Fermentation and Your health: What’s the big deal?
I’m super excited about this post! Writing these blog posts makes me dive into these topics even more deeply than I have in the past. Throughout this post, I’ll be sharing about my own experiences with fermentation and how it relates to health, while sharing some of my favorite resources and tips for fermentation.
Fermentation has always been an interesting topic to me. Preserving food naturally, while enhancing its vitamins and solubility is just fascinating! Why wouldn’t you want to do it?!?! I think what turns most people off to fermenting is the safety and the general stigma that fermented foods (aka sauerkraut) are socially “nasty.” It’s terrible that fermented foods have received these titles, and unfortunately our society has not been a friend to raw, fermented food products over the last 100 years.
Lacto-fermenting has been happening for thousands of years across various cultures. Unfortunately, many of those practices died when modern technology brought along the canning and freezing methods of preserving the harvest. Even more unfortunate is that canning and freezing don’t really give you the whole value of nutrients available in the produce that you are preserving. Most nutrients are lost in the canning process. While freezing is slightly better, many of those nutrients are still lost. That’s where fermenting comes into the picture!
Some perks of fermented vegetables:
-Enhances Vitamin B and C
-Makes nutrients more readily available for the body to absorb
-Aids digestion
-Doesn’t call for chemical preservatives
-Supports the immune system
“Sauerkraut belongs in a barrel, not a can. Out American mania for sterile packaging has removed the flavor from most of our foods. Butter is no longer sold out of a wooden tub and a whole generation thinks butter tastes like paper.”
Fermented products are an important part of our gut microbiome, and fermenting also makes nutrients in these vegetables more available for our bodies to digest. Fermentation increases Vitamin C in cabbage. Fermented juices have iron that is 16% more soluble than in raw juice, according to Food Microbiology. Fermented veggies also have higher amounts of Vitamin B12, which helps convert carbs into acid, making fermented products a healthy choice for those watching their blood sugar.
Most fermentation happens anaerobically (without oxygen), but there is also cultured fermentation. To give you an idea, cultured fermentation is anything that you are adding a culture to which aids in the fermentation process, such as yogurt, buttermilk, kefir, kombucha, and various other products. Lacto-fermenting (anaerobic fermentation) utilizes water and salt to draw out a vegetable’s natural juices, which then aid in the fermentation process. There are basically two methods of lacto-fermenting called dry salting and brine pickling.
Make no mistake- brine pickling actually has nothing to do with traditional pickling. What most people think of as pickling is when you allow vegetables to sit in a flavored vinegar brine in the refrigerator for an extended period of time. Absolutely no lacto-fermentation is happening! Pickling is not beneficial in the same ways that traditional fermented food is.
Fermented brine pickling is when you create a salt-water brine and ferment the vegetables in this brine. Dry salting is when you slowly add a certain amount of salt to draw out the natural juices in a vegetable. Most of time, this method is used for making different types of kraut.
Why use all that salt?
Salt is not bad for you unless you are on a strict no salt diet from a doctor. Small amounts of sodium should be in everyone’s diet. The reason why we always hear “NO SALT” is because of packaged food in stores. Have you ever looked at a package of pretzels or chips or granola bars? The sodium content is outrageous! No one needs that much salt.
Much of the salt that is added for fermentation process breaks down during lacto-fermentation. Salt enhances flavor in fermented foods and all foods. Increased salinity in fermented foods actually inhibits bad bacteria while increasing lactic acid bacteria. Salt also inhibits yeast in fermented products.
You need salt in fermented products. It’s not going to hurt you. Everything in moderation.
Can you buy fermented food in stores?
Yes, but be careful. Some sauerkraut that you purchase has many additives to it and has been so processed, the beneficial bacteria have been killed. It holds no healthy benefits for you. If you are going to purchase any fermented product in the store, make sure it says live, active cultures on the label. Most likely it will label some lacto-bacteria in the ingredients. That is what you want to purchase!
Can you ferment any vegetable?
Almost! Some veggies that don’t do well during fermentation are leafy greens. Some of my favorite things to ferment are cabbage, beets, carrots, pickles, onions, bok choy, asparagus, cauliflower, peppers of any kind, and various kinds of fruit!
How long does it take to ferment vegetables?
Depending on the size of the fermenting vessel you use, it can take between 1 week to 1 month. A pint-quart sized vessel will take around 5-8 days. A half-gallon to a gallon sized vessel will take around 2 weeks-30 days.
Do you need special equipment?
No! All you need is a jar with a lid and a plastic bag that can hold water. It’s very easy and beginner friendly! You can do it.
“Properly fermented vegetables are actually safer than raw vegetables, which might have been exposed to pathogens like E. coli on the farm... The reason is the lactic acid bacteria that carry out the fermentation are the world’s best killer of the bacteria.”
I know there are so many more things I could talk to you about fermented food products. I could easily go on and on!
I wish I could tell you the importance of making healthy choices. It’s one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your family. In America, we’ve been trained to follow the crowd and accept what we can’t change. Your health and your family’s health is something that you can change and you can have some control over!
I’ve excited for the future of our food. I believe that we can bring back healthy practices that have been deemed “unsafe” by our society. Healthy choices aren’t easy, and it takes time. But shouldn’t this a priority in our lives?
Throughout my experiences, I’ve realized how important my health is to me. I want to be able to be active, to keep up with everyone, and to feel good! This isn’t something I want to sacrifice for the convenience of “quick food.” We can do better.
If you would like more information on fermented foods, I will link some of my favorite books down below. You can also sign up for our fermenting workshops on the products tab. We will have numerous workshops throughout the summer. If you have any questions, or would like to learn more, please reach out to me!
Books:
Super Gut: Davis MD, William: 9780306846960: Amazon.com: Books
