3. Good Organic Gardening - May-June 2016 AvxHome.in

FERMENTING & PICKLING | Benefits
Ferments of
soybeans
include miso,
tempeh and
soy sauce
Kimchi is a staple
of Korean cuisine
The nose knows
What about safety? How do you tell if
the spoiling organisms rather than the
beneficial ones have taken over a culture?
Easy: smell. A spoiled fermentation will
stink and you won’t even be tempted
to taste it at all. How does it happen? It
occurs when you haven’t provided the
right conditions for the good guys to
dominate. There are a few basic rules:
Do your homework — know how the
type of fermentation you want to
do works and follow a good book or
website for instructions.
Keep all containers and utensils
scrupulously clean. Dishwashers are
good for that because of the heat.
Use the freshest ingredients you can.
Give your fermentation the right
combination of temperature and
time — room temperature in
summer will require less time than in
winter, for example.
Once your fermentation has reached its
correct stage, store in the fridge.
Make your own
The ideal way to ensure your fermented foods
have high amounts of the live cultures and
enzymes you want from them is to make your
own. Plus, making your own means you can
use organic and homegrown ingredients to
ensure they are not tainted by pesticides or
other chemicals and you can control their
development and so control flavour.
You’re probably not going to make your
own soy sauce or salami, but things such as
sauerkraut, pickles, kefir, yoghurt, kombucha,
cultured butter and soft cheeses are really
not difficult once you get into the rhythm.
Sourdough bread-making is a bit more
complicated but it can become a great hobby.
You don’t need to eat huge amounts, either.
Fermented foods
are among the best
chelators, which makes
them great detoxifiers
able to pull out heavy
metals, BPAs and many
other contaminants
we are exposed to from
living in the modern
industrial environment.
Let’s say you consume some good-quality
yoghurt in the morning, have half a cup or so of
cultured vegetables with lunch or dinner and
drink a shot of kefir or kombucha. If you can
manage that most days, you’ll be a lot healthier
for it. As with most things, variety is the key.
You don’t want to become a slave to your
voracious organisms, though, by attempting to
make too many different ones. The best plan
is to experiment and then stick to those you
like making and especially the ones you most
like eating or drinking. If you decide you’d like
to try making one regular and one occasional
item, perhaps start with kefir and sauerkraut.
Both are simple and safe to make and your
digestive, immune and nervous systems, not to
mention your skin and brain, will thank you for it.
We have some recipes in this issue but there is
plenty of information on the web or in the below
publication and resources.
This article was originally published in sister
publication WellBeing Homegrown Homemade.
Resources
Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook
that Challenges Politically Correct
Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, by
Sally Fallon Morell & Mary G. Enig
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to
Fermenting Foods, by Wardeh Harmon
The Weston A Price Foundation,
westonaprice.org
74 | Good Organic Gardening