Food Preservation Update

[spacealien_vamp]

Salt-fermented loquats
Verdict: Edible, but nothing special. The flavor just doesn't have a decent punch to it, probably because loquats aren't very acidic in the first place. I pureed them together with some vinegar and spices to make a blend similar to honey mustard sauce, which is pretty tasty (though in the future I will peel them first, because even pureed, you can taste the fiber).

Ume syrup
Verdict: As an alternative to umeshu, it's a nice change and relatively simple, just ume and sugar. I canned 4 cups of it and that still left me with some in the fridge to use.

Ume miso
Verdict: OMG, this stuff is fabulous. The blend of flavors makes it taste like wine-infused Asiago cheese. I could eat this with a spoon. I am definitely making more miso so I can do this again next year.

I bet miso would be good with my sour cherries coming up in a week or two...

Comments

[havocthecat]

I just buy miso at the store, because time/knowledge gain can be tough, but yours sounds amazing. As does the rest of your food!

[spacealien_vamp]

Thanks! I like trying new flavors and techniques. Fortunately, miso builds on what I already do for making yogurt (add inoculant) and sauerkraut (add salt + weights). Then it just has to sit on a shelf for 6-12 months.

I just got a new toy--an Instant Pot with a sous vide setting. So that's the next thing on my list to try, when I have time to play with it.

[havocthecat]

I have that Instant Pot! Well maybe not that Instant Pot. But my first sous vide experience involved me ending up chucking them in the oven because they were not done in time for dinner. You don't want your chicken running pink when you cut into it. I have to start earlier next time.

I love fermenting, but I don't have the know-how for miso (thinking about it, the internet could probably tell me), though I've done yogurt, sourdough, and various other types of pickles - I especially love preserved lemons. Mostly because everyone else in the house accepts it when I throw them in foods, which they won't for some of the other pickles.

I have not done sauerkraut because I don't have a good container for it! What do you use?

[spacealien_vamp]

I love fermenting, but I don't have the know-how for miso (thinking about it, the internet could probably tell me), though I've done yogurt, sourdough, and various other types of pickles - I especially love preserved lemons.

The only trick to miso is buying the koji inoculant. I got mine at my local Japanese grocery store in the refrigerated section (next to the tofu), but it's also available on Amazon and probably elsewhere. Then cook and mash the beans, make sure they're not too hot (~100°F is good), and mix the mash with the koji and salt. Proportions depend on how long you intend to let it ferment--more koji/less salt for a short ferment, less koji/more salt for a long ferment. Cover with a clean cloth weighted down with clean rocks or pickling weights (I run mine through the dishwasher) and then shelve it until it's done.

I have not done sauerkraut because I don't have a good container for it! What do you use?

I mainly use wide-mouth quart-size canning jars with fermentation lids.

For extra large batches, I use the ceramic bowl of my old slow cooker that became obsolete when I first bought an Instant Pot. (It's good for a large batch of miso, too.)

My dad used to make TONS of sauerkraut every year, and he used plastic 5-gallon buckets. I don't make nearly that much.