Let’s spend a moment discussing equipment and needs. To prepare most of the foods and drinks in this book, you will need many of the same basic containers and utensils. Because metal bowls and utensils can (theoretically) transmit small electrical charges that harm probiotic organisms, most fermenters prefer to use jars, containers, crocks, and utensils made of glass, BPA-free plastic, stone, silicon, and wood. For other recipes, you will need some standard kitchen items, such as a knife, cutting board, grater, mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, and pots and pans.
Here is a brief rundown of the more specialized items that are useful for preparing fermented foods and drinks. One worthy investment is a large plastic strainer with tight mesh. You can use this to strain cheese or Greek-style yogurt. Also, you can use it to recover large cultures from drinks, such as kombucha mushrooms, kefir grains, and tibicos. If you only have a plastic colander with larger holes, then another option is to line this with cheesecloth to make a good, tight strainer. Alternatively, you can use tight mesh straining bags, which are available in some health food stores and from online cheese-making supply stores.
To ferment probiotic foods, you can use almost any nonmetallic container. Traditionally, people from Germany to Korea make sauerkraut and kimchi in stone or earthenware crocks and pots. Many home fermenters use glass jars or BPA-free plastic containers to make these foods. On a smaller scale, you can prepare yogurt or dairy kefir using one or more cups, containers, bowls, or jars.
If you wish, for pickling, krauting, and other longer-term food fermentation projects, you can use the same type of air locks (also called pressure locks or water locks) that are used for making beer or cider. There are a couple of website resources listed in the appendix that sell pickling jars or lids that have air locks. These allow carbon dioxide to escape during fermentation while sealing the food from any outside contamination of mold, dust, insects, and debris.
Wooden spoons, plastic spoons, and silicon spatulas are three nonmetallic utensils that are particularly useful for stirring and moving fermented foods. If you plan to make any of the cheeses in this book, you will need extra equipment, including a large strainer, cheesecloth or straining bags, a cheese thermometer, and (for aged cheeses) a cheese mould and weight. All of these items are available at many health food stores and online at cheese-making supply stores.
To make water kefir, kombucha, and fermented cider, you will need a large jar or container. A beverage dispenser or water dispenser from one gallon to five gallons in size can work quite well for kombucha. If your dispenser has a valve and spout on the bottom, this usually will not get clogged by the kombucha SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, which generally sits near the top of the liquid), but kefir grains and any other items you add (like chopped ginger) can get stuck in it. To prevent this, consider putting these ingredients in a cloth bag and submerging it in the liquid.
To make sodas, you also will need some bottles. Any reused glass or plastic soda bottles can work well if they have reliable lids. Some home fermenters prefer using the traditional-looking glass soda bottles with clasp tops, which are available online and from home-brewing supply stores. Also, many of the soda recipes include recipes for flavoring syrups that involve cooking in a small pot or pan.
The most important piece of equipment for smoothies, parfaits, and frozen drinks is a good blender. Smoothies are only smooth if your blender can purée chunks of fruit. For frozen smoothies, your blender must be able to slush up any frozen fruit or ice you choose to add. You may prefer to use a food processor, which also can work well for many smoothies. The best smoothie blender I have ever used is the Ninja™, which is basically a high-powered blender with a food processor blade. If you can afford a real commercial blender, then go for it, but for me the Ninja was the next best thing and was worth every penny of the $100 or so that it cost.
Finally, you will need to obtain the cultures to ferment your food. With yogurt, buttermilk, sauerkraut, and natural pickles, this is a simple matter of buying some in the store and using a small bit of its culture to inoculate your homemade batch. With others, such as kefir, water kefir (tibicos), kombucha, and ginger beer, you must obtain the culture from someone else who has it. Though it is possible to grow your own kombucha mushroom from store-bought kombucha, I recommend buying this culture the first time.
If you do not know anyone who ferments with these cultures, you can buy some online to get started. Please check the appendix at the end of this book, it contains a list of several great websites that sell reliable cultures.
You may need additional items to make certain foods and drinks in this book; but these are the main tools of fermentation. As other items are needed, they are noted in the recipes.
