Awesome Pickle

Kraut-making video, and a great way to avoid mold

August 10, 2011 | 1 comment

A few weeks ago, Chow aired this instructional video for making sauerkraut with Mark Frauenfelder of MAKE magazine and boingboing.net that’s an easy intro to making kraut. The coolest part for me was learning about the picklemeister as a way to seal your kraut from the air while it ferments. You can see it in the photo in the lower left corner. If you get mold on the surface of your pickle brine or sauerkraut brine, and that mold grosses you out, this clever setup could help you get rid of surface mold.

It works just like a homebrewing airlock by sealing the jar of sauerkraut or pickles or homebrew with a bit of water. As the stuff in the jar ferments, it releases carbon dioxide, which builds up enough pressure to push out the tube and through the water. But air, which carries mold spores, can’t get back in through the water. Soon, you have only carbon dioxide inside and no air at all. Here’s one in action:

You can buy the jar and lid set online, but it would be easy to make one, too, with a wide-mouthed gallon jar, an airlock, and a plastic grommet or plug, plus a little glue. You can find those parts at a homebrewing store. For those who prefer not to put plastic in contact with their food when weighing the kraut to keep it under the brine, I bet you could find a glass food storage bowl that would fit inside the jar, as mentioned at the picklemeister link above.

Grow your own clothes with kombucha culture

May 9, 2011 | 2 comments

As any kombucha brewer knows, every time you brew a batch, your SCOBY mother grows another layer, an extra baby. Instead of composting it or pushing it onto your friends, what if you could make clothes out of it? That’s how Suzanne Lee made this jacket.

Check out the video below and visit Lee’s website for ideas. It looks like you could do it at home. But what to call it? Kombucha leather?

To get you started with the kombucha (for drinking), here’s a nice, concise recipe from House Kombucha in San Francisco.

Drink George Washington’s homebrew in NYC

May 6, 2011 | No comments

To celebrate the centennial of its Stephen A. Schwarzman building, the New York Public Library has asked Shmaltz Brewing Company to brew 15 gallons of small beer according to a recipe in its collection that was penned by George Washington. Shmaltz has taken a few liberties with it, probably to make it taste more like today’s brews. If you’re in New York, you can try it May 18 at Rattle N Hum.

If you’d rather brew it yourself, you’re welcome to decipher George’s handwriting above—that’s the biggest photo I could find—or read this transcription. Just watch out: At least one person reports that his attempt to follow the recipe proved “utterly foul.” (When you get to the page, search for molasses.)

James Brownlow had more success following a similar recipe by John Gaylord II written about 60 years after Washington recorded his. This second recipe also requires molasses… and cream of tartar.

James had a number of friends taste-test the brew against MGD—an understandable choice of style because a small beer was a low-alcohol brew intended for everyday drinking, not unlike a lawnmower beer or a session beer—and their overall opinion was that it was equally as good. Not a ringing endorsement in my view. But James’ report is from 2000, and since then Anchor Brewing’s own small beer has come on the market. Perhaps a new taste comparison is in order?

Oh and by the way, from Shmaltz founder Jeremy Cowan: “George Washington is like my old Jewish grandmother.”