Martin Fisher

You may find seeds on Tomatoville.com. Jutland looks like a Vesuvius type tomato to me—there are several proven cultivars. Piennolo del Vesuvio is one.

I ordered the book. Another good book, that's been around a long time, is Handbook of Fermented Functional Foods by Edward Farnworth. It's over 500 pages with lots of information, and proper attribution!

There are many ways to do it. I typically ferment in wide mouth canning jars, both quart and half gallon. I pack the evenly shredded cabbage to eliminate any air. 2% equilibrium brine—in other words, add ~2% salt to the shredded cabbage, by weight. I top off with 2% brine all the way to the rim, I then insert an empty 1/2 pint Ball quilted jelly jar to catch any expansion. (the jelly jar should fit snugly against the lid) Making sure that the brine still comes to the rim of the canning jars, I then top the jar with a loose lid (no band), and top with a pint jar filled with water—that creates an airlock. The jar is not opened until fermentation is complete. No mold or yeast growth. It will get more and more sour the longer it ferments. Here's about all you need to know about sauerkraut: https://www.meatsandsausages.com/fermenting-pickling/sauerkraut

Okay, I'm taking a break already. LOL Ruhlman's homage to his dad several years ago is what sparked my interest in beer vinegar. Like anything, the result is going to depend on the ingredient(s) you start with. Vinegar made from Pabst Blue Ribbon is going to be vastly different than vinegar made from Guinness Draught Stout! “I started making beer vinegar back when I was at Cento,” Sawyer says. “We cleared our beer lines regularly and so were flushing about two gallons of really good European-style beers a week. I didn’t want to waste it. I first combined the beer with some Bragg’s cider vinegar, which looked like it had enough stuff at the bottom to get the vinegar going. But I thought that the result took on too many characteristics of the cider vinegar, so now I just let it ferment on its own. You could add a mother if you want to, but I haven’t needed it.”

Yes, those late season cabbages are the most valued—especially after a frost. That brings out the sugars. I've posted about whole head kraut in the past, I can't remember if it was here or on another forum. I'll post about beer vinegar later today—I've got a lot of chores to do!

I've had that on my list for a while! I can't decide if I want the hard copy or the Kindle version! Hmmm!!!!!

My current fermentation annotation: I have three sauerkraut experiments going—a crankraut that includes cranberries (of course,) red cabbage, the zest of two oranges and a little reduced orange and cranberry juice. As well as a red cabbage kraut with a little Balsamic vinegar for flavor, and one with a little red wine vinegar—not much in either case. I'm also constantly making milk kefir—and kefir cheese. And vinegar. Beer vinegar is 'always' the cheapest to make. LOL I'm considering trying kombucha, if i can make it keto-friendly! I'm going to ferment some hot chile concoctions soon! When it warms up some, I'll 'fire-up' the curing chamber and ferment some sausages. And you—what are you currently fermenting?

Hmmmm! And NO added sugar!!! I'm going to give it a try and then attempt to ferment something similar. I've got a bunch of Matchbox chilies that need attention!

Yes they are expensive. I love peas, but too much sugar!

Seed orders... I'll be ordering from a few different vendors this year. I think I have the Fedco Seeds order nearly complete. 204PR Provider Bush Green Bean 3866 Matchbox Hot Pepper—I love this little pepper! 3099 Sea Kale Perennial (If Available) An amazing plant! 1239LO Little Leaf H-19 Pickling Cucumber 1243MG Mexican Sour Gherkin Specialty Cucumber 318SR Scarlet Runner Pole Bean 798LG Gard-N Combination Legume Inoculant 2301AR Arat Root Parsley 2590CM Caucasian Mountain Perennial Spinach (Hablitzia Tamnoides) I wish they wouldn't call it 'spinach!' GRRRrrr!!! 3034PS Perpetual Spinach Chard (Leaf Beet) Also NOT a spinach! 3096KH Good King Henry (If Available) 4225 Mountain Magic Small-Fruited Tomato (Maybe—a BIG maybe!) $30 and above orders ship free. What are you ordering this year?

@THS Cool!

I've been doing some work on my homemade 'wines for cooking' labels and here's some of what I have so far. With a few wine names. It's far from finished. I wanted this to have the 'rubber stamp' look. The drawing needs a lot of work. I do need to have text follow a path for the name, at least! The pig image will be much smaller on the label. What do you think? ETA: I think I'll bottle it in 12 ounce brown beer bottles with a crown cap. That's a good size for cooking. The labels will have a rustic look. And I may use PVC shrink wraps over the tops—as is done with wine.

My cousin isn't happy unless they're completely FILLED with butter!

I love them all, and, of course, there are a gazillion variations. There's another, somewhat similar, upside down, concoction that I like. It can be made with chicken, or turkey, or whatever. Here is is in-a-nutshell. Using a well greased spring-form pan, layer chicken and gravy (or whatever) in the bottom. Place a layer of fluffy mashed potatoes on top of the chicken and gravy layer. Finally, place a layer of well seasoned bread dressing (stuffing) on top of the mashed potatoes. Keeping the layer reasonably flat. Bake until it's thoroughly cooked and the dressing is golden brown with some crispness to it. Let cool a bit, FLIP, and then remove the pan! Garnish as you wish. Or, it can certainly be made without the spring-formed pan and the flipping. Serve with the dressing (stuffing) on top of the other two layers—covered with a little additional gravy. Voila!!!

@kayb I just looked back at the orders! I was wrong! GASP!!! It's 500 grams of food safe silica gel—so, 1 pound, 1.636 ounces, if I calculated correctly. I bought three of them (1500 grams total) back in 2014 for $13.40 total per 500 grams—$40.20 I had two curing chambers operating at that time. ETA: I keep an extra dry 500 gram 'pillow' so I can immediately replace the 'saturated' one with a dry one. That way, there's always a desiccant 'pillow' in the chamber.

Yes, in addition to the hams and bacon—my father's family let deer hang all winter (cutting off a hunk when they wanted it.)

I generally follow a low carbohydrate/high fat diet. So the blends that I use are probably not of much interest to most folks, and they're not the blends that I would use if I wasn't concerned with carbohydrate content. Hydrocolloid science is extremely complex—MANY books and scientific papers have been written on the subject. I recommend that you read the Modernist Cuisine information and see if you can find a copy of the following book at a local library—it contains some good information, but it's an expensive book to purchase: Cooking Innovations: Using Hydrocolloids for Thickening, Gelling, and Emulsification by Amos Nussinovitch and Madoka Hirashima

In my case, the carbohydrate content. I usually, but not always, follow a low-carb/high fat diet. Another advantage is that some of them keep preparations clear, or relatively clear—when that's desired—rather than cloudy or opaque.

I use one pound of food safe silica gel in a 5 cubic foot chest freezer. One pound was the most cost effective amount I could get via ebay at the time of purchase. I didn't do any special calculating in terms of cubic feet and such. I don't think it's possible, there are too many variables to consider—too little food safe desiccant is the biggest potential problem, IMO. With my set-up, the humidity controller starts a fan when the humidity rises above target. The fan —a 12v PC fan—blows air through the food safe silica gel 'pillow' thus lowering the humidity in the chamber. The food safe silica gel is dried in a very slow oven or dehydrator—usually, every few days. Not a big deal. I don't cure huge batches. Desiccant drying frequency will vary depending on several factors—amount of product being cured, type of product, relative humidity, etc. This system is much more sensible than a compressor based dehumidifier. HTH

@THS I believe that the Dynalon 312635 is exactly the same as the faucet aspirator that I have. https://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Dynalon+312635&_sacat=0

I use a container in which the stick blender fits VERY tightly.

I haven't tried that pre-hydration method. I typically use xanthan and other hydrocolloids in preparations that contain an oil or fat of some sort. So, the method that works best for me is to suspend the xanthan particles in a bit of oil for easy dispersal and to prevent clumping when it's added to the preparation. I almost always use a stick blender rather than a standard blender. But, I'm much more likely to use a hydrocolloid blend (same technique) rather than pure xanthan—I MUCH prefer the texture! One such blend is "Thick It Up" (Locust bean (and/or tara), guar, acacia, xanthan gums.) Different ratios for different preparations—a little goes LONG way! I also make my own hydrocolloid blends. After studying Jan's Restaurant Atelier Facebook and Instagram pages and some articles about Restaurant Atelier. My guess is that the green sauces are made from various green herbs (or green herb blends) that compliment the particular dish (chive, tarragon, parsley, etc.) HTH

Some info here: https://www.perfect-cheese.com/high-humidity

"Rådjursköttbullar" is what I was attempting to recall.

After initial fermentation (when applicable)— I 'cure' at relatively low temperatures...40° to 45° and ~80% relative humidity. I learned the technique from "The British Butcher" Robert Goodrick. Robert is a respected professional and a great guy! Pros: Longer curing leads to better flavors and there's MUCH less chance of case hardening—which is an extremely important and welcome benefit! No issues with humidity control. Cons: It takes longer! I STONGLY recommend a mini chest freezer over a mini fridge—you'll avoid a lot of headaches. My mini freezers are GE, I don't have any experience with other brands. Among other issues, the main issue with mini fridges is the tiny freezer inside where water can condense and drip. I use the temperature and humidity control system from Perfect Cheese. https://www.perfect-cheese.com/total-conditioning-package It permits both humidifying AND dehumidifying via one pound of food safe silica gel. I've never had to humidify in a mini chest freezer when curing at low temperatures—only dehumidify. I've never had a failed batch.