ferment, chapter two

well, the verdict is out for my latest eXtReMe(!) Fermentation Adventure Week ~ that week ~ a couple ago, when i fermented anything and everything (except meat) i could have my whey with (ha. sorry that's a horrible pun. but i kept it!! it's making the cut!).
my taste-testing panel (the very brave Mr. Sealion) and i sampled the ferments today.
AND:
the beet kvass ~
which i'd never had it before, is cubed raw beets with some whey, sea salt, and 2 quarts of water. . and you drink the liquid as a tonic. was mild and beety, with perhaps a slight hint of seasalt. i suppose i might have been expecting the intensity of beet *juice*, which i love (in a concoction the Sac Nat Foods Co-op's deli calls Madame Curie ~ beet, garlic and ginger=YUM!). it was fine. Sealion called it "potent beet zing", i think.
the citrus preserves ~
a layered concoction of lemon, orange, and grapefruit, with whey, sucanat (evaporated cane juice), and sea salt, came out WOW! grapefruit x 1000 !!!! ( i don't like grapefruit. . ) my total experience of it was touching one little triangle of an orange slice to my tongue, and saying "NYAAAA!!!" i did this several times, for effect. kind of like those sour candy balls kids eat ~ i couldn't actually keep it in my mouth, but would just touch it to my tongue for the sensationalism of it all! Sealion said, "WHOA!!" and, "well, at least it's pretty [in the jar]!" HA!
win some, lose some. process is a beautiful and fun thing.
mango chutney ~
OOOO!! i like! i don't know how you could go wrong with mango, but i wasn't gonna hold my breath. this ended up having a smooth texture like applesauce, with spices, raisins, chopped almonds, grated ginger, and a lot of lemon zest (and whey to aid fermentation). the first thing i notice when i put it in my mouth is the zing of the fermentation, then the sour of the lemon. the spices come later, and linger (esp. the minced ancho!). i ate spoonfuls of this happily, noting different flavor discoveries with each bite.
i could imagine it going nicely on a burger. yum.
tiffie-kraut :) ~
i don't even remember what all i put in this now. . it was comprised of what i found on the overflowingly-piled produce shelf of the fridge: saved-and-forgotten cauliflower leaves (not florets), some purple cabbage, forgotten green onion, sliced strawberry radish, apples. . celery. and garlic slices.
this is Sealion's favorite. the overarching flavor is garlic, and has a nice fermentedness about it. and a lovely purple color has permeated everything, the juice and the veggies (as you can see in the photo of the first "ferment" post). i was happy that it simply tastes like kraut to me, and is not something i have to get up the nerve to taste every time ~ i am passionate about fermentation, but still new, after all..

now: what's next?