Mastering Fermentation

“Mary Karlin has done it again, getting me all excited about the passions we share, as she previously did with cheesemaking and wood-fired cooking.”
Peter Reinhart,
author of Artisan Bread Everyday and Bread Baker’s Apprentice.

“Mastering Fermentation is full of recipes and ideas that are imminently doable and also delicious”.
Deborah Madison,
author of Vegetable Literacy and Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Artisan Cheese Making at Home

“Part cookbook, part textbook, and part travel guide through the world of hand-crafted cheeses, Artisan Cheese Making at Home is both educational and inspirational”.
Jill Giacomini Basch,
Managing Partner, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company

“If you thought reading about making cheese couldn’t be exciting, this book will change your mind. Mary Karlin’s expert advice, instruction, and passion for cheese making come together to create a page-turning tome that allows us to become DIYers and artisans all at once.”
Laura Werlin,
author of Mac and Cheese, Please! and Laura Werlin’s Cheese Essentials

Wood-Fired Cooking

“A wood fire is always the heart and hearth of a social gathering—I never feel more at home than when I'm cooking over the flames. Mary Karlin's comprehensive and beautiful book introduces you to one of our most ancient, basic, and satisfying ways to cook.”
Alice Waters,
founder and co-owner of Chez Panisse and author of The Art of Simple Food

“In Wood-Fired Cooking, Mary Karlin combines the romance of the fire with practical information and really delicious recipes that are easy to prepare. A surefire hit.”
Joyce Goldstein,
chef and author of Back to Square One and Italian Slow and Savory

• 1 cup sprouted chickpeas (see page 7)
• 11⁄4 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1 cup tahini paste
• 6 large cloves Fermented Garlic (page 75)
• 1 to 11⁄2 teaspoons unrefined fine sea salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or cayenne pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted
• Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons Basic Brine (page 13)
• 1⁄3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (peppery flavor preferable)

Directions
In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, tahini, and garlic, and pulse to a chunky consistency. Add the salt, pepper, and cumin and blend. Add the juice of 1 lemon and the brine, combine, and taste. With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Taste again and add more lemon juice if desired or add a few drops of water to thin, if necessary. Adjust salt and pepper and adjust lemon again to taste. Place in a jar, cover, and refrigerate. Hummus will keep for 3 weeks or longer.

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• 2 cups red or mixed cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 small or 2 large jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped (option: fermented, seeded, and chopped)
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1⁄2 cup chopped fresh mango
• 1 tablespoon minced or finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted
• 1⁄2 teaspoon coriander seed, toasted and crushed
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon unrefined fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoons raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
• 1⁄4 cup raw, unfiltered orange blossom honey
• 1 teaspoon grated lime zest
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons fermenting agent (basic whey, water kefir, or brine from fermented vegetables like jalapeño chiles)
• 1 sprig fresh cilantro, for the jar (optional)

Directions
Gently combine the tomatoes, chiles, garlic, mango, ginger, cumin, coriander, white pepper, and salt in a bowl. Combine the vinegar, honey, lime zest, and lime juice and stir into the mixture. Stir in the fermenting agent last. Place in a jar or crock and push down slightly to remove any air pockets. Secure the opening with cheesecloth. Ferment at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight. Add the sprig of cilantro just before refrigerating. Cover with an airtight lid and refrigerate overnight for the flavors to come together. This salsa will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Bonus Recipe
This salsa creates some lovely juice. You can drain it a bit before serving and drizzle the juice on grilled fish or shellfish, use it to make ceviche, whisk in some fruity olive oil to create a vinaigrette, or reduce it to make a syrup to add to cocktails or fizzy beverages. Close.

• 1 gallon pasteurized goat milk, at room temperature for 1 hour
• 1 packet C20G direct-set mesophilic starter culture
• 1 teaspoon unrefined fine sea salt

Directions

1. In a nonreactive stockpot, gently heat the milk over low heat to 86°F. This should take 25 to 30 minutes. Turn off the heat.
2. Sprinkle the starter over the milk and let it rehydrate for 5 minutes. Whisk the starter into the milk, using an up-and-down motion to distribute thoroughly.
3. Cover and maintain a temperature of no lower than 72°F, allowing the milk to ripen for 12 hours. Wrap with a terry towel to keep warm. (Either ripen during the day to drain at night or ripen overnight to drain the next morning.)
4. The curds are ready when they have formed one large, solid mass in the pot with the consistency of thick yogurt, surrounded by clear whey.
5. Place a strainer over a bowl or plastic bucket large enough to capture the whey. Line the strainer with a single layer of dampened butter muslin or cheesecloth, leaving excess cloth hanging over the sides of the strainer. Gently ladle the curds into it. After draining for 5 minutes, gently toss the curds with the salt. Tie the corners of the cloth together to create a draining sack, slip a wooden spoon handle through the knot, and hang over a deep cooking pot or bucket to drain at room temperature (68°F to 72°F) for 6 to 12 hours (see Option). The longer the curds drain, the drier the finished cheese will be.
6. Remove the cheese from the cheesecloth or molds and store refrigerated in a covered container for up to 1 week.

Option: Rather than gravity draining in bulk in a sack, you can fill four chèvre molds that sit on a draining rack to drain for the same amount of time. Flip the curds once during the draining process.

Tip: If you want a soft, creamy consistency, drain for 6 or so hours. If you want to create a log of chèvre, let the curds drain for up to 12 hours so the cheese can be formed more easily and hold the desired shape. When adding dried herbs, mix in after salting and draining for 5 hours, and then continue to drain until the desired consistency is achieved.

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• 1⁄2 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger
• 1⁄2 cup packed fresh mint leaves
• 3⁄4 cup raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
• 1⁄2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1⁄2 cup raw unrefined cane sugar

Directions

1. Place the ginger and mint leaves in a glass jar; bruise them to release some of the juices. Add the vinegar, close the jar tightly, and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Replace the lid with cheesecloth. Securely attach a layer of cheesecloth over the opening and leave at room temperature for 12 hours or overnight.
2. Replace the cheesecloth with the lid, secure tightly, and repeat the vigorous shaking daily for 1 week. Strain out the ginger and mint and stir in the lime juice and sugar until dissolved. Bottle, add a sprig of mint, close tightly, and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Refrigerate for 7 days before using. Give the bottle a vigorous shake every day for that week. Refrigerate after opening. Syrup will last for up to 4 months.

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• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 scant teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup pineapple vinegar (recipe pages 33-34)

In a mortar, pound the garlic with the salt and spices. When smooth, add the oil and vinegar, gently whisking until incorporated.

Black Bean Salad

Be sure and make your beans from scratch. Canned beans need to be rinsed as the liquid they are stored in gets funky after all that time in a can. This recipe calls for drained beans, so save that bean liquid and use it in soups or to poach an egg.
I think the key to good bean salads is having lots of crunchy things to go with the creamy beans. I think an acidic dressing is also a great contrast to the mild, creamy legumes.
Try and dress the beans while they are still a little warm so they can really absorb the liquids.

• 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans
• 1/2 red onion, sliced into super thin rings
• 1 bunch of radishes, cleaned and then sliced into thin slivers
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• Pineapple Vinegar Marinade, to taste

Steve Sando © 2012 | Rancho Gordo Beans

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To encourage the curing process using this method, olives are often ‘cracked’ with a rolling pin or wooden mallet to break open the skin slightly. You are not trying to break the flesh away from the pit. An alternative is to cut a small slice in the side of the olive. Place rinsed and drained olives in a food-grade container.
Cover with cool filtered water and place a weight on top to keep the olives completely submerged.
Cover with fine cheesecloth, and store in a cool dark location. Drain and change the water daily. As the olives soak, their bitterness is being removed. Begin to taste sample after 6 weeks for bitterness. Based on your taste, you can continue to soak for another week or until they taste good to you. In this last week, sample taste daily. When they taste good to you, you can finish the olives using the method described in Brine-Cured Olives.

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