Fermentation: In Favor of Flavor

Jar Of Homemade Sauerkraut

Since ancient times traditional people around the world have made a practice of consuming lacto-fermented foods and beverages, with relish (pun intended).  Why have fermented foods all but disappeared from the American diet?

Fermented foods are a slow food, (with quite a lot of character I might add), that do not easily lend themselves to factory farm food production, mass homogenization and pasteurization, or an industrial food system that favors uniformity over flavor and uniqueness.

Fermentation is truly an artisanal process that belies hasty expediency.  It is a near miraculous alchemical process by which a food is changed and transformed, by the introduction of a yeast or bacteria or combination thereof, into something quite different than the original product.  It is that something quite different that will be the subject of this post.

WHY?

If you have been following this blog you will know that I am a big fan of fermented foods.  Fermented foods offer some amazing health benefits.  What are some of the benefits of fermented foods?

1 - Fermented foods aid with the digestion of difficult to digest foods.  Foods that are hard for some people to digest such as milk, or raw cabbage, once fermented, become easier to digest.

2 - Fermentation makes the food that is fermented more nutritious.  During the fermentation process B- vitamins are created that we benefit from.

3 - Fermented foods introduce probiotic factors - or friendly beneficial bacteria - which help keep our gut flora happy and healthy and discourage the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria.

4 - Fermented foods are alive and rich in enzymes.

5 - Fermented foods strengthen digestion and assimilation so that we get more nourishment from the food we eat.

6 - Finally. fermented foods are all about flavor.   Long valued for their complex flavor and ability to arouse and revive the palate - fermented foods are a splendid and pleasing fillip on the tongue.

When I realized how much I enjoy fermented foods I began exploring the idea of making my own.  It was not until I read Sally Fallon's cookbook "Nourishing Traditions" that I began to have real, consistent success.  I recommend the recipes in her cookbook as an excellent starting point because they are reliable and offer enough variety to keep you interested.

Imagine how pleased I was when I discovered that Sally's version of sauerkraut on page 92 tasted better than the expensive kraut I had been buying at the market.  That is when I realized that I was on to something.   Soon I was pickling everything I could get my hands on.  A bumper crop of cucumbers became the most delectable dill pickle spears imaginable.  See the "Lacto-Fermented" post from August 2010.  I pickled cabbage, green beans, swiss chard stems, kale stems, iceberg radish, watermelon radish, turnips, carrots, red beets, yellow beets and salmon.

I used the same principle to render grains more digestible and to neutralize enzyme inhibitors that are present in all seeds and grains.   I soured gluten-free oats and ate them like the traditional Scots.  I began making amazing gluten-free sourdough buckwheat pancakes for breakfast.

I also made kefir, coconut kefir, and sour cream or creme fraiche.  Each were amazing.

Finally I experimented with fermented beverages.  I made beet kvass, apple cider, and a variety of sodas such as ginger ale, orange-aid, elderberry punch and a delicious blackberry-rose soda.  Perhaps the most exciting beverage that Carrisa and I made together was elderflower champagne which we made from elderflowers we gathered together on a hiking trail.  That was a true local artisanal beverage.

There are more than several methods to ferment, pickle, or sour food.  Some folks rely on the ambient or wild bacteria that is in their own environment.  Others, like Sally Fallon, recommend the introduction of a culture such as liquid whey to get the fermentation process going.  Because I don't always have liquid whey on hand I have begun to rely on the convenience of probiotic powder.  I add 1/2 t. of probiotic powder to each jar of pickle that I make.

Though my ferments vary from batch to batch, which I consider to be part of the adventure, I still favor a more controlled process of innoculating the food or vegetable to be pickled with a culture.  The introduction of beneficial bacterial strains, in my mind, guides the fermentation process toward a more consistent result.

Oh!  The anguish of finding your culture has failed, developed mold, or smells bad.  Unfortunately my own attempts (yes- plural - big sigh) at cider making, one of my favorite beverages by-the-way, have been fraught with frustration.  Only twice have I succeeded in making apple cider.  But those two successes (along with the memory of the unique buttery yet sprightly flavor of the cider) have been enough for me to keep trying.

I have a sad kombucha story which I will save it for another time.