I love feijoa season. As a child we always had an abundance of these beautiful fruits falling from the old tree in the back garden ranging from sweet and fermenty to tart and zesty. The tree is long gone now but somehow I still manage to be gifted bags and bags of feijoas when they're in abundance, sweetening the chill of early autumn. I posted about feijoas last year and all the things I was doing with the skins. The fizzy feijoa drink is my easiest and most delicious invention. All I do is put the empty skins in a jar with a bit of brown sugar and leave them for a few days. All the delicious flavor comes out of the skins and into the liquid which I strain off and put in a seal-able bottle and leave for another day or two before putting in the fridge. This is a bit like making water kefir or kombucha but no culture is needed. Feijoa skins, like grapes and plums, are naturally coated in yeasts that make them self-ferment (that's why they look frosted). The results range from a sweet fizzy drink that my three year old loves, to a more sour cider or sparkling wine type beverage that is very drinkable and still probably quite low in alcohol (although I've never tested it).
I may have to give the fizzy feijoa a go! Just stumbled upon your blog via ooooby :)
ReplyDeleteAh, so that's possibly why mine didn't work so well last year. I washed them, so would have got rid of the yeasts that make it ferment. All that happened was that it went mouldy on the top because I forgot and left it for a couple of extra days. I did skim that off, and it tasted okay, but I couldn't bring myself to drink much of it. Might have to try again.
ReplyDeleteSo you put the feijoa skins and sugar in a jar... with water? it looks like water in the photo. Also, does the jar need to be sealed? I'm using my sprouting jar which only has a mesh lid.
ReplyDeleteHi Meliors - Yes! - with water. Sorry I forgot to mention that above. I use a sealed jar and release the pressure every day but in the initial fermentation you don't need to - after a couple of days you can strain off the liquid and put that into a sealed bottle (those glass cordial bottles work well). Leave this for another day or so at room temperature so that the gas compresses and makes it fizzy - then chill in the fridge. It might also pay to mention that as the weather gets colder this process can take longer or be improved by the use of a hot water cupboard.
ReplyDeleteSarah - do give it a try - I tell everyone about this and have received rave reviews so far.
ReplyDeleteLucy - it might be related to washing the skins. I have found that this works best when you don't leave it for too long
I made this, have just tried it, so so yummy. Thanks for the recipe
ReplyDeleteYou also wouldn't want to use tap water with chlorine in it, that is likely to kill the yeast. Can't wait to give this a go :)
ReplyDeleteI've made this drink afew times now, so easy & very drinkable. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteMade this recently, everyone loved it. Thanks for the recipe.
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