Monday, November 8, 2010

Rejuvelac and other yummy things

My very own rejuvelac
This weekend I started some rejuvalac.  Rejuvelac is a fermented, sprouted-grain beverage that improves digestion due to its high probiotic and enzyme content. When consumed alone it has a (sort of hard to describe) subtle tart, wheat-y flavor.  However, it can also be added to recipes both for its digestive and nutritional properties and for its magical ability to simulate the flavor of cheese. 

I had tasted rejuvelac at Prana, but I had never made it myself.  Knowing I had plenty of wheatberries lying around I decided to give it a go and start a batch.  I taste-tested my rejuvelac today (after a couple of days of leaving it out to ferment)  and, yay it's perfect!  I want to get cashews to make some cashew cheese, but for now I'm enjoying it as a beverage and I also put it in the carrot-pumpkin soup I made for dinner tonight (why not?).

How to make Rejuvelac?  You can see a more complete set of directions and video here. But briefly, this is how I made mine: I soaked the wheatberries for a night, drained and rinsed them, and placed them in a strainer. At least twice a day, I gave the berries a thorough rinse, and waited until the sprouting tails grew about a quarter inch long.  That took about two days.  Then, I put the sprouted wheatberries in an old, but carefully cleaned almond butter glass jar, filling up the jar almost half way (I think a quarter full is fine) and filled the rest of the jar with tap water.  The tap water in Grenoble is really clean, but if you live somewhere where the tap water isn't great, you might want to use bottled water.  Finally, I covered the filled jar with a paper towel, secured with a rubber band, and let it sit in a dark place in my kitchen for two days. The longer it sits out, the more it will ferment.  The liquid will be a cloudy yellow/white color and there might be a white film on top.  That's it! It takes some time and planning, but the process is fairly simple.  And you can reuse the same wheatberries two or three times by adding more water to the jar.

I still can't get over how beautiful those little broccolini flowers are (see my soup). They're so stunning I almost can't eat them...maybe next time I'll just make a broccolini bouquet and put it in a vase ;).  And speaking of beautiful vegetables, do you see that little tomato? The colors are incredible.  That's Grenoble's produce, for you...
Carrot-pumpkin soup with flowering broccolini taking center stage
Tomato...or is that an apple?

3 comments:

  1. Hiya, can you provide more info on how to make the rejuvelac? I have wheatberries too that I could use, but I have never tried it. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. j'aimerais aussi savoir comment tu fais, c'est un mystère pour moi ...
    c'est officiellement une tomate !

    ReplyDelete
  3. You can see a more complete set of directions and video here: http://www.therawseed.com/2010/08/rejuvelac-party.html

    But briefly, this is how I made mine: I soaked the wheatberries for a night, drained and rinsed them, and placed them in a strainer. At least twice a day, I gave the berries a thorough rinse, and waited until the sprouting tails grew about a quarter inch long. That took about two days. Then, I put the sprouted wheatberries in an old, but carefully cleaned almond butter glass jar, filling up the jar almost half way (I think a quarter full of wheatberries is fine) and filled the rest of the jar with tap water. The tap water in Grenoble is really clean, but if you live somewhere where the tap water isn't great, you might want to use bottled water. Finally, I covered the filled jar with a paper towel, secured with a rubber band, and let it sit in a dark place in my kitchen for two days. The longer it sits out, the more it will ferment. The liquid will be a cloudy yellow/white color and there might be a white film on top. That's it! It takes some time and planning, but the process is fairly simple. And you can reuse the same wheatberries two or three times by adding more water to the jar.

    ReplyDelete

Questions, reactions or advice? Leave me a comment!