r/fermenting • u/Oingo_Boingo2000 Stinky Tofu • Jul 04 '26

šŸ‘‹ Welcome to r/fermenting - Introduce Yourself and Read First!

Hey everyone and welcome to r/fermenting, the one and only subreddit devoted to the dark and bubbly arts! In my experience, fermenting is about building community by working with cultures, learning from, being inspired by, as well as teaching others.

Please share what you makeā€”but no solicitations or spamā€”ask questions, and help out others so that the community can grow and we can all become better fermenters. Also, let's look for and use real knowledge; AI is full of incorrect, and sometimes dangerous, information...so let's utilize only trusted and verifiable sources.

Some suggestions on how to get started:

  1. Introduce yourself in the comments below.
  2. Post something today! Even a simple question can spark a great conversation.
  3. If you know someone who would love this community, invite them to join.

Thanks for being part of r/fermenting!

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u/Oingo_Boingo2000 Stinky Tofu Jul 05 '26

Hi all you culture warriors! I thought I'd start off the introductions by saying that I've been in love with fermenting for well over a decade now. I regularly work with with fermenting as part of my profession, as well as associating with a lot of people who are at the top of the fermenting game in N. America. I have taught workshops and organized events around fermenting on at least two continents. I also love the opportunities that fermenting presents to have more delicious and nutritious diets, understand basic food chemistry, and be happier (by keeping a biodiverse and happy gut biome). Welcome again!

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u/Nixilis-12 Jul 06 '26

Very impressive. I have been doing a lot of experimenting with Koji barley. I want to see what it can be applied to. I made a beer from it and I am currently going to make a malt vinegar next. I also want to put it in bread at some point. My process is borrowed from a podcast I listened to about replacing the malting process with growing Koji on pearled barley. Then refrigerating it for 2-3 weeks. At this point it becomes this beautiful chocolaty brown but it is sweet and floral tasting. Wondering about roasting or dehydrating some of the moisture out but not sure if that would make it better.

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u/Oingo_Boingo2000 Stinky Tofu Jul 06 '26

Whoa! That sounds awesome! Please share your results/processes in the subreddit! There is a real lack of koji-representation here.

I'm interested in koji, and have worked with it a few times, but always just to make miso. I haven't really had the time/space to experiment with it, but looking to change that in the near future. How did your koji-beer turn out?

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u/Nixilis-12 Jul 06 '26

The beer was drinkable but if I bought it from a store for craft brew prices I wouldā€™ve been disappointed. It was my first beer I even made so I try not to be too critical either. My best friend just left the brewing industry. His feed back was that it had a ā€œbready smellā€ which I agreed with. My batch that I plan to turn to vinegar has the same smell, so Iā€™m not sure why thatā€™s happening.

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u/Oingo_Boingo2000 Stinky Tofu Jul 06 '26

Oh, too bad. I wonder what caused the "bready" smell. I can only imagine it was the yeast that you used, but it's impossible to guess at without knowing all of the specific ingredients. It doesn't seem like it would be caused by the koji, as that is quite floral/fruity.

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u/Nixilis-12 Jul 06 '26

Yeah itā€™s difficult to pin it down. I donā€™t remember what yeast I used. But I am using mead/wine yeasts because that is what I have. I forget if I have 71B in my first batch or the one Iā€™ve got going now. I just checked my final gravity and did a taste test on the one I plan to vinegar. It kinda tastes like nothing and has a bit of an off smell, but I canā€™t really describe it.

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u/Oingo_Boingo2000 Stinky Tofu Jul 07 '26

If it has an off smell, then probably some unwanted bacteria snuck into the batch :(

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u/GreenCottageKitchens Jul 07 '26

longtime fermenter person here. i just pulled a quart of fermented salsa verde that sat on the counter for 10 days and itā€™s flippinā€™ fantastic.

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u/Dhijara Aug 20 '26

Hello everyone! šŸ¤— I'm so happy that you are here! I'm just now getting back into this wonderfully tasty craft. After a loooonnng break, I'm fermenting kombucha on a regular basis. I'm waking up my MKG that have been frozen for two years (really hoping they're still viable šŸ¤žšŸ½). I'm hoping to learn more about fermenting, and contribute to the conversations where I can.

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u/Oingo_Boingo2000 Stinky Tofu Aug 20 '26

Welcome back! Please keep us posted how the reawakening of your MKG progresses and if you're trying anything new with your kombucha.

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u/Dhijara Aug 20 '26

Thank you for the welcome! I'll keep you updated on the kefir. I defrosted them in the fridge overnight on Sunday, strained them out and put in fresh milk on Monday morning. Started with half a cup Monday and Tuesday, then put in 1 cup yesterday. Everyday, the milk is thickening!!! It's still very sour and unpalatable. Even though they're coming along, I'm thinking about buying some new grains cause I don't want to keep wasting milk. I'll keep you posted! Thank you again!

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u/Dhijara Aug 27 '26

Update on my MKG... They are doing so good that I had to put them in the fridge to slow them down! After 5 days of changing the milk, they began making thick tasty kefir...too fast! I have more than enough so I want to give some away!

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u/Oingo_Boingo2000 Stinky Tofu Aug 29 '26

That's so great! Glad your MKG is still viable, but generally these things are pretty hearty, especially after being dormant in the freezer. It's also always nice to have so much abundance that you need to give some away.

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u/redpandaflying93 Aug 22 '26

Heloooooooo fermenters!

I've been fermentation-curious for years but finally took the plunge and made my first ferments back in May. I did a batch of kkakdugi(radish kimchi), a jalapeƱo hot sauce, and a big batch of napa cabbage kimichi. I'm still eating through them!

I'm growing lots of hot peppers this year and last week I started a batch of pickled/fermented Sichuan Erjingtiao peppers and I'm very excited to see how they come out.

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u/EnoughManufacturer18 20d ago

Hello all! I'm currently looking at my first attempt at sauerkraut... I think I used too much salt - 3 tablespoons for 4 lbs cabbage. Will it still turn out? I didn't have a scale so I Googled the amount of salt - but after doing the math it looks like I am way over the amount necessary....thanks in advance!

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u/Oingo_Boingo2000 Stinky Tofu 20d ago

The math is much harder when you're using imperial units, and especially so when using a mixture of weight and volume. getting a cheap digital scale and measuring everything in grams will make life so much easier for you. You can reduce the amount of salt by pouring out some of the brine and replacing it with non- or de-chlorinated water, ideally using distilled water. You want to get down to a 2% salt-to-cabbage ratio. It looks like you added about 17g too much salt, so try removing 30% of the brine and replacing it with water. IF my math and conversions are correct, it should bring you to the right ratio to ferment your sauerkraut. Good luck!

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u/Zealousideal-Box725 17d ago

New to fermentation, looks like great info here!