Cultured Foods

Lacto-Fermented and cultured foods are a powerful and natural way to keep your gut flora healthy!

Before refrigeration, these are the ways food was preserved. The unknown benefit at the time was that it also made the food more nutritious by adding fiber, vitamins A, B and C, antioxidants and promoting better absorption of foods.

Fermented foods contain probiotic compounds that provide protection to the digestive system. The living microflora in fermented food products boost biome health. Over 70-percent of our immune system resides in our GI tract.

Yogurt

Unsweetened, ORGANIC Yogurt! Way cheaper and way healthier!

We have been making my own, organic yogurt since my son was born in 2010. I was buying the organic in the store, but it was so expensive!

All the others have corn syrup and other garbage toting itself as "healthy". Not for our kids!

Here's how you make it:

1 Gallon of milk, preferably organic. It can be whole milk or 2%. Fat free should work as well.
1/2 Cup of your last batch of yogurt, the whey from it or store bought, PLAIN yogurt with Live cultures.
IT MUST HAVE LIVE CULTURES TO WORK!
Read the label. I used Dannon plain with live cultures my first time.

Click here for the printable recipe.

Homemade yogurt has loads of probiotics and no sugar! You may sweeten with honey, stevia, fruit or other preferred sweetener. Used plain, it makes a great sour cream substitute and can be strained of the whey to make a thick Greek style yogurt or cheese as well!

My Video instruction here: https://youtu.be/WXJgvPqdkBk

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is usually the gateway to fermenting. It's the easiest one to start with.

This is the perfect way to preserve a ton of food for a very long time. The Lactus Bacillus bacteria produces lactic acid making the food inhospitable to other microbes.

Cabbage is cheap and can be bought in abundance to make kraut. It is full of probiotics! All you need is cabbage/veggies and salt! Fermented cabbage, aka: Sauerkraut, produces beneficial bacteria called Lactobacillus. This healthy microflora relieves constipation and cures an upset stomach while improving the digestive capacity of gut biomes.

Click here for the recipe.

KimChi

Kimchi is an ancient Korean food. It has been a mainstay in Korean culture for over 2,000 years. Fermenting cabbage and spices kept the food from spoiling and preserved it for long periods of time, while also enhancing it's nutritional value.

Making Kim Chi follows all the same rules as kraut, but what make it Kim Chi is the addition of ginger, garlic and hot peppers or pepper flakes. I also add a raw sliced beet to make my Kim Chi pink or red and it also adds great flavor!

You can add any other greens, veggies that you want.
Be careful with onions and garlic. They get stronger over time. Onion will take over the whole batch so use sparingly or use leeks, scallions or shallots. I only use 2 garlic cloves for a 5 gallon bucket of Kim Chi, but if you like garlicky, add more!

I've added turnips, beets, whole turmeric, lots of ginger, Thai chili's, jalapenos, carrots, beet greens, swiss chard. Use whatever you want! It's deliciously tart, savory and spicy! You can adjust the heat level and variety of veggies you want. It goes great with meat and starches and is a tasty way to get your probiotics. All you need is cabbage/veggies and salt!

This is a great video to watch to learn how to make traditional Kim Chi. Click here

Click here for a printable recipe.

Kombucha

Store bought Kombucha is very delicious but very expensive!
Kombucha starts out as a sugary tea, which is then fermented with the help of a scoby.
"SCOBY" is actually an acronym for "symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast."
The scoby bacteria and yeast eat most of the sugar in the tea, transforming the tea into a refreshingly fizzy, slightly sour fermented (but mostly non-alcoholic) beverage that is relatively low in calories and sugar.

Kombucha is indisputably full of probiotics and other happy things that our intestines love and that help boost our overall health.

Here's our recipe.

Watch this very informative video on what Kombucha is and how to make it.

Here's a great video time-lapse on a scoby forming in Kombucha!

Kefir

Kefir comes in different forms. There is Milk kefir, Water kefir and Coconut water kefir.

Water kefir is a symbiotic mix of various bacteria and yeasts enclosed in a white soft shell, forming the kefir "grains".

Water Kefir: The bacteria and yeast thrive on sugar of any form. This makes it one of the most inexpensive fermented probiotic drinks. A sugary solution is all water kefir needs to feed, and it will feed off the sugar, and produce lactic acid, (the slight tangy taste), alcohol, (the more you let it ferment the more alcohol in your soda), and carbon dioxide, (the gas bubbles).

Water kefir is the best probiotic drink for those that cannot consume dairy. It is a perfect replacement for milk kefir. Making water kefir is very simple, Just add water, sugar and the cultures, and let it ferment for 24-48 hours

This is a great video on Water Kefir - Click here

Milk Kefir: Traditional kefir is fermented at ambient temperatures, generally overnight. Fermentation of the lactose yields a sour, carbonated, slightly alcoholic beverage, with a consistency and taste similar to drinkable yogurt.

The slow-acting yeasts, late in the fermentation process, break lactose down into ethanol and carbon dioxide. As a result of the fermentation, very little lactose remains in kefir.

A favorite video all about Milk Kefir - Click here

Why re-invent the wheel?

I have listed the best links to all of the information I have used to learn about Kefir. I have subscribed to these folks on YouTube and Facebook to keep up with the education on this amazing health food!

My favorite mentors on this subject are Donna Schwenk and RawfullyTempting - B.Kessler.

You would be wise to follow them on YouTube.

Milk Kefir

How to make kefir by Donna Schwenk

Web page with lots of recipes!

https://www.culturedfoodlife.com

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/CulturedFoodLife

Instagram: https://instagram.com/culturedfoodlife/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/donnaschwenk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/donnaschwenk

Water Kefir

How to make Water Kefir by B. Kessler

Simple instructions by thomasaleeds

How to make Water Kefir Soda by Farmhouse on Boone

How to make Milk Kefir by Farmhouse on Boone

Our recipes here

Lacto-Fermented sodas

Although we allow treats occasionally, our children are prohibited from drinking store bought sodas. We realized that once you start, it's a slippery slope, usually for a lifetime. Artificial sweeteners have proven to contribute to devastating diseases and we all know how bad sugar is on the body as well. We chose to not even start. Our children LOVE flavored seltzers, but for a healthier treat, we make lacto-fermented sodas with real fruit or herbs. It's fizzy, sweet and great for your gut. It's really fun to make too!

Our son Mario making homemade raspberry soda. Lacto-fermented, fizzing and ready to bottle!

Recipe for any soda:

Part 1 here.

Part 2 here.

Video of our Ginger Beer/Gingerale! https://youtu.be/PZ8pZg96bLE

Read and see short video's on our blog on Kefir sodas!

Pickling

Along with other cultured foods, pickling also preserves food for long periods, preventing spoilage. Pickling can be done by fermentation as well as with vinegar. The pH or acidity of vinegar that inhibits bacterial growth. When pickling by fermentation, the Lactus Bacillus bacteria produces lactic acid making the food inhospitable to other microbes.

Pickles, pickles everywhere!

Large jar fermented on counter for 2 days, then moved to fridge. The rest water bath canned for long shelf life.

Pickled jalapenos

Pickled hot cherry peppers

Hot cherry peppers stuffed with prosciutto and provolone and some with tuna stuffing. Preserved in Olive oil.

Pickled watermelon rind

Lacto-Fermented and vinegar pickled cukes

Italian pickled eggplant

Flavored vinegars

Traditions passed down.

Italian traditions of making pickled eggplant and stuffed hot cherry peppers yearly. We make a ton that last on the shelves for a year or more. They usually don't last that long as we give a lot away as gifts or for bartering.

Here's our blog and links to video instruction.

Flavored vinegars, easy peasy!

You can use store bought vinegar to make flavored ones by just adding any fruit or herbs to it. We make our own apple cider vinegar with scraps.

Click here to see how.

One of my favorite, old fashioned, fermented pickles is a recipe by Andrew Zimmern.

Click here for recipe.

Informative Videos that helped me learn by watching:

Making Kombucha:
http://youtu.be/BQAX9HngwN8

*I have lots of scoby's to share, but if you want, here's info on Growing the SCOBY from scratch:

http://youtu.be/uTs6bJ-O-1Q
http://youtu.be/CKPdIVxqiD8
http://youtu.be/9yH8e71GbQk

Info about Fermented Foods
http://youtu.be/UthGeCBkVHY
http://youtu.be/v5qIcwVskkg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx3tEBo8rJU&feature=share&list=PLDD4048C9AD78EBBD