If you’ve heard of Mugolio, consider yourself well-ahead of us over here at Fifth Season Gardening. Turns out it’s a gourmet food that’s easy to make with readily available ingredients and the most basic of equipment. We had to give it a try! True Mugolio is from Italy and made only with cones from the mugo pine. Green cones are collected in the spring, mixed with sugar and allowed to ferment for 2+ months. Natural yeasts on the pine cones are responsible for the transformation into a … [Read more...] about Mugolio…that’s Italian for Fermented Pine Cone Syrup!
fermentation
Fermenting for the Holidays: Basic Tools of the Trade & Easy DIY Holiday Gift Ideas
-Kylie Holloway- It’s the beginning of December, and the holiday season is fully upon us; however, with the warmth and joy of the season often comes stress and a feeling of being overwhelmed when it comes to holiday shopping and gift giving. Well, we’re here to help, with some great gift ideas for the foodies in your life! A great DIY holiday gift idea that is simple, fun, and unique is making fermented gifts for friends, family, and loved ones (and is a great gift to send in the mail!). … [Read more...] about Fermenting for the Holidays: Basic Tools of the Trade & Easy DIY Holiday Gift Ideas
Using Enzymes In Brewing Production
-Ryan Blankenship- Enzymes have been used in beer production for some time now, whether for gluten reduction, turning some non-fermentable sugar into fermentable sugar, or increasing clarity. For brewing, enzymes can, among other things, increase starch liquefaction and saccharification, which in turn increases the production of fermentable sugars. These enzymes can also help reduce viscosity, support yeast during the fermentation process, and even extend the shelf-life of a beer. In … [Read more...] about Using Enzymes In Brewing Production
The Lowdown on Food Fermentation
-Patrick Metz- Winter is tough time of year for anyone, but even more so for gardening and homesteading enthusiasts. It seems as if it is constantly cold, wet, or both, discouraging favorite outdoor activities. But don’t despair! I find this to be the perfect time to experiment in the kitchen. This year, I brushed up on food preservation techniques in preparation for our harvest, mainly food fermentation, and more specifically lactic acid fermentation (aka, lacto-fermentation). First, … [Read more...] about The Lowdown on Food Fermentation
Gifts for the Homebrewer: Our Top Picks!
Shopping for people who have interests or hobbies that you’re not familiar with can be stressful. It’s difficult to know what they may already have, what they would want, what products are mere novelties, and what’s really quality. Here at Fifth Season Gardening we’re constantly helping guide folks through this arduous process, and we relish any opportunities to share our knowledge and experience to the benefit of our customers. In that spirit we have put together a collection of items that we … [Read more...] about Gifts for the Homebrewer: Our Top Picks!
Kimchi: My Favorite Fermented Food
-Jenn Hawthorne- Last month in the Charlottesville store, we had a workshop on fermentation. As I was teaching the class, I talked to one of the participants, and she had an amazing view on kimchi. I started the class thinking of kimchi as a finite, this is how you make it and this is the only way to make it thing. After my conversation, however, my eyes were opened to all the massive possibilities with this amazing food. A little history about this dish makes you realize why it is a very … [Read more...] about Kimchi: My Favorite Fermented Food
Fermented Hot Sauce
-Luis Guerra- Looking to add another ferment to your recipe book? Here is a good project to try with all those tasty peppers once the crops start coming in. As much as I love peppers on everything, sometimes there are just too many in my garden to eat before they go bad. Fermenting some of them for use in hot sauce is a great way to preserve the harvest. I really enjoy making fermented hot sauces, exploring how versatile the flavors of peppers can be. First, start with the peppers of … [Read more...] about Fermented Hot Sauce
How to deal with a “stuck” fermentation
Do you have a stuck fermentation? A beer that stopped fermenting and you don't know why? Maybe it was active for a day or two and stopped all together for a week or more? In that case, you need to take a sample with your wine thief, and measure the gravity of the beer in a test jar with a hydrometer. If you do so and the hydrometer reads something that is very high in gravity, or brixx/balling, you may have a "stuck" fermentation. Something happened to halt fermentation in your beer, and … [Read more...] about How to deal with a “stuck” fermentation
