A Curious Space for Cultured Things
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Ferment Lab: A dedicated space for circular fermentation & conservation in Brussels
After writing a first version in December last year and continue with a more theoretical introduction earlier this year we can finally announce that we are building the full-on Ferment Lab thanks to the Prove Your Social Innovation fund! Inspired by fermentation & conservation techniques from around the world, we want this place to be dedicated to teaching, researching…
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Why waste it when you can taste it #1: Flavor powders
At our Ferment Lab we are obsessed with leftovers, and we try to extract every last taste out of it. Over the last couple of months, our R&D manager explored the possibilities of flavor powders based on three leftovers we had in our lab: scraps, over fermented vegetables & pulp from pressing shoyu and other…
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Introduction To … Circular Fermentation
After a year of researching about adapting koji fermentation to zero waste products we started to find certain paterns in the way fermentation helps at saving often looked over parts and transform them to wonderful tastemakers. Here are a couple of starter tips that can be implemented in any type of kitchen, What’s left of…
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Cucumber kimchi
Take some beers, put them in the fridge and by the time they are chilled, you will have your next kimchi ready to go with them. This cucumber kimchi is really easy and most of all, you can eat it right away (ideally you give it a day or two). Make sure to use young,…
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Zucchini kimchi
If you have kimchi paste at hand, this spring kimchi is ready in no time and so easy. Zucchinis are neutral vegetables acting like little sponges and fermenting quickly, so after only one week this kimchi is ready to eat. Don’t throw out the kimchi juice left in the jar after eating the zucchini, you…
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Savoy cabbage kraut
I love Savoy cabbage. The thick green leaves are so good in winter stews or just thinly sliced and wilted in a good knob of butter. The season is coming to an end so I hurried to make a fermented version, inspired by the one from ‘Fermented vegetables’ from K. Shockey with juniper berries. It…
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Kimchi paste
Kimchi, the soul food of Korea, is rapidly conquering the rest of the world. With good reason. Packed with good nutrients and unique in taste, this fiery ferment has as many recipes as there are kimchi-lovers. I have tried several ways of making kimchi and tweaked a little here and there after reading and eating…
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Fermented squash and sesame dip
The recipe from Cortney Burns fermented squash and sesame dip (Saveur nr. 193) is time-consuming. She is using things like amchoor and onion powder which make up part of the larder at Bar Tartine. I decided to take a short cut and see if this long anticipated dip is as good as it looks, using…
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Lemon-dill kraut
This is an extremely tasty version of the ‘usual sauerkraut’ but with that little extra freshness from the lemon and the dill. The recipe from K. Shockey asks for dried dill, but I felt that I had to do something useful with that big bunch of fresh dill I had in my fridge. I like…
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Lemon Verbena-Kukicha Kombucha
Nearly all kombucha brewers will tell you that tea is, next to cane sugar and filtered water, an indispensable ingredient to make a good kombucha. The quality and the type of tea (Camellia sinensis) you choose are as important as the variety of grapes are to a winemaker. After experimenting for some time with green…
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