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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 24, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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September 24, 2020
 
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Page A-1O Shelton-Mason County Journal Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 PEBMAGULTURE Green use, It abundant garden is a wonderful burden. You have all you need for your salads, stews and side dishes, and to share with your friends and neighbors. At a certain point it becomes a chore, particularly when the weather has not obliged you with conditions for ripen- This is routine for toma- toes on the Olympic Penin-' sula. Start them in greenhouses well ahead of planting and use varieties likelier to mature in our short sum— mer, but chances are you’ll be stuck with some adolescents when fall tinges the air. You might have tried fried green tomatoes, which are delightful in mod- eration and don’t keep at all. What to do with the pendulous bounty that remains? Lactofermentation, the production of preserved foods using wild lactoba- cilli and brine, is thousands of years old. It was supplanted by pickling in the industrial age when vinegar be- came cheap and widespread. The ease and consistency of results with vinegar has made it the preferred method, but I prefer the probiotic magic that takes place in traditional ferments. Lactobacilli abound in the environ- ment, including on the vegetables in our gardens. Several beneficial strains have been isolated and cultured in labs, including Lactobacillus acidophi- lus, L. brevis, and L. bulgaricus. There is even a L. kimchii that specifically appears in the Korean ferment, kim- DARREL ANDREWS —— OLYMPIC Morons: '«s-TIMEé:ToRETIRE By ALEX ing. FETHIERE chi. (Fun fact: kimchi is of such cultural, gastronomic and health importance to Ko- reans that in 2008 a Korean astronaut was sent into space on a Russian mission with specially engineered “space kimchi” that could survive the artificial environment.) Lactobacilli are in the group of health-enhancing bugs we call probiotics. The health benefits of probiot- ics are legion, such as lowered serum cholesterol, improved gastrointestinal function, an enhanced immune system and lower risk of colon cancer. I could spend the rest of the column listing them, but what matters here is that lactobacilli make tasty green tomato ’ ferments. Before proceeding we should dis- pense with concerns about solanine and tomatine. These toxins are said to exist in all parts of tomatoes, including the green fruit, and to cause a number of uncomfortable symptoms. Histori— cal consumption in Peru, from where tomatoes hail, and the learned advice of New York Times food science writer Harold McGee suggest that little cau- tion is warranted. I and have never ex- perienced anything other than joy, but if you’re concerned start with a couple of bites and work your way up. Harvest a few pounds of mature green tomatoes. A half-gallon Mason jar holds 2 pounds. Slice and cube them about 1 inch thick and dump them in the jar(s). For every pound, use 3-5 teaspoons of salt to make a ' brine. I use three, but I’m sensitive to 'fi—Ic MOTORS Darrel 1', er "THE BEST DEALS on WHEELS!!"' July, 987 set- 33 years of doing business in Shelton andMason County, it’s finally " time for me to retire. Starting in 1987 with my wife Linda,'and , the suppert of‘our children, Kim, Jeff, ' Aaron and Meghan, we opened Olympic Motors, home of the “Best Deals on ' Wheelsff, on Mountain View. Doihgbusiness at 1930 Olympic Highway . North for 25 years, and then continuing for ‘ another 8 years at the present location of , 2921 Northview Circle, where I continued partjtime Mth limited inventory. it Was likeahobby to me then and I enjoyed selling vehicles, mainly to local residents, , Green tomatoes can be almost as good as ripe — and less ephemeral. Journal photo by Alex Féthiere salt, and many people prefer a saltier tomato. Higher salinity also decreases risk of spoilage. Dissolve the salt in lukewarm wa- ter and pour over the green tomatoes to cover. I think cracked black pepper is an essential seasoning, but also add black cumin and will try sliced garlic this year. This is the tricky part. Tomatoes, even when green, contain sugars that encourage yeast growth. Kahm yeast is a harmless but yucky beaded film that scums over ferments and makes them mushy. The yeast readily grows on exposed pieces and contaminates the batch, but has a harder time estab- lishing on brine. To prevent this, keep the tomatoes submerged with a clean rock, saucer, ferment weight (glass or ceramic), or stainless-steel spring used on the excellent “Trellis & Co.” line of products. . Failure to submerge is probably the most common cause of mold or yeast contamination. If you want to stack the deck in your favor, put a diced cab- bage leaf and either a little burdock, sunchoke or bull thistle root (only because we all have it on our land) in there too. The cabbage provides extra lactobacillus cultures and the roots provide inulin, a prebiotic that they love to eat. A friend who ferments puts a tablespoon of whey in too — I’ve found that works well in making beet kvass. Cover with cheesecloth to keep out critters and let stand at 70° for a week. The result should be a jarful of crispy, sour, zippy tomatoes that will keep in the fridge for up to nine months. , I Alex Féthiére has on Harst- ine Island long enough to forget New York City, where he built community gardens and double-dug his suburban sod into a victory garden. He can be reached at 0nlandist@gmail.com. The first 25 years of business'we had 50 to 60 cars, trucks and RV’s in inventory. My wife of 54 years was my business: partner and office manager. She also ran a very successful rental car agency from the same location. , My business practice in a small community was to concentrate on quality vehicles, fair prices and hometown service. Also, thank you to oursuppliers and repair services that ensured the quality of vehicle that my customers expected from me. We would like to thank all the wonderful customers that made Olympic Motors 3 great success. ' It was a pleasure doing business with all of ybul. : , Darrel and Linda Andrews n m o'n-‘n'n nan—tn H 9+. H-r—‘HH-iat—iw Alum—um 521‘ U10 an "US$906 Q