Wild Fermentation : Honey Pop!

Hello friends!

So far you only know me for my #needleworkmonday posts, but it's time for me to branch out and share a bit more with you. Specifically, some of the fun stuff I like to do in my kitchen.

Like a lot of us these days, I've hopped onto the Live Foods bandwagon. The thing is, I'm all about low-maintenance. That means that keeping a sourdough starter is about as hard as I want to work. Kefir/tibicos, kombucha, miso . . . no thanks. I mean, I'd love to enjoy some of YOUR delicious homemade kombucha, but if my culture's going to die from a few days of neglect and (more importantly) have to be replaced through buying or trading, then no thanks. It's not making it into my kitchen.

This is where the wonder of wild fermentation comes in! This style of fermentation relies on naturally occurring microorganisms such as yeasts or bacteria to do the fermenting for you. No fancy-schmancy starter culture needed. So many of the well-known fermented foods are made by wild fermentation, such as sour dough bread, sauerkraut, and honey mead. Today, I bring you Honey Pop!

I didn't exactly invent Honey Pop. I'm basically going through the same process humans have used for millenia to make honey mead, which is probably the first way we ever got tipsy. I've just tweaked the process so that what is produced is actually a non-alcoholic version of the drink, more like a soda than a wine. Here's my process for one gallon:

ONE: Get a whole bunch of fruit and chop it up. The fruit not only gives a nice subtle flavor, but also provides super important sugars and enzymes for the fermentation process to take off. I use whatever's in season (being in Guatemala, there's always something in season). Lately it's been citrus; orange makes such a nice drink! Another favorite is passion fruit-lime. Apple did not go over well.

TWO: Measure out a generous 4 oz. of honey and get it into your primary fermenter. I've found that old Carlo Rossi one-gallon jugs are the best. They're easy to keep covered and keep the bugs out of, easy to pour from when bottling later, and relatively easy to clean. Add the fruit as well.

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THREE: If you have a set-up like mine, you need to get all that honey and fruit through a funnel and into the jug. I use the uber-sophisticated "Jam It Down There With A Chopstick" technique. Highly effective. Then top it off with water and secure a cloth over the top of the jug. Make sure it is NOT airtight--you need to let all those airborne yeasts have access to your aromatic brew so that they'll settle down and start their fermentation magic. Shake your brew every day (another reason the Carlo Rossi jugs are great--just cover the top with one hand and give it a good shake). This incorporates all of the yeast that has settled on the top into the brew and allows for a much better fermentation.

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Anywhere from 3 day to a week later it'll be bubbling away, the fruit will have risen to the top with all the carbonation, and every time you shake the jar the force of the carbonation will pop out some gas and liquid. This is time for bottling: straining out all the fruit, pour your brew into bottles which WILL be airtight and seal them well. Leave them to ferment for at least another few days. Carbonation will build up as fermentation continues, and you'll know it's ready when you see lots of lovely bubbles gushing up upon opening the bottle. Cheers!

Day 1 vs. Day 5: You can see how on Day 1 of fermentation all the fruit has settled to the bottom, but by Day 5 it is at the very top of the ferment, held there by the upward force of all the carbonation.
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Any other lazy fermenters out there? What's your favorite recipe?