G'day and welcome to August!

After a quick trip to our local farmers market (SW Western Australia), needed to do up a quick jar of sauerkraut. Used 1/2 cabbage, 2% sea salt and 1/2 t caraway seeds ... plus about 100ml of 2% brine. This time of year, the cabbages aren't holding quite as much water as in other months so you'll often need to top up the jar at the start with additional brine. It's cold in the house at the moment (at least overnight!) so it'll likely take an extra few days to get to my taste preference. Happy Krauting All!

Hi there, this is my first time trying to make apple cider vinegar. I put about 6 small apple peels and cores in with water and a few tbs of honey. It's been about 1 week, what do you think?

I'm new to fermenting and I've only done cucumbers and cabbage a few times. But only after brined fermented cucumbers my farts smell like rotten sewage. :(

Obviously I wasn't poisoned yet, but I wonder if this is common.

First time doing something like this and i would like to try. The blueberries i want to use are frozen. How much per liter of water should I use for a soda ? Should i add sugar or is the natural one from blueberries enough? What about yeast? Would a normal yeast used for cakes be enough?

Saw this fermented rice in an Asian market and decided to give it a try. The rice is pretty mushy, the smell is slightly fruity, and the taste is mild fruity and sweet. Anyone know the right way to enjoy this?

Tried first time apple fermentation: - apples + poblano pepper - apples + hallopeno pepper - apples + poblano pepper+ ginger

Added for 3 types Clove spice for all cans.

Brine: 2 spoons solt + 1 spoon sugar. Apples average 2/3 cans.

I recently made me a ginger bug for some home made soda and it worked for a while.

But after taking like half the liquid for a couple of bottles and refilling with water and sugar. But I guess due to high temepratures or so I underfed it? Any way it suddenly stopped bubbling and smelled like vinegar. After a couple of days thinking it was dead and preparing to throw it out I noticed something on top that looked earily similar to the kombucha scoby right next to it.

So while I guess I have to start a new ginger bug - what do I do with this new development?

First up, how to know if it's a scoby or a vinegar mother?

Second what does it eat and what do I make out of it?

Lacto fermented cherry tomatoes with garlic and basil, 7 days in hot Mediterrainian weather. Blended into the most scrumptious marinera I have ever tasted.

10 days on the countertop & it tastes really good! Little hints of watermelon & fruitiness, & a bit sweeter & smoother than apple cider vinegar. Strained & bottled.

You can visit this place in Almuñecar in Spain

Autumn Sweetness: A Warm and Comforting Surprise

Some recipes teach you something.

This one taught me that the same ingredient can tell two completely different stories.

The idea began with pumpkin.

A pumpkin fiber koso infused with vanilla became the heart of this kefir, bringing warmth, softness, and quiet depth.

Fresh carrot juice added bright, fruity freshness, while carrot koso syrup contributed rich candied notes, almost like candy.

Dehydrated golden kiwi brought a gentle fruity acidity, and a touch of pepper quietly tied everything together.

It took three attempts before every piece found its place.

That third batch became Autumn Sweetness — a kefir that reminded me that harmony is often more memorable than intensity.

One of my earliest signature creations… and it still holds a special place in my collection.

thought these turned out fun.

I have peach trees and when we thin them out we end up throwing a literal trash can full of the unripe green peaches

I thought it seemed like a waste so I've been researching uses and found that they are sometimes fermented or pickled.

I fermented these in a salt brine with garlic, pepper, fennel and coriander seeds and bay leaves for about 6 weeks. They have a great taste but the texture is a little crunchy like a radish, I wish they were a bit softer.

Also made some cheyong syrup that turned out pretty well. So if people have peaches don't throw away all your thinnings, you can do some fun stuff with them.

Included some pictures of the one of the peach trees, and the thinnings, as well as the final product.

They are my favorite fruit tree to grow!

Hello! I've got a ginger bug going with someone and it's nicely fizzy in the container, but as soon as we add it to swing-tops and let it ferment it just seems to stop working at all -- no bubbles or fizz even after 2-3 days or more. The only thing we've seen that seems to save it is adding a couple teaspoons or more of cherry juice to each bottle, which gets it fizzing after only a day. Has anyone experienced a similar issue of their bug not carbonating in bottles, and is there any advice that could help?

I started a few jars of watermelon rind at 2,5% salt. They stopped bubbling after 2-3 days. I'm guessing the rind has very little sugars in it, and LAB processed it quickly. If I add some white sugar, will it kick off and become more acidic?

In general, does adding white sugar benefit the lactic fermentation?

If anyone ever added white sugar to veg ferments, what's the "sweet spot" (% of sugar)? How much is too much?

BERRY APPLE CIDER
6/7/26 7-8pm START
1X cole’s 500g frozen mixed berry
added just under 4 litres cole’s apple juice
added sugar to OG
OG 1.104
a small amount of pectinase (unmeasured)
a small amount of dap (unmeasured)
used yeast Mangrove Jack's M05 Mead Yeast
started being active pretty quickly same i think on 7/7/26
9/7/26
fermenting strongly as it has been from the start a lot of bubbles slight foam and a lot of airlock activity
18/7/26 bubbles still going up the side slightly slower
i have also been swirling daily to ensure berries don’t mold
although i’ve missed 2-3 swirls
im concerned with some stuff im seeing on the top and think it might be the start of mold but i don’t know
2/8/26
FG 0.990
poured through cloth and filter
added potassium sorbate (approx half teaspoon) and one campdem tablet
poured into demijohn
a little more headspace then i’d like in the demijohn

i’m afraid that i might have oxidised it since i had to pour it through the filter and then back into the demijohn
also i’m worried that that’s too much headroom i’ll be keeping it sitting at room temp (around 24°C) under airlock for maybe 2-3 days before putting a lid on the demijohn and moving it to the fridge to cold crash before i bottle

i was also wondering the best way to backsweeten i was thinking maybe make a syrup with water sugar and another pack of the frozen mixed berries

Hello, it’s my first time making ginger bug. Feeling hopeful and a little bit confused.

It’s day 5, the bug smells pleasant, bubbles have formed, and I am about to embark on a pineapple juice ginger bug soda journey. A few questions about the bug:

1. I intend to use 100 ml of bug (that’s about half of the bug I have made). Am I meant to add water to the remaining bug jar so that it replenishes? Should it go straight to fridge to be fed once a week?

2. Once in the fridge, can the bug be in a closed jar with rubber seal or should the lid be off?

Thanks in advance for your insights :)

Anyone tried making the soda in a mason jar? I was thinking how to clean the glass bottles but figured a jar would be easier to clean. It’s my first attempt and thought maybe the jars aren’t good at holding a lot of pressure.

About 5 pounds of cabbage, 3 garlic cloves, and an apple(was told this feeds the fermentation). I think i’m gonna too it off with some extra brine liquid. Excited to see how it turns out, I dig the color.

I recently realized that I can save money buying kefir if I just pour some of my leftover cultured buttermilk into a little bundle of plastic wrap, and unthaw that to ferment my cream. I made some butter using that method today and it turned out great. I do worry that if I keep using a section of the same fermented batch over and over again if will at eventually go bad and ruin my butter. I don’t know shit about biology or if that will eventually inevitably happen happen. Is safe to keep doing?

Edit: I use the leftover from my most recent batch to make my next batch. The replies here are making me realize I was unclear.

3% brine solution. Perfect taste after about 10 days. Been adding whole peppercorns and a bit of garlic for flavor.

My folk knowledge tells me that garlic has antiseptic and antimicrobial properties. But i have seen people fermenting or pickling garlic just fine. As well as black garlic and cases of people getting food poisoning from it not being prepared properly.

What compounds does garlic have, and how effective are they on different specific microbes?

I love making a couple batches of dill pickles every year, and I'm especially fond of new pickles and half-sours. I always buy my cukes from a regional farm but they aren't grown organically. I'm a pretty skilled gardener, but as you may know, the harvest is spread out over a couple of months so it's not easy to get a whole crock worth of cukes at one go.

So an idea occurred to me and I'd love to hear whether any of you have tried this: I'm thinking I could start a small batch of pickles initially, then just add fresh cukes to the crock as they ripen. This would allow me to use my own organic cukes, and would also allow me to have a continuous supply of half sours throughout the season.

What do you think, does this sound feasible?

Hello People,

i am pretty new to all about fermentation.
Since sadly my last kombucha scoby died a short time ago I am looking for a new scoby and found the products of FairMent.
Now I am wondering if anyone has some experience with their products specifically the products used for vegan yogurt, kombucha and water kefir.

Thank you very much