A column by Vivanda Felice and Pipa Benoit, MoCo foodies dedicated to supporting and highlighting local food spirit and culture.

Exploring the kitchen cupboards of a creative home cook in Monroe County can resemble the lab of a mad scientist. You might find bubbling jars of sour smelling dough, rows of unlabeled canned fruits and vegetables, and shelves of food preservation tools. My bumbling journey to appreciate the traditions and learn the techniques of food preservation has fermented mixed feelings in our home. Our refrigerator shelves are overflowing with the products of food experiments to the frustration of my family. My Amazon account suggestions would lead you to believe I was supplying a chemistry co-op, to the bewilderment of my spouse. 

An introduction to the food preservation technique of canning began with a quest to replicate the perfect pickle (a recipe that originated from Nancy Prather, queen of the kitchen at Zoar United Church of Christ in Columbia, IL). But after briefly Googling the pathogenic consequences of improper techniques, and the real-life possibility of starring in a Dateline investigation of my family’s poisoning, I decided to seek the advice of experts. “Riley’s Tilled to Table,” a regular vendor at the Monroe County Farmers Market, thankfully offered a canning demonstration last fall. Riley McDermott, the dynamic entrepreneur and Illinois Association FFA State Proficiency Winner for her canning (Agriculture Processing) came to the rescue. Not only did Riley drastically improve my weekend brunch with her Bloody Mary mix, but her tutorial gave me and others the knowledge and confidence to preserve our summer garden bounty year-round.

But my real joy in food science is canning’s alter ego: fermentation. While the canning technique heats the food to kill harmful bacteria, fermentation utilizes microorganisms to preserve food, enhance flavor and add nutrients. 

The beautiful bubbles of a thriving sourdough starter tell the story of the life brewing within. Fermentation, from the Latin fervere meaning “to boil” is the transformative process whereby microorganisms like bacteria, yeast and mold produce enzymes to convert sugar without oxygen. I feel like I’m connecting with something ancient when I feed, grow and nurture my sourdough starter. Though humans have utilized fermentation for millennia, fermentation predates humankind. Earth’s early organisms existed in an oxygen-free environment and had to obtain energy through anaerobic respiration and fermentation. 

Riding the wave of fermentation fervor, the Monroe County Farmers Market (MCFM) issued a call to vendors: We need sourdough! And this year, the vendors have risen to the occasion. New to the market, “Hatch and Rise” offers several loaf varieties including sandwich, croissant, and artisan with numerous inclusion options. Rachel is the cottage baker in Columbia at “Hatch and Rise” baking your new favorite treats from her home kitchen. The sweetness of Rachel’s muffins, scones and cinnamon rolls is beautifully balanced by the mild tangy profile of the sourdough. The bloom (the area where the loaf has been scored before baking) of her loaf showcases her artistry. Her light and chewy sandwich loaf is our first purchase weekly at the MCFM. Pipa and her family prefer the artisan and croissant loaves for their wilder sour zip. 

Seni’s Sweet Cakes’ White Sourdough Loaf with Zaatar (a middle eastern spice blend with salt, oregano, sesame seeds, chickpeas, mint, fennel, coriander, anise cumin and citric acid) will be the star of any savory sandwich. Serrating through the golden brown crust into a crumb swirled with Zaatar and dotted with airy pockets is a satisfying sensory experience. When you pick up your Zaatar Loaf, don’t forget a strawberry pavlova and a leek feta borek. You will not be disappointed! (Except when you have finished it and have to wait until next Saturday’s MCFM for more.)

We enjoyed Klein & Co. Farmstead’s fresh milled spelt and hard white sourdough. Next time I’ll try their Sourdough Flight, four miniature round loaves including one fresh milled spelt loaf, and a sampling of three specialty loaves. They even mill their own wheatberries! Toasting and buttering their denser hearty loaf smelled like something of my fondest childhood memories. Suddenly, I was transported to my grandparents kitchen, where my grandfather prepared endless pieces of toast over the wood stove. Their sourdough has an earthy, wholesome quality that feels medicinal and healing, reminding me of the nutritious qualities – and more easily digestible benefits of sourdough. 

We did a blind tasting of Hatch and Rise’s sandwich loaf, Klein & Co. Farmestead’s hard white sourdough, and Seni’s Sweet Cakes’ Multigrain sourdough. Pipa fell hard for Klein & Co.’s hard white — finding the very sour bite to be pleasant and hearty, a snack bread that needs neither butter nor other accompaniments. For an all-around sourdough loaf that’s great with butter and jam, or to star with meats and cheeses in sandwiches, we liked Seni’s multigrain. The kids preferred Hatch and Rise’s sandwich loaf for munching, for their morning toast, and for their PB&Js. 

Nothing complements a fermented bread like a fermented beverage. Earlier this month, we braved the persistent, driving rain to throw ourselves mouths-first into sampling the best homebrewed beers and barbecue offerings at Beer-B- Que. An annual event held in Waterloo’s town square, Beer-B-Que is a collaboration between The Waterloo Optimist Club and The Ferm Homebrew Club. Decked out in ponchos and umbrellas (which kept us dry only for the first ten minutes of our almost three-hour sojourn), we worked our way through each booth, sampling 97 brews from 40 home brewers and 12 delicious BBQ entries. Okay, maybe we didn’t sample all 97 of the beers — but we did get to visit about half of the dedicated, enthusiastic, fun-loving home brewers and learned that brewing beer relies on a mixture of art and science. 

The science part is straightforward: Steep grains in hot water to create a mash. Boil this liquid with hops (for bitterness, flavor, and aroma). Cool, ferment with yeast, bottle it up and wait for the magic. Straightforward, yes — but how can something so seemingly simple lead to the endless variety of taste profiles? At one end was a slightly sour refreshing profile of “Digital Ether” by Hendricks Brewthers (made with passion fruit, hibiscus, sea salt and vanilla), a favorite of our friend Stephanie Cordia.  At the other end of the flavor spectrum was a Nitro Coffee Stout by Dan Etling and Josh Hurt of The Ferm Homebrew Club. Roasted coffee and dark chocolate flavors tumbled over our tongues, awakening every taste bud and warming us from the inside out. This stunning stout was awarded the people’s choice award (and was also Vivanda’s personal favorite). 

The Ferm Homebrew Club demonstrated beer brewing technique at last month’s MCFM. Zach Smith, club president, shared his thoughts on the possibilities in the process. “My favorite part about homebrewing, outside of you know… the product, is that there are so many different ingredients that you can play with to change the profile of your drink! You can add honey to help make a beer drier, chamomile to give a juicy-fruit like flavor, or coffee to make your favorite dark beer sparkle. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of times experimenting goes awry (at least it’s still beer!!) but that’s just half of the fun if you ask me!” 

The Monroe County community has abundant knowledge and enthusiasm to teach those interested in microbial food science. Don’t loaf around: pick up a sourdough starter at the farmer’s market and follow The Ferm for their upcoming presentations and events. Trust the Taste Buds: you knead this kind of joy in your life.