Foraging for Wild Yeast
(Page 4 of 6)
September/October 1980
By the Mother Earth News editors
HOME AT THE RANGE
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Since that expedition, I've done some experimenting with various types of wild yeast in the sanctity of my own kitchen. The main problem I've come across is collecting the proper microscopic plants. The idea that one merely has to mix up a paste of flour and water and add a few berries to obtain a bucketful of bubbling starter is misleading.
There are, you see, literally thousands of wild yeast spores that can collect on berries or be caught from the air. Harvesting the right variety is a bit like fishing: It requires some skill, and a touch of luck, to coax the yeast you want into your culture. Some berries activate a starter well, while others are a complete flop.
The Oregon grape, for example, works as well in the kitchen as it did on the trail . . . and I have been equally impressed when using juniper berries to get the sponge going. (The shrub Juniperus communis is found in the northern areas of the United States and as far south as New Mexico. An infusion of its dry and somewhat mealy fruit, which ripens in autumn and remains on the plant into early winter, has long been used in maki ng gin.) My husband experimented with juniper berry yeast—while on the trail in southern Utah—by mixing a few handfuls of flour, some berries, and a little water in a plastic bag. After only a couple of hours in the hot sun, the mixture "worked" so well that the plastic bag exploded!
I've also found the aspen (Populus tremuloides) to be a good source of wild yeast. If you run your hand against the trunk of the tree, a white powdery coating will often come off on your palm . . . this is actually a layer of yeast. Just a few pieces of the bark—added to your starter mix—will produce the desired results. (But please, folks, use just a small piece of the bark . . . a strip torn off all the way around the trunk is not only unnecessary, but could actually kill the tree, as well!)
I use pretty much the same "equipment" to prepare my kitchen-brewed sponge that we employed while on the trip. However, I've found that I prefer an earthenware crock to the glass jar . . . although I've also heard that a plastic container is convenient for starter because it's lightweight and easy to transfer to and from the refrigerator. (Never use a metal jug . . . the acids in the fermenting yeast factory will corrode the metal, and the resulting chemicals will then kill the yeast! )
Furthermore, I now make a habit of scalding the crock before adding the starter ingredients, to help keep bacteria from invading the brewing mass. (The hot water also helps to warm the pot before the yeast is added, giving the culture a little boost.) And—as I did on the trail—I use a loose-fitting lid to keep out dust, contaminants, and the family cat.
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