Have you ever wondered how people used to preserve their food without refrigeration or freezing back in the day? Fermentation was the way to go!
Fermenting foods is very popular in most Asian countries and a lot of other parts of the world. You may have heard of kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, kefir, and the recently trending kombucha (fermented tea). The fermenting process was and still is a great way preserve food and preventing waste.
Fermented foods are also very good for your gut! Fermented foods are chock full of probiotics, which is microorganisms that can help improve the microbiome of your gastrointestinal tract (your digestive system).
To start any fermenting process, you just need to add a lot of salt. One of my favorite fermented foods is sauerkraut, which is fermented cabbage. To make sauerkraut, you chop up a cabbage head into shredded pieces, then you add it to a bowl and sprinkle a lot of salt all over it. Then, you are going to want to squeeze the cabbage to get all its moisture out. Get a jar that can be sealed tight and put the cabbage into the jar pushing it towards the bottom so that liquid sits on the top. After that is the easy part, just wait! It’ll will take a week or two for the fermentation process to be complete. I provided an entertaining video by Munchies to show you how the process is done.
For more information about probiotics and fermentation, click on the link for an article by registered dietitian Robin Foroutan https://foodandnutrition.org/winter-2012/history-health-benefits-fermented-food/
Photo by https://www.drkellyann.com/why-you-need-to-add-fermented-foods-to-your-diet/
Food Philosophy 