As you have seen we released Shannon’s new book, Lacto-fermenting: The Easy & Healthy Way, and the response has been overwhelming. Today I wanted to share some of the great questions that have been asked about the book.
A Few Questions & Answers
Q: I was looking at the sample of your new book. Do you always have to use whey? I am new to this and don’t understand the reasons for whey and don’t know how to get it. Thank you. – T.H.
A: Not all the recipes use whey… only some of them. The short answer on why whey is used with some foods it because the foods need some added good bacteria to help start the fermentation process. Much more on the why is explained in the book. To understand more about whey and how to get it see the article, Whey: What It Is And How To Get It. The book is written to help beginners and advanced lacto-fermenters alike.
Q: Do you use sugar in your recipes? I am very interested in lacto-fermentation, but must stay sugar free.- L.B.
A: The majority of the recipes DO NOT use sugar. There are a few that do, like a couple of the condiments, but in some of those the sugar could be replaced with stevia. The only exception would be the lacto-fermented sodas. They need sugar to consume and be transformed into a light bubbly health tonic. The good news is much of that sugar is consumed (eaten by the lacto-bacilli) during the fermenting process.
Also keep in mind that foods that do contain high sugar content like carrots and beets will have their sugar content reduced overall as the fermentation process eats this as food in the process. 🙂
Q: I see that you are selling the Lacto-fermenting book and an airlock kit together, is that all I need to do the recipes in the book? – L.S.
A: You will have all the special items needed to lacto-ferment. A wide mouth caning jar will still be needed. The kit includes the lids that hold the airlocks and storage lids for after the processing is done and the food is ready to be refrigerated. And you will have to supply the food you are planning to ferment. 🙂
If you plan on making some of the soda recipes in the book you may want a couple of these Swingtop Glass 1-Liter Bottles. They are not absolutely necessary if you cannot get your hands on any, just use a 1/2-Gallon wide mouth jar with the metal lid (on tight) – though with this you will not get as much fizz in your drinks as when using the swingtop bottles.
FYI – if you are local to the Dallas-Fort Worth TX area and need some of the swingtop bottles of other supplies we can get some to you, just drop us a line.
Q: I have not done any kind of fermenting before, is this hard to learn? – K.C.
A: No it is not hard at all. We use the time tested methods of lacto-fermenting and keep them simple. We have gotten many comments back from people that have followed our instructions, that they were surprised by how easy things were to make and how items came out tasting good on the first try. I hope you give it a go. You will find that it can change your life.
Q: Is lacto-fermentation safe to do at home? I hear about all the food issues today with prepared food. – A.M.
A: Yes, lacto-fermentation is a safe process to do at home. The great thing about this process is you will know if something goes bad, which does not happen very often. I have been doing this process for years and have only had a couple of food items go bad on me and the smell was horrid. So rest easy you will know. The book goes into more detail about the safety of lacto-fermentation.
If you have some questions to add to the ones above do leave a comment below.
Don’t miss out on your chance to get this great book at a super price. You have till this Friday, midnight to order your copy at the reduced low price, Lacto-Fermentation: The Easy & Healthy Way.