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Use the primary starter to make a starter extension. In sourdough bread making parlance this
would be the equivalent of the sponge. In EM parlance this is the EM extension or activated EM.
So in the same way that you use a small amount of sourdough starter to successively feed up a
large amount of highly active sourdough sponge, which you finally mix with flour to make a
dough, with lacto fermented beverages you make a starter extension.
Once the microorganisms in the starter extension are highly active you add it to the required
amount of sugars (molasses, barley malt, honey) and water; give it 1 - 5 days to ferment and
lower the pH below 3.9, then add the remaining ingredients such as salt, rock dust, bentonite
clay, herbs, fruit juice, vitamin B12, and vitamin C, which could otherwise buffer the liquid and
prevent the pH from dropping rapidly to below pH 3.9. In this way you ensure that these
ingredients do not inhibit the proliferation of the lacto acid forming microorganisms, which could
then result in the growth of pathogens.
Once a day for 1 - 5 days, while the probiotics are colonising the liquid, you should stir the liquid
to slightly aerate it and to remix any sediment back into the brew. In this way you ensure that the
sediment does not create a subenvironment within the brew which could harbour non favourable
microorganisms, and that any scum does not dry out and form another sub environment.
Once fermentation is under way and the pH has dropped below pH3.9 you should assist the
formation of an anaerobic state by not agitating the liquid and keeping the fermentation vessel
covered. It also helps to limit the airspace by filling the fermentation vessel near to the top.
If you are using a non-breakable container such as a large PET bottle, home brewers plastic
carboy or steel keg then you may wish to screw the lid on tightly to pressurise the liquid and force
the CO2 and H back into the liquid. This may help the probiotics to proliferate and assist in a
rapid pH drop. In most cases you should ferment the brew for about 5 days until the majority of
the sugars have been digested and the liquid goes flat. If however you are making EM type brews
or elixirs with a higher concentration of sugars, then the fermentation time may need be extended
to up to 12 weeks.
At this point the brew should be transferred to bottles and capped. When filling the bottles you
should aim to agitate the brew as little as possible to avoid the introduction of oxygen which could
trigger a new fermentation cycle. To ensure a sparkling brew upon opening the bottles just add
the equivalent of 1/2 teaspoon of rice syrup per 750 mls to the brew before you bottle it. Even
without the addition of rice syrup at the bottling stage fermentation may continue for some
months. Take care as exploding bottles may cause serious injury. Please note that sometimes the
microorganisms may use up the carbon dioxide and the resultant brew will be flat.
Contingent upon the microflora present and the quality of the ingredients, fermentation times from
20 - 90 days should increase the antioxidant properties of the brew. Care should be taken with
long fermentation times and the use of simple sugars such as sugar, fructose, dextrose, rice
syrup, honey, light molasses as the pH may drop below pH 3.6 resulting in the demise of many of
the microorganisms and if the pH rises then the brew could go off.
However as long as the pH remains below pH3.9 then it is unlikely that any pathogens will be
present, however as just mentioned, pH can fluctuate over time and you should always apply the
sniff, look and taste test before you drink any sizable quantity. (pH paper in the range pH 2.0 - 5.0
is available from scientific supply houses.)
The polysaccharide and minerals in blackstrap molasses, and the minerals in sea salt and rock
dust should extend the shelf life of most lacto fermented beverages.
As with all cultured and lacto fermented foods you need to exercise some caution and common
sense. If you have survived on a diet of processed foods and have a history of antibiotic use, then
the flora in your digestive system are probably out of balance. In this case you would be well
advised to introduce lacto fermented foods and beverages a little at a time. AGM Foods Australia
recommend an initial serving size of 50ml per day for their B.E. Grainfields liquid, that can be
increased to a litre per day once the digestive system has adjusted. If you read some of the
'official' websites for Effective Microbes (EM) you will see that they definitely recommend against
consuming any more than 30 ml per day for some of their products. If the flora in your digestive
system are out of balance then you may experience mild indigestion, diarrhea and even nausea,
if you take more than 50ml per day of any lacto fermented beverage that contains live cultures.
I don't recommend that you use a powdered culture from one of the above brands to inoculate
your lacto fermented beverages because my experience has been that the cultures are too
difficult to activate. In theory the powdered cultures contain live organisms, yet when I tried to
culture them in a solution of rice syrup, sugar and water there was zero activity. So I advise using
the liquid products.
YEAST STRAINS
Saccharomyces boulardii
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
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Saccharomyces kefir
Torula kefir
Lactobacillus caucasicus
Leuconnostoc species
Lactic Streptococci
Lactose fermenting yeasts
1. Lactobacilli.
2. Streptococci and lactococci
3. Yeasts
4. Acetobacter.
Some of the micro-organisms found in store bought yogurt or in probiotic supplements are also
found in kefir. They are mainly from the Lactobacilli group:
Lb. acidophilus
Lb. brevis
Lb. casei
Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus
Lb. fructivorans
Lb. helveticus subsp. lactis
Lb. hilgardii
Lb. plantarum
Note: Candida albicans has not been found in kefir grains.
Reference: Encyclopaedia of Food Science, Food Technology and Nutrition [1993] [pp. 1804-
1808] Edited by R. Macrae, R.K. Robinson, M.J. Sadler sourced from Doms Kefir In-site
http://users.chariot.net.au/%7Edna/kefirpage.html#composition-of-KG
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* 500ml jar.
* 2 cups of filtered water.
* 7 teaspoons ground ginger.
* 7 teaspoons white sugar.
In a 500ml jar, mix 2 cups of water with 1 teaspoon of ground ginger and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Then add 1 teaspoon of ground ginger and 1 teaspoon of sugar, stiring gently, each day for 7
days. Within 2-3 days the starter should be quite bubbly. Once the starter is bubbling you can
stop feeding it and use it as your ginger beer starter culture.
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EM technology was developed by Dr Teruo Higa, a Japanese scientist from the Department of
Horticulture at the College of Agriculture at University of Ryukyu in Japan. EM has many
applications including bioremediation, agriculture and health products.
Please visit the following sites for comprehensive information on EM. I have copied the first
paragraph from each website to give you an idea of what information they may offer.
What is EM-X? "EM stands for a group of effective microorganisms which have been proven safe
through their long history of use in food processing; such as, lactic acid bacteria and yeast and
are collectively cultured in diluted molasses. Some microorganisms are feared because of their
harmful effects to human; however, many other microorganisms are known to produce beneficial
substances. For example, lactic acid bacteria and yeast are well known to produce various kinds
of vitamins and lactic acids. Yogurt, cheese, and alcoholic beverages are made with the help of
microorganisms. Use of beneficial microorganisms has existed since the early beginning of
human history."
"Antiox is an educational and informational website about live-culture fermented antioxidant liquid
nutritional supplement beverages which have been fermented with a very special cluster or
consortium of organisms know as "Effective Microorganisms", or EM."
Caution: Some sources suggest that the consumption of beverages made with EM type
microorganisms should be limited to around 50ml twice a day. Please ensure that you do your
own research before consuming any beverages made with live probiotic cultures.
All trademarked names and registered names are trade marks of their respective owners:
- Efficient Microbes (EM), "Xtra (EM)" and Beneficial and Efficient Microbes (BEM) are
trademarks owned by Sustainable Community Development (SCD).
- "Beneficial Microbes (BM)" and "BM Ecology" may be trademarked names belonging to
Crown Biotech and Crown Organics in Australia.
This step assumes that you have procured a primary source of microorganisms. If not, then
please go back to step one at the top of this page.
Once you have your primary source of organisms then you activate them in a solution of barley
malt extract and water for 1-3 days. You do this so that when you make your recipe it will begin to
ferment immediately and in the process out proliferate any other organisms that may be present,
and also cause a rapid drop in pH which should prevent the growth of any pathogens. The
recipes below are intended as a guide to making a starter extension from various sources of
microorganisms, for use in culturing a lacto fermented beverage.
GRAINFIELDS B.E. WHOLEGRAIN LIQUID STARTER EXTENSION
Dissolve the barley malt in the water in a clean jar. Add the B.E. Grainfields liquid and stir. Leave
in a warm place (25C). It should show signs of fermentation after 24 hours. 500 ml of Grainfields
starter extension should be sufficient to culture 6 litres of a lacto fermented beverage.
Dissolve the barley malt in the water in a clean jar. Add the kefir whey and stir. Leave in a warm
place (25C). It should show signs of fermentation after 24 hours. 500 ml of kefir whey starter
extension should be sufficient to culture 6 litres of a lacto fermented beverage.
Dissolve the barley malt in the water in a clean jar. Add the wild ginger beer starter. Leave in a
warm place (25C). It should show signs of fermentation after 24 hours. 500 ml of wild ginger beer
starter extension should be sufficient to culture 6 litres of a lacto fermented beverage.
In this step, in the fermenting vessel, you dissolve the total quantity of sugars called for in the
recipe with about 3/4 of the total volume of water required. Note that you need to leave enough
space for any other liquids that you might add, such as fruit juice and herbal preparations. You
then ferment the brew for about 1 - 5 days for the microorganisms to establish themselves and
drop the pH to below pH 3.9. You do this just in case any of the ingredients (such as plant
material, salt, rock dust, minerals, bentonite clay, vitamin B12 and vitamin C) inhibit the growth of
lactic acid forming organisms or have a buffering action and prevent a rapid drop in pH.
STEP 4. ADD ANY ADDITIVES SUCH AS PLANT MATERIAL, MINERALS, AND SALT, AND TOP
UP THE LIQUID TO THE FINAL VOLUME
Once the sugars are actively fermenting the pH should have dropped to below pH 3.9. (pH paper
in the range pH2 - pH 5 should give you an accurate enough indication.) Now is the time to add
the rest of the ingredients called for in the recipe. This procedure should also preserve more of
the bioactive substances in any raw plant material (such as raw fruit and vegetable juices) that
you use in your recipe. And finally it goes without saying that you should consult a qualified health
care professional about any and all of the ingredients that you plan to use in your lacto fermented
beverages.
Articles
"Antibiotic" Beer Gave Ancient Africans Health Buzz John Roach for National Geographic News
MEASUREMENTS
1 teaspoon = 5 ml / 5 gm. 1 tablespoon = 15 ml / 15 gm. 15 tablespoons = 1 cup / 225 ml. 1 cup =
8 fluid oz / 225 ml. 1 US gallon = 3.6 litres. 1 lb = 16 oz / 454 gm. Temperature 20C = 68F.
Conversion from Fahrenheit to Celsius: C = ( F - 32) / 1.8. Conversion from Celsius to
Fahrenheit: F = C 1.8 + 32