Celeriac, apple and fennel seed Ferment

My friend Mandy and I are on a bit of a 'fermentation' journey.  For ages we have both been developing our Sourdough Skills, and now we are adventuring and exploring the world of ferments.We are sharing experiments, holding each others hands etc. For some reason only known to the 'gremlins', Mandy is unable to post comments to my blog, so  we have even formed a  Facebook group  so as to be able to put up too many comments, pictures, links etc, than we would want to put up on our blogs.


After making a very successful carrot ferment, I was looking for the next one to try.  I just happened to havea celeriac grown locally which I bought up at Wells Market.  A quick search with key words found a recipe to inspire.  It has to be given a little  tweeking, with the dill seed being the substitute for mustard seed.  I also added some yogurt whey.

 With just a small grater, and a little lemon juice to avoid discoloration of the celeriac..

When it came to keeping the veg from floating up, I looked around for something and ended up filling a bag with brine and putting it in the jar.  I'm not sure if that is the best because of the plastic, but we shall see.

The jar was filled, and capped, and the kitchen cleaned......

For a few days it is sitting in its saucer to catch the drips....

The celeriac was so big, the remains were roasted...delicious.

Kombucha and Kefir

Kefir for breakfast with Kombucha for me taking the place of a glass of wine with dinner in the evening:

This week's kombucha was given a few days second ferment with dried unsulphured apricots and three crushed cardamoms.  The strained fruit and spice will be stirred into the sauce for a tagine for dinner later today.

The weekend's cool drink for breakfasts will be kefir with a fresh peach infusion.  With this wide necked sealed carafe style bottle, it will be easy to clean out, and the fruit can be left in for several days even as the level goes down.

More fermenting

Back in November I had a day with Katie Veneer,  on her course: 'An introduction to Fermented Drinks and Vegetables'.  This was after a few months at home working with water and milk kefirs.  The jar of wild fermented 'piccalilli' is now finished.  Once I had served it with a salad lunch, Mr S kept on asking for it.

I now have a copy of Asa Simonsson's book: Fermentation, one of many books on the topic, borrowed from the library.  It was the one book I decided to buy....When my friend Mandy became interested in the first ferment that I posted, she asked me what book would I recommend.  I said if you needed just one book, I suggested my go to book: Fermentation.  We shall most probably be working through that book together over the next few months.

Only a few days ago, Mandy who is also a 'Sourdough Enthusiast' and I decided to join an on line 3 day fermentation course.  It is really a lead up to a paid for course, and for the moment the first three days will be a way for us to become immersed in the topic.  Mandy also suggested watching The Homesteading Family.  Carolyn has a lovely disposition and gives clear and practical advice and recipes. What I like is that Carolyn suggests using things you may already have...


With a little change to the ingredients: some orange peel left from my breakfast orange, some lovely bright green young fronds from the garden fennel, and a teaspoon of fennel seed.

The salt I used was a special one brought as present with loads of minerals

Adding the seeds and herbs

And a little pounding with my Pickle Packer, another lovely present. saw the juices running..  I remembered Carolyn's tip about using something you already have to weigh down the carrots so that they are below the surface.  I happen to have a smaller jar and its lid is very nearly the same size as the jar.

Finally the jar is closed, and I mark the outside with the date of making and the in about three days little bubbles should be forming, and then it will be time to move it to the fridge.

A taste report will follow in a few days. There may also be a link to Mandy should she post!

Kefir Cheese starter

First Goat's milk Kefir cheese that I have made enjoyed as starter, with apricot and rosemary sourdough bread, and garnish.

Saturday night starter goat's milk kefir on rye sourdough toasted with drizzle of homemade pesto and roasted red pepper  and chili sauce.