Fermenting Vegetables & Fruit Using Honey - Part 2

Whey

Hanna Kroeger in Ageless Remedies from Mother's Kitchen says this about whey:

Whey is such a good helper in your kitchen. It has a lot of minerals.  One tablespoon of whey in a little water will held digestion.  It is a remedy that will keep your muscles young.  It will keep your joints movable and ligaments elastic.   When age wants to bend your back, take whey....with stomach ailments, take one tablespoon whey three times daily, this will feed the stomach glands and they will work well again.

In part 1 of Fermenting Vegetables & Fruit with Honey, I told how to make whey.  Whey is used as a starter to help ferment all sorts of things.  Whey beverages is also a folk remedy dating back to 460 B.C. with Hippocrates, all the way up into the 1940's.  If you're game, here's one to try:

Whey Drink
1/2 c whey (see Part 1 on how to make whey)
1/2 c filtered water
juice of 1 lemon

Mix all ingredients together and drink immediately.

In our beekeeping classes, I always try to make foods that are, let's say, a little unusual for some folks.  I use mostly whole wheats, raw honey, free range eggs, our own chickens, and organic foods for the snack items and lunch menu.  I made a coffee cake awhile back and remember the reaction of some trying it for the first time.  I am sure when they cut into it they thought it was going to taste like those ooey gooey sugary cakes from the Casey's or some other gas station, but instead it was a wholesome treat that probably tasted somewhat odd to them.

Fermented vegetables are kind of like that.  I love the taste of them, but if you have finicky kids or husbands, it may be hard to get them to taste them.  Here's a really good recipe, that's also sweet, that may be a good starter. Please remember to use stainless steel and store in glass.

Corn Relish
3 c fresh corn kernels (sweet corn, yum)
1 small tomato
1 small onion
1/2 red and green pepper, seeded and diced
2 T cilantro leaves, chopped
2 T raw honey
1 T sea salt
4 T whey

Corn relish along with fermented radish & cucumber

In large bowl, mix all ingredients,  pound lightly with wooden pounder.  Place in quart mason jar, pressing down so juice is over ingredients and at least 1 inch below top of jar.  Cover tightly and keep at room temperature about 3 days before refrigerating. When testing for the first time, remember whether it's sweet enough for you, and adjust honey in the next batch.



In the next part of this series, I'll give you some fermented condiment recipes.