Fermented Probiotic Drinks at Home

I feel like Felicity created a more inviting approach and a wealth of important information to get new brewers comfortable with the fermentation process. Overall, I think the body of work was also pretty comprehensive in its exploration of different fermented beverage types

Thank you to #NetGalley for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. This book has beautiful photos of the drinks and you'll want to make all of them. I've recently developed a fondness for fermented beverages, and reading this book gave me the courage to want to dive right in. You'll read about the health benefits and it won't seem like such a strange idea. I highly recommend this even if you aren't familiar with the subject matter...be adventurous!

Before kids I once attempted to grow sprouts from quinoa and it failed horribly. I never tried again. I've also debated creating my own sourdough starter, cheeses, and yogurts but have been worried about what will come out of it.

Looking through cookbooks on NetGalley I saw this book and realized I really wanted to try to grow something edible. I requested a preview of the book and was accepted. I immediately started going through it and was impressed what I saw. The introduction explains fermentation, what you need, differences, etc. The pictures are gorgeous while also being informative! I loved how each drink base had an introduction, troubleshooting, a recipe, and then included flavors/alterations. The first half of the book dealt with bases that needed a starter, or SCOBY, while the second half of the book dealt with free motion yeast. Ones that will occur natural and you don't need to keep a starter around for.

Based on the list at the beginning of the book I wanted to start with the beet recipes... but by the time I ended the book the pineapple recipe seemed amazing... though they all seemed doable and exciting.

My next step was looking up her website to, hopefully, see if she listed specific materials (imbibeliving.com/) but through a simple amazon search for glass jars found several version that mentioned fermenting and kombucha (one of the recipes in her book) and then was reminded I needed cheese clothe too (was debating using a coffee filter but not sure where those are). After my supplies finally came I quickly started fermenting the pineapple drink.

Overall since getting the book I have made the pineapple recipe three times. The first time it was incredible. The second and third time it wasn't as good. I'm planning on taking a break and then going back at it. Either way I'm glad I got to try the recipe and look forward to going over the rest of the book.

Fermented Priobiotic Drinks at Home is an excellent look at the various fermented drinks that you can find lining the shelves of any given health food store. I personally have started to drink a few of these drinks even before reading about them. I had heard they are quite easy to make and had been looking for a book that gave a little more information about it. I made some Kefir, I'm amazed at how easy it was to do and I can save so much money by continuing to make my own. I am looking forward to trying Kombucha.

Felicity Evans has created a comprehensive guide to fermented drinks that easily leads the reader through making their own at home. I liked that this book didn't have a lot of hard to find ingredients once you've gotten what you will need to ferment. So often books want you to source a scoby or kefir grains and some unheard of ingredients.

Felicity is known for her website Imbibe Living where you can buy what you need to start fermenting and find her blog with lots of helpful posts beyond what you will find in this book. She has a free ebook and a great email group.

This book is beautiful to look at too. The photography is really well done! It would be a welcome edition to your coffee table or your cookbook shelf.

Content:
Good Health Starts in the Gut
Methods of Fermentation
The how and why of fermentation
Healthy Fermentation
The Fermentation Kitchen
10 Ways to Add Super Foods to Your Drinks

Fermentation Using a Culture
Water Kefir and Coconut Water Kefir
Milk Kefir
Kombucha
Jun

Wild Fermentation
Beet Kvass
Pineapple Tepache
Ginger Bug
Honey Mead

I've been making my own kombucha for a couple of years now and have dabbled in water and milk kefir too. I have gotten frustrated at times because I didn't have a good source when I ran into a problem. This book does a good job of explaining clearly what you need to do to get a good fermentation and what may have happened if you don't.

I've been wanting to try Pineapple Tepache for a while and after reading Felicity's easy instructions I feel ready to give it a try.

I think this book is a must read for anyone who wants to ferment their own probiotic drinks and needs a really good starting point. I wish I would have had this book a couple of years ago when I started!

I love, love, love this book! It is a little bit like a science experiment and a lot delicious! I am learning as I go and realize that fermenters have to be flexible, since the speed and success of fermenting is affected by temperature and other factors. Luckily, this book has troubleshooting information as well as wonderful recipes. I wish that I could have learned how to make these fermented beverages from my great-grandmothers, but this book is a fantastic way to learn if you don't have a person right there to teach you. And this book probably has more recipes than my great-grandmothers knew, anyway!