I came home incredibly inspired to ferment everything. Sandor Katz is the national guru of fermentation and he was at the Friendly City Food Co-op tonight. He mentioned lots of interesting combinations to ferment:
Apple, Cranberry, Cabbage Kraut
Cabbage, Corn Kraut
Cabbage mashed potato Kraut, yes, cooked potatoes, mashed and added to cabbage, then fermented.
He suggests just salting to taste and then fermenting.
I am so excited about this. I got to talk to lots of fun people who want to learn fermentation. We desperately need this bacteria in our systems because of the over use of antibiotics and germ-phobia. Fermented vegetables and cultured beverages are a lovely way to do this.
Some tidbits:
The head of the USDA says there have not been any incidents of food poisoning from fermented vegetables.
Fermentation pre-digests food which is beneficial for our gut.
Nutrients become available during fermentation. Nutritional Augmentation. (I love that description).
B vitamins become available through fermentation of vegetables.
Ferments are full of unique micro nutrients good for the digestion.
Fermentation detoxifies phytic acid which otherwise binds with minerals preventing you from absorbing them. Phytic acid is in grains.
Traditionally, water has been made potable by adding a little sugar and fermenting the liquid and in that process, the alcoholic result kills the bacteria.
Babies get their first bacteria from the lactic acid which is in the birth canal. They have sterile guts and bodies in the womb.
Chlorine kills beneficial bacteria in our bodies when we drink treated water.
Eating fermented vegetables replenishes the beneficial bacteria.
Fermentation is a "Natural Phenomenon That Is Inevitable" .
Put ferments in smaller and smaller jars as you use them to keep the air space to a minimum.
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