I love fermented foods to supplement your diet. They aren't for everyone as they have an unusual sour taste due to the probiotics that ferments the foods.
Many cultures have their own traditional fermented foods which were needed in times before refrigeration to preserve foods when fresh food was scarce & it turns out they are not only yummy, but great for our health due to the increased probiotic activity in them. Probiotics are bacteria & other microbes that assist our gut microbiome by increasing and adding diversity to our bacteria.
Many vegetable ferments use the natural bacteria on the vegetables as the starter, so it's important not to wash the vegetables with anything other than water to preserve it.
Examples of different fermented foods are; miso, yoghurt, keffir, sauerkraut, tempeh, tepache (pineapple drink), wine, cheese, sourdough. There are many more types of fermented foods.
If you are very sensitive to histamine fermented foods may not be right for you currently. That is not to say you can never have them, but fermented foods are higher in histamine. Histamine may be the cause of an allergic reaction, so eating foods high in histamine may make your symptoms worse.
Within naturopathy we may be able to work to lessen your symptoms.
Fermented foods are easy to make yourself at home.
I have a fermenting crock, which is a ceramic vessel designed for fermenting, with a lip in the opening with a ridge that you fill with water to seal the lid. This allows the CO2 to bubble out. While keeping the fermented foods inside to not be exposed to oxygen, creating a sterile environment to allow the food to ferment without rotting. Fermented foods should be sour but not bad.
You can do it yourself at home just using 2 jars, one that fits inside the other, or something heavy to weight down the vegetables or whatever you are fermenting. The fermenting foods needs to remain under the liquid that comes out of the vegetables, or you need to add extra brine. There are many great videos online to help you. Sauerkraut is very easy & the best place to start. You can just do it with cabbage & salt. I like to add cumin to mine.
This week I made Kimchi. A lovely Korean spicy fermented cabbage. I grew some wongboks, asian cabbage, but the snails were doing better out of it than me, so I had to buy some extra.
My Chinese rellies who were market gardeners tell me I need to use snail bait, but the organic gardener in me can't. Seems they might be right, but I still won't & will just have cabbage leaves like lace sadly.
If you want to try this without a fermenting crock make a half batch unless you find a large jar.
This lot actually was 5 home grown wongbok (which was actually only about 1 large, plus 1 small & 1 normal sized. It made 2 large bowls worth, but once the salt have softened the cabbage it all easily fitted in my crock. I'll probably end up with 2 large jars of Kimchi. So it does pack downs as it ferments.
Recipe
Ingredients
2 large wong boks (or 1 cabbage)
½ daikon
1 carrot
1 bulb garlic
1 cup ginger
3 large spring onions
1 white onion
1 pear (optional)
1 cup natural salt
1 cup Korean chilli flakes
2 tbsp fish sauce (optional)
Method
Wash the wongbok well in water. Chopped into 1 inch pieces the place in stainless steel bowls. Add the salt & water to cover, leave for 4-6 hours to soften.
Once the cabbage is nearly ready prepare everything else.
Cut the carrot, daikon, spring onions into 1cm x 4 cm battens (large Julienne). Set aside.
Roughly chopped peeled garlic & onion, ginger, the pear, (I also used ½ green apple, it just needed using), then add to a food processor & blitz. Set aside.
Lightly rinse the cabbage & drain.
Then assemble it all together in a large bowl of two. Remember to add the chilli & fish sauce if using.
Mix very well to combine so all the garlic & chilli etc is mixed throughout all the cabbage.
Transfer to your jars or fermenting vessel if you have one.
If fermenting in jars, ensure all the vegetables are under the liquid. More will come out over the next few hours and days. Leave for 2-4 days, covered with a light breathable clean cloth. Cheese cloth is perfect sealed with a rubber band. As insects are attracted to it.
In a fermenting crock you can ferment for 1-4 wks.
Serve as a side dish with any meal but goes particularly good with any asian meal. Or see my bibimbap recipe.
Enjoy 💚
