What's the EASIEST food to ferment that also

[Guest guest]

yields high-quality beneficial bacteria? I'm not big on sending a lot of time in

the kitchen chopping vegetables and stuff like that. I mean, I will do it if I

have to, but as I start out on my fermented foods journey I'd like to start with

something really simple that doesn't require a ton of prep other than the time

it takes for the bacteria to do their thing. I'm into this for health

(gut/digestive health primarily).

I cannot WAIT to make my own Kefir (I still have to get some grains) but in the

meantime I was thinking of trying some vegetables or something. Any ideas are

much appreciated!

mike

[Guest guest]

Mike,

Cabbage is the thing! Simple sauerkraut. Cabbage and salt. Get a cabbage

shredder -- usually an integrated wooden board with 2 or 3 diagonal blades

adjustable for thickness or thinness of cut, with a sliding box to protect your

fingers. Google 'cabbage shredder'. You can shred a lot of cabbage with it very

quickly, add salt, pound, put in crock, bottles or other food safe container and

ferment. I'd recommend getting a good vegetable fermenting book other than

Nourishing Traditions. I suspect that there might even be a sauerkraut recipe

with instructions posted in the document section of this listgroup. Heidi?

The old traditional amount of salt to add to vegetable ferments is " a teaspoon

per pound (or pint) the world around. "

Cabbage is most loaded in beneficial lacto-bacteria or all vegetables. Has

powerful immune boosting properties, and highly nutritious especially when

fermented.

Kefir is a lot easier, but not as beneficial.

Tonio

From: polarrricecaps

Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 2:08 AM

nutrition

Subject: What's the EASIEST food to ferment that also

yields high-quality beneficial bacteria? I'm not big on sending a lot of time in

the kitchen chopping vegetables and stuff like that. I mean, I will do it if I

have to, but as I start out on my fermented foods journey I'd like to start with

something really simple that doesn't require a ton of prep other than the time

it takes for the bacteria to do their thing. I'm into this for health

(gut/digestive health primarily).

I cannot WAIT to make my own Kefir (I still have to get some grains) but in the

meantime I was thinking of trying some vegetables or something. Any ideas are

much appreciated!

mike

[Guest guest]

Mike,

Do you do your chopping (vegetables) by knife and cutting board, or do you have

a mechanical food slicer or grater? If you are doing things by hand, than

something like cucumber pickles would be easiest. If you can run your vegetables

through a mechanical grater (either hand powered or electric) than your options

open out a little more. Fermented carrots are one of my favorite. But they would

require a bit more work than cucumbers if slicing by hand.

I innoculate my ferments with a blend of eight beneficial bacteria. Many people

don't use any innoculant on things like cucumbers, but I like the results I get.

Other innoculants include whey which you can probably get from a healthfood

store (probably in powdered form) I have never purchased any, but I can say that

you would want to be sure that it had live organisms, i.e. hasn't been heated.

You will want to use organic vegetables or at least ones you know haven't been

grown with pesticides or other chemicals on dead soils. Your Fermented food will

not rise above the deficiencies imposed by a dead and worn out soil.

Be sure you use non-chlorinated water as the chlorine will kill the beneficial

bacteria.

If you have access to Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, she gives many

specific recipes which are easy to do in nearly any kitchen.

Hope this is helpful and I wish you the best of success in getting some

fermented foods to eat.

Ellis Hein

author of Natural Health--The First Law

What's the EASIEST food to ferment that also

yields high-quality beneficial bacteria? I'm not big on sending a lot of time

in the kitchen chopping vegetables and stuff like that. I mean, I will do it if

I have to, but as I start out on my fermented foods journey I'd like to start

with something really simple that doesn't require a ton of prep other than the

time it takes for the bacteria to do their thing. I'm into this for health

(gut/digestive health primarily).

I cannot WAIT to make my own Kefir (I still have to get some grains) but in

the meantime I was thinking of trying some vegetables or something. Any ideas

are much appreciated!

mike

[Guest guest]

Buy cabbage from a farm market. Add salt and maybe some dill or caraway seeds.

That's it!

Grocery stores disinfect their vegetables making them nearly impossible to get a

ferment from without using a starter.

[Guest guest]

On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 11:42 AM, B. C <b.coole@...> wrote:

> Grocery stores disinfect their vegetables making them nearly impossible to get

a ferment from without using a starter.

This hasn't been my experience at all. Actually, if you've ever made beer,

it's REALLY HARD to keep lactobacilli out of beer, even after you've boiled it

for an hour or so. LAB are all over. But the bacteria on the OUTSIDE of

cabbage are what tend to ruin the ferment, which is why one takes off

the outside leaves and washes the daylights out of it. Someone actually

did a study on that for kraut making some time ago: soil organisms tend

to make for less tasty kraut. Also in samples of Chinese kimchi, there were

soil parasites in the kimchi (hopefully dead ones).

I've never had kraut NOT ferment, nor anything with cabbage in it.

Likely the nitrates in the cabbage push the ferment the right

way? Beets and fruits are a little more picky.

[Guest guest]

I've never had anything not ferment and I've fermented every veg I can

find. I'm sure is the same. Sourdough bread arrives by leaving

mixtures of water and flour around and letting the bacteria get to work.

Some lists spend their time swapping sourdough starters but there is

really no point because by the time you have made the bread a couple of

times the bacteria will be your kitchen bacteria and just the same as

they ever were.

Buying starters seems to commercialise the whole thing entirely

unnecessarily and give it a feeling of " special knowledge " which in my

experience is completely unnecessary. I remember making my first (about

a year ago) and thinking " is that it? that can't be enough " but it was.

Fermentation is really (really) very simple.

Your kitchen may be too clean I've heard that as a problem. Mine

obviously isn't. The solution is obvious and it doesn't involve buying

" special " starter

Sally