Not in my jellies! As I meticulously scan the pages of the internet looking to see who is doing what in the world of wine jellies, I am again disappointed by the lack of creativity when it comes to Port wine jellies. It seems like a no-brainer that Port wine lends itself nicely to making jelly. In general, it is a sweet, dessert type wine and seems like a logical choice for jelly.
While this is true, as is the case in the general world of wines, there are not only different types of Port, but also each Port house has their own, unique style. This was evidenced in a late night challenge to a friend who correctly named the Port house of each glass we put under his nose. I was truly amazed, and now even more amazed that I remember this!
I am not going to get into all the different types of Port or Port producers. I'll add a couple links for that. But I would like to add that when I start making my Port wine jellies, you can feel rest assured that my choices will be creative and interesting, and will look similar to a dessert wine list offered at a nice restaurant.
Here are some links for further reading...
http://www.the-port-man.fsbusiness.co.uk/types.htm
http://malvedos.wordpress.com/
http://www.premiumport.com/
FG
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
"Yogurt? Yogurt? I hate Yogurt!"
"Even with strawberries, I hate yogurt." At least that was the opinion of Rick Moranis' character, "Dark Helmet" in Space Balls. I happen to be a fan of yogurt, another fermented food. So, instead of using "raspberry" like LoneStar did in the movie, I'm going to use wine jellies to "jam" Dark Helmet's opinion.
The health benefits of yogurt are well documented, so I don't think I need to get into detail on that subject. My goal is to suggest ways to "jazz" up your yogurt. To accomplish this task, I am going to use the bottomless pit of useless information stored in my brain. Well, maybe I don't have to dig too deep, there's enough information bubbling to the surface as my mind ferments!
When you are pushing your shopping cart through the yogurt section of your grocery store, intead of purchasing one of those "flavored" yogurts, pick up some plain yogurt. After all, jam is the main source of flavoring for most yogurts. Then select your favorite wine, yes, you can buy some too. But remember that wine is, as you know, made from grapes...fermented grapes.
Once you have your favorite wine in mind, in hand too if you so desire, drop the FG a line. I have plenty of ideas for the uses of wine jellies, ones that go far beyond the simple flavoring of yogurt. With the Super Bowl Holiday coming, and the coinciding parties, think wine jellies for dips, sauces and condiments to go with chips, wings, cheeses and whatever gets thrown on the grill that day. To me, the Super Bowl is a Holiday, so let's celebrate!
FG
The health benefits of yogurt are well documented, so I don't think I need to get into detail on that subject. My goal is to suggest ways to "jazz" up your yogurt. To accomplish this task, I am going to use the bottomless pit of useless information stored in my brain. Well, maybe I don't have to dig too deep, there's enough information bubbling to the surface as my mind ferments!
When you are pushing your shopping cart through the yogurt section of your grocery store, intead of purchasing one of those "flavored" yogurts, pick up some plain yogurt. After all, jam is the main source of flavoring for most yogurts. Then select your favorite wine, yes, you can buy some too. But remember that wine is, as you know, made from grapes...fermented grapes.
Once you have your favorite wine in mind, in hand too if you so desire, drop the FG a line. I have plenty of ideas for the uses of wine jellies, ones that go far beyond the simple flavoring of yogurt. With the Super Bowl Holiday coming, and the coinciding parties, think wine jellies for dips, sauces and condiments to go with chips, wings, cheeses and whatever gets thrown on the grill that day. To me, the Super Bowl is a Holiday, so let's celebrate!
FG
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The Fermented Gourmet: A Second Career: 15 Years in the Wine Business, N...
The Fermented Gourmet: A Second Career: 15 Years in the Wine Business, N...: "As Yogi Bera once said, 'When you meet a fork in the road, take it.' That is exactly what I am doing. The majority of my adult l..."
Norwegian Would?
Sorry Beatles Fans, if you were looking for a little insight into the Fab Four, this isn't the place. But, now that I have your attention, feel free to read on as I take a look at some historical facts about pickling and fermentation.
I used the title "Norwegian Would?", because its fascinating to me how these northerly countries survived so many long winters and short growing seasons. Though the starting point for pickling goes back to India about 5,000 years ago, give or take a few years, people living in these northern climates had to come up with ways to preserve food throughout the year. Drying, smoking, salt and brining solutions were the answer. The salting and brining resulted in a form of fermentation, thus preserving the food.
My childhood home was filled with jars of vegetables grown in our garden. We pickled everything from Asparagus to Zucchini. I could run off a list like Bubba in Forrest Gump of his mother's shrimp dishes, but that could get monotonous. Suffice it to say, we were loaded for the winter.
One might wonder if pickled foods are as nutritious as fresh foods. The fact of the matter is that they are MORE nutritious. Let me explain why. During the fermentation that occurs when pickling, a "good" bacteria is produced that inhibits the growth of "bad" bacteria in our intestines. The process also "shrinks" the vegetable, thereby, condensing the vitamin C content, which results in better absorption of iron. I'm sure the list of benefits is extensive, and I engage readers to add to it.
As always, The Fermented Gourmet is here to provide interesting tidbits of information about fermented foods. If anybody has any topic suggestions, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll continue talking about the things that I like!
FG
I used the title "Norwegian Would?", because its fascinating to me how these northerly countries survived so many long winters and short growing seasons. Though the starting point for pickling goes back to India about 5,000 years ago, give or take a few years, people living in these northern climates had to come up with ways to preserve food throughout the year. Drying, smoking, salt and brining solutions were the answer. The salting and brining resulted in a form of fermentation, thus preserving the food.
My childhood home was filled with jars of vegetables grown in our garden. We pickled everything from Asparagus to Zucchini. I could run off a list like Bubba in Forrest Gump of his mother's shrimp dishes, but that could get monotonous. Suffice it to say, we were loaded for the winter.
One might wonder if pickled foods are as nutritious as fresh foods. The fact of the matter is that they are MORE nutritious. Let me explain why. During the fermentation that occurs when pickling, a "good" bacteria is produced that inhibits the growth of "bad" bacteria in our intestines. The process also "shrinks" the vegetable, thereby, condensing the vitamin C content, which results in better absorption of iron. I'm sure the list of benefits is extensive, and I engage readers to add to it.
As always, The Fermented Gourmet is here to provide interesting tidbits of information about fermented foods. If anybody has any topic suggestions, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll continue talking about the things that I like!
FG
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
What is Fermentation?
I thought it might be a good idea to actually explain the process of fermentation and how its a part of our everyday life. If you're looking for all that geeky, scientific stuff with chemical formulas, numbers and symbols, this is the wrong place. I'll leave that to those more qualified. My concern has more to do with spirituality and philosophy than classrooms and text books.
Why do I approach it this way? Because this is my blog, and thats just the way I am. I look at fermentation, and I'll use wine as my example, as a union or marriage made in Heaven. To put it simply, yeast + sugar = alcohol and carbon dioxide. Whoops, I might have crossed the line into someone else's area of expertise there. But this is a naturally occuring phenomenon that has been recognized and used for centuries.
Philosophically, we can now start using terms like "alchemy" and "elixir of life". This process of separate components coming together to form a more perfect union is what I am describing. A long courtship or engagement isn't neccessary here, but bear in mind that some fermentations take longer than others.
Therefore, in my myopic view, fermentation is simply putting these separate components together in a room, dimming the lights and playing some Barry White music. Nature takes over from here. Though some might argue that Marvin Gaye's "Lets Get it On" works equally well, the fact is that its going to happen regardless of the backround music. So, sit back and enjoy one of the beautiful gifts of Mother Nature. Whether you're shaking a bottle of soy sauce into your stir fry, emulsifying some Balsamic vinegar into your salad dressing or just kicking back with a glass of wine, fermentation is a wonderful addition to our quality of life.
Why do I approach it this way? Because this is my blog, and thats just the way I am. I look at fermentation, and I'll use wine as my example, as a union or marriage made in Heaven. To put it simply, yeast + sugar = alcohol and carbon dioxide. Whoops, I might have crossed the line into someone else's area of expertise there. But this is a naturally occuring phenomenon that has been recognized and used for centuries.
Philosophically, we can now start using terms like "alchemy" and "elixir of life". This process of separate components coming together to form a more perfect union is what I am describing. A long courtship or engagement isn't neccessary here, but bear in mind that some fermentations take longer than others.
Therefore, in my myopic view, fermentation is simply putting these separate components together in a room, dimming the lights and playing some Barry White music. Nature takes over from here. Though some might argue that Marvin Gaye's "Lets Get it On" works equally well, the fact is that its going to happen regardless of the backround music. So, sit back and enjoy one of the beautiful gifts of Mother Nature. Whether you're shaking a bottle of soy sauce into your stir fry, emulsifying some Balsamic vinegar into your salad dressing or just kicking back with a glass of wine, fermentation is a wonderful addition to our quality of life.
Monday, January 10, 2011
My Remedy for Sore Muscles
After a day of cutting, splitting, hauling and stacking firewood, I was rewarded with the fact that I wont have to do this again for another week. However, my other reward was sore muscles from head to toe. Feel free to make your "you're getting old", FG comments if you'd like. Here's what I do when my hamstring, calf and gluteus maximus (that's butt) muscles are feeling the strain of over work. I make my concoction of apple cider vinegar, honey and green tea.
Not just plain old apple cider vinegar, but the raw-unfiltered, organic type. I mix equal parts of the vinegar with my favorite honey and blend it into a pitcher of green tea thats been chilled. I don't like to add the vinegar and honey until after chilling, because when the tea is too hot, it diminishes the healthy components I'm looking for. This would be a process similar to pastuerization, which I'm trying to avoid by using the raw-unfiltered type to begin with.
I finish this cocktail by squeezing a couple fresh oranges into it. The sky is the limit as to other flavors you could add to this. Perhaps a cinnamon stick and a clove or two added to the brewing tea would give this a nice "spiced" flavor.
What I get from this are the natural healing benefits of all of the components. Any search engine can supply you with a host of sites and blogs to read up on this. The one I consult the most is http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/index.html. If you have any "concoctions" of your own that you would like to add, please do. I love learning about "natural" remedies, and I'm sure there are plenty that I'm not familiar with.
Not just plain old apple cider vinegar, but the raw-unfiltered, organic type. I mix equal parts of the vinegar with my favorite honey and blend it into a pitcher of green tea thats been chilled. I don't like to add the vinegar and honey until after chilling, because when the tea is too hot, it diminishes the healthy components I'm looking for. This would be a process similar to pastuerization, which I'm trying to avoid by using the raw-unfiltered type to begin with.
I finish this cocktail by squeezing a couple fresh oranges into it. The sky is the limit as to other flavors you could add to this. Perhaps a cinnamon stick and a clove or two added to the brewing tea would give this a nice "spiced" flavor.
What I get from this are the natural healing benefits of all of the components. Any search engine can supply you with a host of sites and blogs to read up on this. The one I consult the most is http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/index.html. If you have any "concoctions" of your own that you would like to add, please do. I love learning about "natural" remedies, and I'm sure there are plenty that I'm not familiar with.
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