Back to Butter: A Traditional Foods Cookbook - Nourishing Recipes Inspired by Our Ancestors (33 page)

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Authors: Molly Chester,Sally Schrecengost

BOOK: Back to Butter: A Traditional Foods Cookbook - Nourishing Recipes Inspired by Our Ancestors

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4 tablespoons (32 g) loose black (or green) tea

1 cup (200 g) evaporated cane sugar

3 quarts (2.7 L) cold water

Find a location in your home that is away from direct sunlight and stays at a consistent temperature of 75° to 85°F (24° to 29°C), if possible. This is where you’ll set up your 2
1
/
2
-gallon (9.5 L) porcelain vessel of kombucha to brew.

TO MAKE THE STARTER BATCH: Bring the 8 cups (1880 ml) water to a boil in a large-size pot, then add the loose tea equivalent. Allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes, then strain into a very large-size ceramic bowl. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the cold water and stir. The mixture should be room temperature at this point. Add the plain kombucha and stir again. Carefully pour the tea into the large-size porcelain vessel. Using clean hands, place the SCOBY on top of the tea. Cover with a tea towel and secure with a rubber band, in order to keep fruit flies out. Allow to sit for 1 week (away from other food that may attract fruit flies). Taste the tea. The ideal taste is only lightly sweet with a bit of tang but not overly vinegary. Keep tasting daily until the desired taste is achieved.

When the tea is to your liking, use the spigot to funnel half (1 gallon, or 3.8 L) into swing-top bottles or glass jars with
tight-fitting lids and refrigerate. Brew a refill batch as follows to replace bottled tea.

TO MAKE A REFILL BATCH: Bring the 4 cups (940 ml) water to a boil, then add the teabags or loose tea equivalent. Allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes, then strain into a large-size ceramic bowl. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the cold water, then pour into your existing vessel of kombucha, replenishing the tea that was bottled.

Allow the mixture to brew for 1 week before tasting. If not ready, continue to taste the tea daily until the desired taste is achieved. Continue to bottle and refill weekly, following the above instructions.

TO CLEAN THE VESSEL: Every 4 months, the vessel should be thoroughly cleaned. To do so, first remove the SCOBY and place it on a sheet tray. The SCOBY grows in layers during the 4 months of continuous brew. Discard, compost, or give away several of the bottom layers, which will be darker in color. A knife may be needed to separate the layers. You can also cut the SCOBY down to size if it has outgrown its jug. After trimming the SCOBY, place it in a bowl. Remove 2 cups (470 ml) of the kombucha and place in the bowl with the SCOBY.

Use the spigot to funnel and bottle all but the final 1 inch (2.5 cm) of liquid; this brownish, yeast-filled portion should be discarded in order to start fresh with a new population of yeast. (Because the spigot of most vessels is located at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the bottom of the vessel, it should not draw out the bottom settlement.)

Using a clean sponge and water, scrub the jug and spigot clean. Unscrew the spigot for a thorough cleaning. Scrub once more using distilled vinegar and rinse well.

With a clean vessel, a trimmed SCOBY, and 2 cups (470 ml) of reserved plain kombucha, restart the continuous brew process as outlined above.

YIELD: 1 GALLON (3.8 L) PER WEEK

RECIPE NOTES

• SCOBY is an acronym for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast.

• Be sure to consume the refrigerated kombucha within 1 month to prevent exploding bottles. If you’d like to keep it longer, simply store the kombucha in plastic containers instead.

• To create fizz in kombucha, add approximately 1 cup (235 ml) 100% fruit juice of choice to a clean, 2-liter plastic soda bottle. (The reason for plastic rather than glass is that in case of excess carbonation, the plastic will expand while the glass could crack.) Using a long wooden spoon, carefully peel the SCOBY away from one side of the jug and stir the kombucha to mix in the brownish yeast that lies at the bottom of the vessel; this yeast is the catalyst for the carbonation. Funnel brewed kombucha, plus any brown yeasty strands, into the 2-liter bottle, filling the bottle up to the tippy top. Screw on the cap tightly and set at room temperature for several days, until the plastic is taut and unyielding to the pressure of a squeeze, which indicates that gasses have built up in the bottle. At this point, refrigerate until consumption. And open carefully!

• Evaporated cane sugar, found in most grocery stores, carries a refinement that falls somewhere between white sugar, which is devoid of all minerals, and Sucanat (
page 64
), where the minerals are left untouched, leaving the rich brown color of the molasses intact. Evaporated cane sugar (or juice) contains only a very small amount of minerals and is light tan in color.

Apricot Lane Farms Lemonade

Living on a farm with 24 acres of lemons encourages one to acquire a killer lemonade recipe! By using a blender instead of heat to quickly emulsify the lemon and the honey, the beneficial enzymes and delicate nature of the unpasteurized raw honey are preserved. A very delicious, nutritious duo!

1 cup (320 g) raw honey

1 cup (235 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

6 cups (1410 ml) water

In a blender, combine the honey and lemon juice. Blend on high for 30 seconds. Add the water and pulse to combine.

Refrigerate until chilled, then serve over ice.

YIELD: 8 CUPS (1880 ML)

Creamy Almond Milk

There is something very satisfying about “building your own” anything. In the case of this recipe, I am thrilled knowing every ingredient in this milk is a word I can pronounce. In today’s world of processed foods, that is just short of a miracle.

3 cups (705 ml) water

1 cup (150 g) crunchy almonds (
page 49
)

1 teaspoon raw honey

1
/
2
teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch sea salt

In the container of a high-speed blender, combine all the ingredients. Blend on high speed for 2 minutes. Strain through a chinois (
page 83
) and compost the pulp.

Rinse the blender and return the almond milk to it. Blend on high speed for 1 minute, then strain again through the chinois.

Almond milk can be served warm or chilled. Use within 4 days and be sure to shake well before pouring (separation is normal).

YIELD: 2
1
/
4
CUPS (530 ML)

Beet Kvass

One 4-ounce (120 ml) glass of beet kvass morning and night serves as an excellent blood tonic, digestive regulator, blood alkalizer, liver cleanser, and overall healing tonic. In general, it keeps things moving! Remember, this is a detox tool, not a sugary beverage! The taste is acquired, and we find it most palatable when served cold. And if you’re heading to a party tonight, avoid purple hands by wearing rubber gloves when peeling the beets!

Inspired by Sally Fallon

2 medium or 1 large beet

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons (30 ml) whey (
page 40
)

Peel the beets and chop into 1-inch (2.5 cm) chunks. Place in the bottom of a clean 1-quart (1 L) Mason jar. To the jar, add the sea salt and whey. Fill the jar with water up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) below the top. Put the lid on and shake thoroughly.

Leave the jar on the counter, at room temperature, for 2 days without opening, then transfer to the refrigerator to store. The jar does not need to be “burped.”

Once chilled and ready to serve, carefully pour the desired amount into a glass, leaving the beets in the bottom of the jar to continue strengthening the liquid. Enjoy as a tonic beverage.

When all the liquid has been consumed, the process may be repeated one more time by adding the same amount of whey, sea salt, and water to the jar (which now only contains beets). Leave at room temperature for another 2 days without opening before transferring to the refrigerator for use.

When the second batch of liquid has been consumed, compost the beets and start fresh.

YIELD: 2 QUARTS (1.8 L)

RECIPE NOTE

This recipe may easily be doubled. When doubling, use two 1-quart (940 ml) Mason jars (rather than one 2-quart [2 L] jar) in order to allow the jars to be rotated. When one jar is finished, begin the second round of fermentation with that jar while consuming the second jar. Kvass ripens beautifully over time. A couple of months of refrigerator time will produce an even richer and more probiotic-filled beverage—if you can wait that long!

RESOURCES

FATS AND OILS

BEEF TALLOW AND PORK LARD

U.S. Wellness Meats

www.grasslandbeef.com

BUTTER

Straus Family Creamery

http://strausfamilycreamery.com

COCONUT OIL

Tropical Traditions

www.tropicaltraditions.com

Wilderness Family Naturals