Our civilization has become one of convenience. Instead of making the products we use, we buy the finished products at the store because it is easier. There was a time that people would make nearly everything they needed, rather than buying it at a store.
At the Baird ranch during Our Green Year, we are doing the same by spending a portion of our week making a variety of products, including butter, ice cream, apple juice and pop.
You may think it is difficult to do this, but in reality it is quite easy and all it takes is some time on your part to make things in a more natural way. You may also be wondering why you should make what you can just as easily by at the store. Well, as they say, the devil is in the details, and the details with your groceries is the ingredients.
Butter for example, will often have a large amount of salt in it. We already get way too much salt in our daily lives, and any more salt is not needed. Instead, you can make your own butter by using organic whipping cream. To make it, put the whipping cream in a large jar and shake that jar for 20 to 30 minutes. You get great exercise and in 20 to 30 minutes, the whipped cream will separate into butter and buttermilk. Separate the butter from the buttermilk with a strainer, and shape the butter before you put it in a fridge to let it harden.
For ice cream, there are a whole host of chemical compounds that are put in it to help keep ice cream soft while it is in the freezer. Those flavours you get don’t always come from natural products, and are often synthesized. Instead, make your own ice cream using milk, ice, vanilla, fruit and salt. Put the milk in a Ziploc bag with some frozen blueberries (or other fruit) and a tablespoon of vanilla. In a second, larger bag, put enough ice to fill half the bag, and then put in about ten tablespoons of salt. Seal the smaller Ziploc bag and put it in the larger Ziploc bag. Then, shake for ten minutes or so and you will have ice cream that tastes great and is very healthy.
Making your own apple juice is very easy. All you need to do is put six apples through a processor, take their juice and put it in a two-liter pop container. Fill it up with water, add two table spoons of sugar and mix. The next day you will have some excellent apple juice to enjoy.
Pop that is sold on the market often contains sodium benzoate. Some studies have found that sodium benzoate can damage DNA and lead to health issues down the road. Instead of drinking this potentially harmful ingredient, you can just make your own pop as Layla and I do each week. To make your own ginger ale, you will need a cup of sugar, quarter teaspoon of active yeast, two tablespoons of finely grated ginger root and one lemon. Mix lemon juice with the grated ginger root and put it into a two liter bottle. Fill the bottle until it has only one inch of air at the top. Turn it over and over until the sugar dissolves. Put the bottle of pop in a warm place for 24 hours and check the firmness of the bottle every now and then, but do not open it. When you cannot dent the bottle by squeezing it, put it in the fridge. It is very important that you keep an eye on the bottle during this process, because if you leave it too long the bottle may explode under the pressure as the yeast produces the carbon. After about 24 hours later, enjoy!
It may take extra time, it may take some extra exercise, but the rewards are in healthy homemade products that contain only the ingredients you put in.
