Fermented foods are
a trend now! The good bacteria may boost immunity, improve digestion,
and even help reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. Here are 6
fermented foods you can easily make at home.
1. Kefir
If you like yogurt
but have never tried kefir you’re missing out. It’s creamy and
tangy and good for you, and contrary to popular belief it’s very
easy to make. All you need is some kefir grains and some milk. From
there you just put the granules into a cup of milk, cover, and leave
at room temperature for about 24 hours. Strain afterwards, and you
can reuse the kefir grains.
Ingredients:
-
1 cup milk,
preferably whole fat -
1 teaspoon
active kefir grains
2. Kimchi
Kimchi is delicious
and amazing for your gut, but lots of people think it’s very
difficult to make, so they only have it when they go to Asian
restaurants. Well here’s how you can make it at home. All you need
to do it cut the cabbage, salt it generously and massage it so that
the cabbage goes soft, leave for a couple of hours. Then make the
spice paste, cut up the rest of the veggies. Rinse the cabbage
thoroughly and drain it, mix in with veggies and spice paste, pack
into a mason jar and leave in the fridge for about 5 days. Your
kimchi should be done by the end of the week.
Ingredients:
-
1 medium head
napa cabbage -
1/4 cup sea
salt or kosher salt -
1 tablespoon
grated garlic (5 to 6 cloves) -
1 teaspoon
grated peeled fresh ginger -
1 teaspoon
granulated sugar -
2 tablespoons
fish sauce or salted shrimp paste, or 3 tablespoons water -
1 to 5
tablespoons Korean red pepper flakes -
8 ounces
Korean radish or daikon radish, peeled and cut into matchsticks -
4 medium
scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3. Kombucha
Kombucha isn’t
just a trendy hipster drink that tastes good, it’s also a great
fermented drink that will satisfy your thirst on a hot day and
provide you with all sorts of health benefits and good probiotics.
All you need to make your own kombucha is to purchase some SCOBY
(symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) and started tea (leftover
kombucha). And of course, just brew some sugary tea. You just have to
combine and leave it for a couple of days. It’s that easy.
Ingredients:
-
3 1/2 quarts
water -
1 cup
granulated sugar -
8 bags of tea
(black or green is up to you) -
2 cups
starter tea from the last batch of kombucha or store-bought kombucha -
1 scoby per
fermentation jar
4. Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is
ridiculously easy to make. All you really need to do is cut up some
cabbage, salt it and massage the salt in, then weigh it down and let
it ferment from 3 to 10 days. The cabbage will release liquid when
salted and it will ferment in it on its own.
Ingredients:
-
1 medium head
green cabbage -
1 1/2
tablespoons kosher salt -
1 tablespoon
caraway seeds
5. Fermented
Carrots
These fermented
carrots are absolutely delicious. And very easy to make. Just combine
salt with water until it dissolves completely to make a brine. It’s
best to heat it to make it dissolve better and then cool it down.
Pack the rest of the ingredients into a mason jar, pour in the brine
until only about an inch is left, cover with cheesecloth and leave in
a warm room for about a week. Make sure to remove any white mould
that forms at the top, it’s part of the process, but you should
check on it daily and get it out. After a week it’s done and ready
to be consumed.
Ingredients:
-
1 pound
carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick -
1 tablespoon
peeled and thinly sliced galangal or fresh ginger -
1 tablespoon
grated lime zest -
2 teaspoons
pickling salt
6. Sparkling Cider
You’ll be
surprised how you can turn apple juice into sparkling cider within 24
hours. Warm up the apple juice slightly, it should be room
temperature, not cold. Then dissolve the yeast in about ½ cup of
apple juice and pour that solution into the rest of your apple juice.
Pour into bottles, close the cap and leave in a dark but warm place
for 24 hours. Voila – you’ve got sparkling cider.
Ingredients:
