Health Benefits of FERMENTED FOODS
Fermented foods are foods that have been through a process of lacto-fermentation and therefore can help populate the digestive tract with friendly bacteria. Fermented vegetables make a delicious and healthy addition to the diet, and we all should aim to consume these on a regular basis. The best is to ferment your own vegetables, as they are raw, rich in beneficial enzymes and traditionally thought to be alkalising. The shop-bought versions are pasteurised, meaning that the good bacteria have been destroyed, and the fermented food has lost its health benefits.
You can easily ferment your own vegetables at home, my favourite is sauerkraut, which is based on shredded cabbage. All you need to do is to massage the shredded cabbage leaves with some sea salt dissolved in a little warm water, best using your own hands. After about 5 minutes cabbage will soften and you have to pack it tightly into a glass jar. Leave it on a kitchen worktop, best covered in cotton cloth, to create a dark environment. You can start tasting after 3 days, but I would give it about a week to ferment further. Once its ready, keep it in the fridge for couple of weeks.
Happy fermenting everyone!
