Fermented foods contain beneficial probiotics, digestive enzymes, and health boosting nutrients
What Are Fermented Foods?
Fermented foods are foods that have been through a process of lacto-fermentation in which natural bacteria feed on the sugar and starch in the food creating lactic acid. This process preserves the food, and creates beneficial enzymes, b-vitamins, Omega-3 fatty acids, and various strains of probiotics.
Natural fermentation of foods has also been shown to preserve nutrients in food and break the food down to a more digestible form. This, along with the bevy of probiotics created during the fermentation process, could explain the link between consumption of fermented foods and improved digestion.
Cultures around the world have been eating fermented foods for years, from Sauerkraut in Germany to Kimichi in Korea and everywhere in between. Studies have even shown the link between probiotic rich foods and overall health (PDF). Sadly, with the advances in technology and food preparation, these time-honored traditional foods have been largely lost in our society.
Where Have All the Fermented Foods Gone?
The amount of probiotics and enzymes available in the average diet has declined sharply over the last few decades as pasteurized milk has replaced raw, pasteurized yogurt has replaced homemade, vinegar based pickels and sauerkraut have replaced traditional lacto-fermented versions…the list goes on.
Even the much dreaded grains were safer to eat in earlier times since their preparation included soaking, sprouting and fermenting, which largely reduces the anti-nutrient content and makes them less harmful (I still didn’t say good!).
Instead of the nutrient rich foods full of enzymes and probiotics that our grandparents probably ate, the average diet today consists mainly of sugar laden, lab created dead foods.
Why Eat Fermented Foods?
Besides the fact that they taste great and really grow on you, there are several great reasons to start making and eating fermented foods:
Probiotics– Eating fermented foods and drinking fermented drinks like Kefir and Kombucha will introduce beneficial bacteria into your digestive system and help the balance of bacteria in your digestive system. Probiotics have also been shown to help slow or reverse some diseases, improve bowel health, aid digestion, and improve immunity!
Absorb Food Better– Having the proper balance of gut bacteria and enough digestive enzymes helps you absorb more of the nutrients in the foods you eat. Pair this with your healthy real food diet, and you will absorb many more nutrients from the foods you eat. You won’t need as many supplements and vitamins, and you’ll be absorbing more of the live nutrients in your foods.
Budget Friendly– Incorporating healthy foods into your diet can get expensive, but not so with fermented foods. You can make your own whey at home for a couple of dollars, and using that and sea salt, ferment many foods very inexpensively. Drinks like Water Kefir and Kombucha can be made at home also and cost only pennies per serving. Adding these things to your diet can also cut down on the number of supplements you need, helping the budget further.
Preserves Food Easily– Homemade salsa only lasts a few days in the fridge- Fermented homemade salsa lasts months! The same goes for sauerkraut, pickles, beets and other garden foods. Lacto-fermentation allows you to store these foods for longer periods of time without losing the nutrients like you would with traditional canning.
Bring on the Bacteria! How to Incorporate Fermented Foods Into Your Diet
I’ll be delving into this more in the next few weeks and providing some recipes, but adding fermented foods to your diet can be an easy process (and can save you money on probiotics and digestive enzyme supplements!)
On a basic level, you can make foods like sauerkraut with just cabbage, water and salt on your counter(that recipe can be adjusted down to make 1 head of cabbage worth in a quart size jar).
You can also incorporate fermented drinks like Water Kefir and Kombucha (cultures available here) which are inexpensive to make and can be carbonated like soda!
How to: Fermenting Foods – The Joy of Fermentation
For a few thousand years now, people have been fermenting foods. Many of the foods — even the highly processed ones — we all (guiltily) enjoy are fermented: Chocolate, soy sauce, coffee, olives and many, many more.
And while the process may seem mysterious, it is actually quite simple. Raw fermentation, the process in which many foods are transformed from regular vegetable to tangy, delightful fermented foods — think sauerkraut and kimchi — are easy, safe and incredibly healthy.
Health benefits of fermented foods
Fermenting foods requires taking food, in this particular case, vegetables, adding salt and allowing naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria to partially digest the starches in the food transforming them and preserving them.
In the process, the microbes that facilitate the transformation make the food easier to digest, create antioxidants and release vitamins and minerals.
The microbes that grow in the food are also healthy for the digestive system (think yogurt, another fermented food). The microbes in the human digestive system like fermented food. Fermented foods have been shown to restore stomach acid pH and were also used as a traditional treatment for ulcers.
PROCESS
Quite simply, the fermented vegetables we tried had at best, three ingredients — salt, water and vegetables.
We used mason jars, although some home fermenters have used plastic mayonnaise containers or any jar they have lying around the house. Some people even use 5 gallon buckets covered with cloth.
The food then ferments in the jars (or other containers) over a manner of days or weeks.
Once the process is finished (a matter of taste more than anything, some people prefer their food strongly flavored while others prefer theirs milder) the food is packed into jars and refrigerated, halting the fermentation process by causing the microbial activity to go dormant.
During the fermenting process, gas is produced.
The gas must be released, but exposing the material to air limits the fermentation process.
Many home fermenters “burp” their jars by opening the jars allowing the gas to escape and closing them.
If you have more than a few jars, however, this process gets time consuming — and quite frankly, annoying — really fast.
That’s why we use Fermentools products.
Their air locks come with special lids, allowing gas to escape and limiting the air exposure to the
product. They’re also sturdy enough for multiple uses, which means after we’re done with this batch, we can wash them and use them all over again. Fermentools also sells Himalayan salt.
The great thing about fermenting your own food is you can use additions like Himalayan salt to increase the mineral content of your food.
It’s an easy way to add healthy trace minerals to your diet.
Resources:
Find out more about Fermentools fermenting kits and products and fermenting here. You can enter to win a FREE sethere.
KIMCHI
INGREDIENTS
1 head cabbage (about 2 pounds)
¼ cup sea salt or kosher salt
Water
1 tablespoon grated garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon sugar
8 oz korean radish
sliced scallions to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Grate the cabbage separately (or slice. We prefer grating because it exposes more surface area, aiding in the fermentation process).
Leave the garlic, ginger and sugar separate for now.
Salt the cabbage and massage it, until it softens and produces heavy amounts of juice.
Cover the cabbage with water. Place a cloth over the bowl and let it sit for about 2 hours.
Rinse the cabbage three times and set it aside.
Take the garlic, ginger and sugar and add water, making it into a paste.
Combine all the vegetables, draining any excess juice, and add the paste.
Add red pepper to taste.
Pack the kimchi into jars and allow it to ferment for several days (we ferment ours on the kitchen counter and keep it out of direct sunlight).
Cap with an air lock or burp the kimchee as needed.
Taste it as it ferments to find out how strong you want it. Once it gets to the right spot for you, then change the lid on the jars and put it in the fridge.
Repeat the process often as possible to keep yourself in kimchi. You’ll thank us.
FERMENTED ONIONS
INGREDIENTS
chopped onions
1 cinnamon stick per jar
1 tsp cloves (per jar)
2 tsp peppercorns (per jar)
thyme
oregano
1 tbsp salt (sea salt, kosher salt or mineral salt)
INSTRUCTIONS
Filtered water as needed
Mix the onions and salt.
Pack part of the onions into jars.
Add one cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, thyme (to taste) and oregano (to taste).
Cover with filtered water and apply the airlock.
Allow to ferment to taste.
Once there, trade out the air lock lid with a standard lid and store in the fridge (or any suitably cool place, if you’re lucky enough to have a root cellar)
FERMENTED LEMONS
INGREDIENTS
1 pound lemons
¼ cup salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Slice the lemons into small slices (you should get about 12 slices per lemon).
Keep the peel on.
Pour salt over the lemons and stir, making sure to cover all the lemons thoroughly.
Pack into jars and cover with the juice from some of the lemons.
Apply the airlock and ferment to taste.
Once fermented enough, remove the lock and apply a standard lid. Store in the fridge.
FERMENTED LIMES
INGREDIENTS
1 pound limes
¼ cup salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Slice the limes into small slices (you should get about 12 slices per lime).
Keep the peel on.
Pour salt over the limes and stir, covering all the limes thoroughly.
Pack into jars and cover with the juice from some of the limes.
Apply the airlock and ferment to taste.
Once fermented enough, remove the lock and apply a standard lid.
Store in the fridge.
FERMENTED GREEN TOMATOES
INGREDIENTS
Enough green tomatoes to at least fill a jar
garlic (about clove, finely chopped, more if preferred)
About 1 tsp of peppercorns
2 tbsp salt
1 quart filtered water
INSTRUCTIONS
Boil the salt in the water until dissolved.
Allow to cool to room temperature.
Slice tomatoes into at least quarters (eighths is better).
Pack tomatoes, peppercorns and garlic into a jar (or jars, depending on how many you’re making).
Pour salt water brine over tomatoes, covering the tomatoes.
Apply airlock.
Allow to ferment to taste.
Remove airlock, apply a standard lid and store in the fridge.