When Food Comes Alive
“These foods are alive, they’re dynamic, but they’re extremely effective strategies for preserving food through a few seasons, which is really the point.”
If you (like me) sometimes have a problem eating all your fresh food before it goes bad, your answer might be fermentation, which is vividly described by Sandor Katz, the author of a new book about fermentation, as “the flavorful space between fresh and rotten.” Yum!
Katz says you can make sauerkraut by chopping up some cabbage or whatever vegetables you have lying around, squeezing out their juices so they have a liquid to sit in, and then putting them in a jar with a little bit of salt.
What I’d like really like to know is how long you can keep store-bought bread full of preservatives in your fridge before you have to throw it away (I have half of a five-week-old loaf still sitting in my fridge that might be a little stale, but still looks like it’d be fine to eat). The answer to this question varies wildly!
Photo: Flickr/NourishingCook
I just created a commenter account just to encourage you to freeze bread if you eat it that slowly. Just wrap it in a paper towel to thaw, or eat all sandwiches on toast, which makes things fancier. And, toast sandwiches come with less risk of self-innoculating with homegrown penicillin(my understanding of bread molds is less than precise, so that’s what I assume eating moldy bread does to you.)
Signed,
a bulk-purchaser of bread.
@Sass yes! i came here just to say that. freezing bread is the way to go. my family has been doing it for years.
@Sass Yes! Slice up a loaf of french bread and then throw it in the freezer! Bagels can go in there too, and your sandwich bread. (It’s possible I eat too much bread?)
@Sass Came here to make the same comment. Also, slightly fancy breads freeze really well! Marble rye, pumpernickel and sourdough rounds are my go-to loaves when I know I can eat off them for weeks and weeks.
@phenylalanine In my world, there is no such thing as too much bread.
Oh man, my partner and I make our own sauerkraut and pickles and they are so good – crazy good! And it’s super cheap, cucumbers and cabbage at the farmers market are a steal.
Let’s talk about good kimchi/Let’s add some anchovy/Let’s talk about all the cabbage/And the radish/We gonna eat!
This wasn’t quite the solution I was looking for, but it’ll do. Especially for those big bags of barley and hops I have lying around…
Pickling all of the things is my new hobby. I made a few batches of pickled eggs a few weeks ago (which are actually delicious!). They go very well in salads of all shapes and sizes.
Sandor is why I have sauerkraut and kimchi in my fridge with plans of miso and cheesemaking in my heart. We can all do this so easy, tasty and good for you. I heart that guy. Also I used to freeze my bread, but some article about the Wheat Belly book talked me out of it. Freezing bread that is, but not avoiding wheat.
Oh, Sandor<3. Thanks for the heads up about his new book! I just ordered it for my library.