My friend David has been making mead in his apartment for a few years now, for drinking on his own and gifting to friends. (Mead is an alcoholic drink made from fermented honey. Think of wine, with honey in place of grapes, and you’ll be close.) His inventions have been wide-ranging, experimenting with different kinds of honey and various flavorings. A few others in my circle of friends have been playing with unusual homemade foods: cheese for me, beer, bread, and pickled veggies from others. So last night, David hosted an event that he dubbed a “fermentation party”: a gathering of people who make food through the process of fermentation. I would broaden that description to say that it was a party for food geeks, an opportunity to find out what everyone was experimenting with in the kitchen, and to show off our successes. Between us, we brought lots of food, all homemade:
- Many varieties of mead
- Two kinds of cheese
- Sourdough bread
- Irish soda bread
- Pickled coconut (a vegan cheese experiment, perhaps the most interesting food of the evening)
- a range of pickled vegetables
You can see my contributions, fresh mozzarella and fromage blanc (the fromage blanc is still draining in this picture):
All of these foods are fermented, in one way or another. Wikipedia defines fermentation as “the chemical conversion of carbohydrates into alcohols or acids.” I think of it as creating food by encouraging the growth of good bacteria, while keeping out the bad bacteria that make food spoil. It takes an attitude adjustment for me to think about it this way, because so much of “clean” cooking means destroying all bacteria, everywhere, before they contact our food or our bodies. But in cheesemaking, bacteria are grown on purpose, and the milk-soon-to-be-cheese often needs to sit at room temperature (in sanitary conditions) for hours or days to get the appropriate bacterial growth. Perhaps we would all be a little healthier and happier if we took a less absolute approach to bacteria in general. We don’t need super-strength anti-bacterial soap to keep us safe, and it can be beneficial (and tasty!) to let some bacteria grow unchecked.
The party was a hit, not only because of so much delicious homemade food, but for the chance to hear about such a wide range of food experiments. One group of housemates was brewing their own beer (unfortunately, not ready in time for the party) and doing pickling. A vegan friend of mine is trying to create his own vegan cheese out of a surprising range of bases, including coconut (the coconut was tasty, but only superficially cheese-like — more tests will be done, I think). Another guest brought bread, apologizing for not making anything more interesting, and told us about the week-long juice diet she just completed.
The culmination of the evening was brewing our own batch of mead, with each of us bringing home a few bottles. The balloons over the tops are there to catch the released CO2 so the bottles won’t explode. I imagined the awkward conversation if I were pulled over on the way home, explaining “No, officer, it’s not alcoholic yet, we just brewed it tonight, and yes, the balloons are supposed to be there…”
It occurred to me, as we talked, that this was a very unusual group of people, maybe even a weird group, that we dedicated so much time and passion to making such a weird, wonderful collection of food. But I think this idea is slowly becoming more common: people all over are baking their own bread, making their own cheese and beer and wine, canning their summer produce, and going back to an earlier way of eating where we rely more on ourselves than on the food industry to produce delicious, nutritious food. The process is exciting, the results are good, and I’m happy to have my own mead brewing on the counter for the next few weeks, until it’s ready to drink.