Wild Fermentation


Book Description

Fermentation is an ancient way of preserving food as an aid to digestion, but the centralization of modern foods has made it less popular. Katz introduces a new generation to the flavors and health benefits of fermented foods. Since the first publication of the title in 2003 he has offered a fresh perspective through a continued exploration of world food traditions, and this revised edition benefits from his enthusiasm and travels.




Science and Technology of Fruit Wine Production


Book Description

Science and Technology of Fruit Wine Production includes introductory chapters on the production of wine from fruits other than grapes, including their composition, chemistry, role, quality of raw material, medicinal values, quality factors, bioreactor technology, production, optimization, standardization, preservation, and evaluation of different wines, specialty wines, and brandies. Wine and its related products have been consumed since ancient times, not only for stimulatory and healthful properties, but also as an important adjunct to the human diet by increasing satisfaction and contributing to the relaxation necessary for proper digestion and absorption of food. Most wines are produced from grapes throughout the world, however, fruits other than grapes, including apple, plum, peach, pear, berries, cherries, currants, apricot, and many others can also be profitably utilized in the production of wines. The major problems in wine production, however, arise from the difficulty in extracting the sugar from the pulp of some of the fruits, or finding that the juices obtained lack in the requisite sugar contents, have higher acidity, more anthocyanins, or have poor fermentability. The book demonstrates that the application of enzymes in juice extraction, bioreactor technology, and biological de-acidification (MLF bacteria, or de-acidifying yeast like schizosaccharomyces pombe, and others) in wine production from non-grape fruits needs serious consideration. - Focuses on producing non-grape wines, highlighting their flavor, taste, and other quality attributes, including their antioxidant properties - Provides a single-volume resource that consolidates the research findings and developed technology employed to make wines from non-grape fruits - Explores options for reducing post-harvest losses, which are especially high in developing countries - Stimulates research and development efforts in non-grape wines




True Brews


Book Description

This accessible home-brew guide for alcoholic and non-alcoholic fermented drinks, from Apartment Therapy: The Kitchn's Emma Christensen, offers a wide range of simple yet enticing recipes for Root Beer, Honey Green Tea Kombucha, Pear Cider, Gluten-Free Sorghum Ale, Blueberry-Lavender Mead, Gin Sake, Plum Wine, and more. You can make naturally fermented sodas, tend batches of kombucha, and brew your own beer in the smallest apartment kitchen with little more equipment than a soup pot, a plastic bucket, and a long-handled spoon. All you need is the know-how. That’s where Emma Christensen comes in, distilling a wide variety of projects—from mead to kefir to sake—to their simplest forms, making the process fun and accessible for homebrewers. All fifty-plus recipes in True Brews stem from the same basic techniques and core equipment, so it’s easy for you to experiment with your favorite flavors and add-ins once you grasp the fundamentals. Covering a tantalizing range of recipes, including Coconut Water Kefir, Root Beer, Honey–Green Tea Kombucha, Pear Cider, Gluten-Free Pale Ale, Chai-Spiced Mead, Cloudy Cherry Sake, and Plum Wine, these fresh beverages make impressive homemade offerings for hostess gifts, happy hours, and thirsty friends alike.




Joy of Home Wine Making


Book Description

Port and sherries, whites, reds, roses and melomels—make your own wine without owning a vineyard! If you can follow a simple recipe, you can create delectable table wines in your own home. It's fun, it's easy-and the results will delightfully complement your favorite meals and provide unparalleled pleasure by the glass when friends come calling. You don't have tore-create Bordeaux in your basement to be a successful home vintner-you can make raisin wine and drink it like sherry, or use it to accent your Chinese cooking. Raspberry or apricot wine lend themselves to delicious desserts. And if you are interested in more exotic concoctions, rhubarb champagne is the ultimate treat. The Joy of Home Winemaking is your comprehensive guide to: the most up-to-date techniques and equipment readily available and affordable ingredients and materials aging, bottling, racking, blending, and experimenting dozens of original recipes for great-tasting fruit wines, spice wines, herb wines, sparkling wines, sherries, liqueurs even homemade soda pop! a sparkling brief history of winemaking helpful illustrations and glossary an extensive mail-order resource section Whether you prefer your wine dry of slightly sweet, The Joy of Home Winemaking has all the information you need to go from casual connoisseur to expert home vintner in no time.




Chickens in the Road


Book Description

Suzanne McMinn, a former romance writer and founder of the popular blog chickensintheroad.com, shares the story of her search to lead a life of ordinary splendor in Chickens in the Road, her inspiring and funny memoir. Craving a life that would connect her to the earth and her family roots, McMinn packed up her three kids, left her husband and her sterile suburban existence behind, and moved to rural West Virginia. Amid the rough landscape and beauty of this rural mountain country, she pursues a natural lifestyle filled with chickens, goats, sheep—and no pizza delivery. With her new life comes an unexpected new love—"52," a man as beguiling and enigmatic as his nickname—a turbulent romance that reminds her that peace and fulfillment can be found in the wake of heartbreak. Coping with formidable challenges, including raising a trio of teenagers, milking stubborn cows, being snowed in with no heat, and making her own butter, McMinn realizes that she’s living a forty-something’s coming-of-age story. As she dares to become self-reliant and embrace her independence, she reminds us that life is a bold adventure—if we’re willing to live it. Chickens in the Road includes more than 20 recipes, craft projects, and McMinn’s photography, and features a special two-color design.




The Art of Making Wine


Book Description




Making Wild Wines & Meads


Book Description

Make extraordinary homemade wines from everything but grapes! In this refreshingly unique take on winemaking, Patti Vargas and Rich Gulling offer 125 recipes for unusual wines made from herbs, fruits, flowers, and honey. Learn to use ingredients from your farmers’ market, grocery store, or even your own backyard to make deliciously fermented drinks. Lemon-Thyme Metheglin, Rose Hip Melomel, and Pineapple-Orange Delight are just the beginning of an unexplored world of delightfully natural wild wines. Cheers!




Home Winemaking


Book Description

Simple Instructions and Superb Recipes from a Winemaking Legend With local breweries and wineries popping up everywhere, learning how to make wine is on everyone’s “to do” list. Utilize the guidance of home-winemaking legend Jack Keller. In the 1990s, Jack started one of the first (if not the first) wine blogs on the internet. His expertise is shared with you in Home Winemaking. It takes a fun, practical, step-by-step approach to making your own wine. The book begins with an introduction to winemaking, including basic principles, equipment needed, and exactly what to do. After the fundamentals are covered, you’re introduced to a variety of tested, proven, delicious recipes. More than just grape wines, you’ll learn how to make wine out of everything from juices and concentrates to foraged ingredients such as berries and roots. There are even recipes that utilize dandelions and other unexpected ingredients. With 65 recipe options, you can expand your winemaking season indefinitely! Jack’s simple approach to the subject is perfect for beginners, but winemakers of every skill level will appreciate the recipes and information. So get this essential winemaking book, and get started. You’ll be sipping to your success in no time.




Make Mead Like a Viking


Book Description

A complete, practical, and entertaining guide to using the best ingredients and minimal equipment to create flavorful brews—including wildcrafted meads, bragots, t’ej, grog, honey beers, and more! "A great guide . . . full of practical information and fascinating lore."—Sandor Ellix Katz, author of The Art of Fermentation Ancient societies brewed flavorful and healing meads, ales, and wines for millennia using only intuition, storytelling, and knowledge passed down through generations―no fancy, expensive equipment or degrees in chemistry needed. In Make Mead Like a Viking, homesteader, fermentation enthusiast, and self-described “Appalachian Yeti Viking” Jereme Zimmerman summons the bryggjemann of the ancient Norse to demonstrate how homebrewing mead―arguably the world’s oldest fermented alcoholic beverage―can be not only uncomplicated but fun. Inside, readers will learn techniques for brewing: Sweet, semi-sweet, and dry meads Melomels (fruit meads) Metheglins (spiced meads) Ethiopian t’ej (honey wine) Flower and herbal meads Bragots Honey beers Country wines Viking grog And there's more for aspiring Vikings to explore, including: The importance of local and unpasteurized honey for both flavor and health benefits What modern homebrewing practices, materials, and chemicals work—but aren’t necessary How to grow and harvest herbs and collect wild botanicals for use in healing, nutritious, and magical meads, beers, and wines How to use botanicals other than hops for flavoring and preserving mead, ancient ales, and gruits The rituals, mysticism, and communion with nature that were integral components of ancient brewing Whether you’ve been intimidated by modern homebrewing’s cost or seeming complexity in the past or are boldly looking to expand your current brewing and fermentation practices, Zimmerman’s welcoming style and spirit will usher you into exciting new territory. Grounded in history and mythology, but―like Odin’s ever-seeking eye―focusing continually on the future of self-sufficient food culture, Make Mead Like a Viking is a practical and entertaining guide for the ages. "Adventurous mead makers or brewers who want to move beyond the basics will find plenty to savor here."—Library Journal




The Wildcrafting Brewer


Book Description

Primitive beers, country wines, herbal meads, natural sodas, and more "Baudar has elevated the concept of terroir into the realm of extreme beverages, both fermented and unfermented. His book brings to life the innovative quest of the Palaeolithic shaman/healer/brewer."--Patrick E. McGovern, author of Ancient Brews Fermentation fans and home brewers can rediscover "primitive" drinks and their unique flavors in The Wildcrafting Brewer. Wild-plant expert and forager Pascal Baudar's first book, The New Wildcrafted Cuisine, opened up a whole new world of possibilities for readers wishing to explore and capture the flavors of their local terroir. The Wildcrafting Brewer does the same for fermented drinks. Baudar reveals both the underlying philosophy and the practical techniques for making your own delicious concoctions, including: Wild sodas Country wines Primitive herbal beers Meads Traditional ferments like tiswin and kvass. The book opens with a retrospective of plant-based brewing and ancient beers. The author then goes on to describe both hot and cold brewing methods and provides lots of interesting recipes; mugwort beer, horehound beer, and manzanita cider are just a few of the many drinks represented. Baudar is quick to point out that these recipes serve mainly as a touchstone for readers, who can then use the information and techniques he provides to create their own brews, using their own local ingredients. The Wildcrafting Brewer will attract herbalists, foragers, natural-foodies, and chefs alike with the author's playful and relaxed philosophy. Readers will find themselves surprised by how easy making your own natural drinks can be, and will be inspired, again, by the abundance of nature all around them. "With gorgeous photos and clear technical details, this book will be a source of great inspiration."--Sandor Ellix Katz, author of The Art of Fermentation