Obsession Revisited

Once upon a time I heard someone call the art of cheese making "controlled fermentation." It would be fair to say that I am obsessed, then, with all things fermentation. I am a cheese maker, I bake slow fermented hearth breads, especially in the winter when my schedule allows and now, I am revisiting the quest for good homebrew. My husband, back in the early 90's, used to brew beer at home. Me, partial to wine, I paid not much attention. Now with worldwide grain crops causing skyrocketing prices for microbrewery beers as well as the unavailability of hops, I felt compelled to save money on his beer purchases and decided to do homebrew. Somehow he has not quickly picked up the equipment and taken over, but I have. I ran to the local brew shop, Vermont Homebrew Supply, and picked up some malt, hops, corn sugar, and several more books we probably didn't need to add to our beer library........at this point.

On the fast track I first made an English Ale, also known as a bitter. And while it was still happily bubbling away (fermenting) I travelled again to the brew shop and bought more! For my next brew I decided to try, with the shop owner's help, a Belgian Style Pale Ale made with honey. Today it still is fermenting and we patiently await the English Ale to carbonate in their bottles.

Given the obsession with all things fermented I also relish lacto fermented vegetables such as true kimchi and sauerkraut. One great tangy, crunchy fabulous brand in Vermont is Flack Family Farm's version I just purchased at Healthy Living down in Burlington. The health benefits are well-documented and known but what's also a boon is their taste! It's like no other. You get the salt, the crunch, the umami? That unidentified '5th' taste sensation. The 4 tastes we were educated about in school, that the human tongue has receptors on to send messages to the brain. You know, bitter, sour, salty, sweet. And now added.....umami. It's the unknown taste, you get it in true Parmesan cheese, soy sauce, fish sauce, anchovy, wild mushrooms and other foods that are good for you. Happily, they also make our meals take on so much more depth!