French Dressing and Fermentation

No, I didn't ferment a French dressing recipe, but I did a couple of fermentation experiments plus made French dressing for supper today :)

I've been fascinated with the whole fermentation process and have been reading up on various different things to make, from kimchi to wine to natural sodas. So, while I wait for my cabbage to be ready so I can try to make kimchi, I decided to experiment with  making a ginger bug for homemade ginger ale and also a couple different kinds of homemade wine. Cheap wine. Nothing fancy in this household  lol.

The recipe for the ginger bug I found on wellnessmama.com through Pinterest, of course! I love the idea of making homemade sodas, and if it is fermented, it will be a natural probiotic as well..win-win in my book!

Making the ginger bug was really easy, and for the instructions on how to make, click on the link above to wellnessmama.com. Lots of good recipes on that site.

While I plan to someday get all the necessary equipment needed to make a good homemade wine, I thought I'd try my hand at some cheap wine made from items I had on hand already:  Plastic milk jugs, concentrated fruit juices (no preservatives), and ordinary yeast. I will get wine yeast in the future (if this turns out halfway decent), but the recipes I read said it can be done with ordinary bread yeast. Time will tell! The first just was made using regular grape juice concentrate, and the second jug was made using a cherry pomegranate juice concentrate. I love fruit wines, so I'm really hoping this last one turns out tasty :) For the recipe, I again found one on Pinterest from allrecipes.com, and I pretty much followed it, although I did make a few modifications from other recipes I'd found online. I'll let you know how it all turns out!

For the French dressing, I have a favorite I've made for a long time, and Martha Stewart's website has the same recipe. It's really easy to make, and it sure beats any French dressing you can buy from the store.

French Dressing

• 1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Coarse salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 
  

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, ketchup, sugar, paprika, and Worcestershire; season with salt. Whisking constantly, add oil in a steady stream until incorporated.

Makes about 3/4 cup