What is Fermentation?  Fermentation is when bacteria chew on and metabolize the natural sugar in veggies or fruits for food and procreation.  The byproduct of fermentation is acids, gases, or alcohol and beneficial organisms galore! Other forms of food preservation like freezing and canning deplete prana in the foods making it more tamasic than sattvic. Fermenting creates living nourishment full of prana and extends the life of healthy food.

Fermented products support sour taste in the diet. Sour comes from earth and fire.  C and B vitamins, as well as probiotic microorganisms, add essential nutrients to any meal. Too much of any of the six tastes will create imbalance. Just the right amount of sour taste promotes healthy digestion.

Ferments Have Helped Us A Long Time

People have been fermenting from way back. Fermentation creates beverages that were safe to drink when water from the nearby river could kill you. This process extends the life of milk, eggs, and vegetables while creating delicious nutrient-dense foods. Fermentation has a long history as a go-to tool for food preservation; once fermented vegetables and condiments are root cellar stable for months providing families access to flavor, veggies, and vitamins all winter long. Now foods created by fermentation are all over modern supermarkets, so familiar people don’t even realize.

If you want the benefits of living foods, look in the refrigerator section of the market. Read the package label to be sure there are no preservatives.  Here are some probiotic-based living foods I use when I can’t make my own.

Two Types of  Home Fermentation

When I started, I was a bit nervous about making ferments at home. So I went to a workshop given by Britney Wood Knickerson whose hands-on approach and clear recipes reassured me. I started using her guidelines. Then I bought a couple of books to explain both wild and cultivated fermentation, and haven’t looked back.

Wild

Wild ferment means add saltwater in the right amount and let nature take its course. The bacteria, yeasts other probiotics organisms that occur naturally on the veggies and in the air, grow. A briny environment promotes the growth of the good guys (probiotics) over the bad guys, aka pathogenic organisms, as well as a delicious taste.

Cultivated

Cultivated fermentation begins by adding a starter to promote the growth of a particular group of organisms in the batch. Kombucha and sourdough bread are two classic examples of using a starter. I have made yogurt, ketchup, mustard, and chutney with a starter.

Starters are cultivation material from the same food, like sourdough for sourdough bread, a kombucha SCOBY for the next batch of kombucha or liquid from sauerkraut to start a new jar. Whey or water kefir go into chutney and other cultivated products.

Sauerkraut can be made as a wild ferment or cultivated by using the liquid from an old batch to seed the bacterial growth for the new recipe 

Try Making Your Own Ferments

You can ferment many different things at home in your kitchen, but the easiest way to learn is with cabbage to make sauerkraut or kimchi. All you need for sauerkraut is plain salt, spring water, cabbage, and a fermenting vessel. It is a room-temperature process that is simple to set up. You may want to try making sauerkraut as part of your kitchen sadhana.

Ayurselfcare’s purpose is to educate on the benefits of Ayurveda. This article is not a substitute for professional medical care, treatment, or advice. All the material here is for learning purposes only. Always share strategy and work with your health care team.