and Piima, but today we are rehydrating and using the Viili culture. I have a special interest in this one because my daughter is spending her junior year abroad in Finland, where Viili hails from! Our product description says: Make your own creamy & mildly flavored Viili Yogurt. Originally from Finland, this heirloom variety is mesophilic, meaning that it will culture at room temperature (70-77 degrees). No yogurt maker is required. Reusable- by reserving a bit from each batch, you can continue to make Viili Yogurt indefinitely! However, this time of year, if you don't have a spot in your home...
