Saturday, July 2, 2011

Spontaneous Fermentation

I have been reading about and thinking about doing a "naturally fermented" mead commonly known as Tej (an Ethiopian honey wine). I first read about this in Sandor Katz's book "Wild Fermentation".

A basic recipe is:
    3 quarts water
    3 cups honey (preferably raw)
Mix this in a large enough open container and stir till mixed thoroughly. Leave uncovered by a open window for 3-4 days (longer if cool outside) stirring when you think about it (about 2-4 times a day) till bubbly. When it starts to bubble good transfer it to a gallon carboy and cap with an air lock. let ferment for 2-4 weeks until fermentation slows. Bottle and drink or age.

Any number of fruits or herbs could be added at just about any stage of the process. Chopped fruits in the beginning will get it started faster and stronger while some herbs you may want to put in during the sealed fermentation or aging stages.

Any spontaneous fermentation will tend to be cloudy and might taste a little funky.

An informative page is here

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