Fabulous Fermented Food For Gut Health
Fermentation, take a bow. Your crowning moment in the foodie spotlight has finally arrived!
Fermentation, take a bow. Your crowning moment in the foodie spotlight has finally arrived!
Fermentation, take a bow. Your crowning moment in the foodie spotlight has finally arrived! Anyone who regularly reads food mags and recipe blogs would be forgiven for thinking that the recent superfood parade that has been rolled out for fermented foods is yet another culinary trend dreamt up to make the #InstaCooks look clever.
Not so! This time round the scientists are backing up the benefits and encouraging us all to go out and grow ourselves some good-gut bacteria.
Although the health buzz surrounding fermentation is fairly recent, it is, in fact, a natural process that has been around forever. For the last 9000 years, fermentation has been exploited by mankind to create a whole heap of different foodstuffs and flavours, using perishable items such as milk, vegetables and meats.
Along with drying and salting, fermentation was used to extend the life of foods, allowing them to be available and eaten safely in times of scarcity. Let's face it, in 2000 BC a midnight trip to the 24-hour supermarket for supplies wasn’t on the cards.
So why the hype now? We do, after all, have fridges and Provender Brown!
Well, what scientists have discovered is that roughly 70% - 80% of your immune system is in your gut. Feed it poorly and your gut will be easily overwhelmed by bad bacteria; not only can this leave you open to inflammation and gastrointestinal ills but you may also be more susceptible to colds and flu.
On the flipside, top up with good bacteria such as the kind you find in fermented foods and the exact opposite comes into effect; these tasty little probiotics are alive with health and work by releasing enzymes to balance your gut bacteria.
The overall effect will also improve your immune system meaning a healthy, balanced gut really can make you feel better all over. As well as the positive effects that probiotics and fermented products have on the gut recent psychological studies are now suggesting that fermented foods could help to treat anxiety- do Google it to find out more.
Leaving the potential health benefits to one side, fermented foods are just plain delicious. Products that contain healthy bacteria such as yoghurt and sauerkraut have been on our shelves for decades but as local artisans push back their culinary borders, we’ve seen products such as miso, kimchi, live vinegars and kombucha join the shelves of Provender Brown.
A traditional side dish of fermented vegetables (usually cabbage) that’s so popular in Korea – its country of origin – that people throw kimchi parties when a new batch is ready. Kimchi is also a good place to start if you want to get into the fermentation craze as it is pretty easy to make at home.
Thousands of years old, the drink that the Chinese called "The Immortal Health Elixer" is a sweet tea made from fermented yeast. It contains large quantities of antioxidants, B-vitamins and is super easy to make at home. It also tastes completely delicious!
When it comes to fermented foods, sauerkraut is an oldie but a goldie! You may have tried it years ago on a holiday to Deutschland but you can now buy it easily right here in Perth. Not many things that taste better on a hotdog than this finely shredded, salted, fermented delight.
Yes. You did read that correctly! And yes, we were very excited to discover that fermentation is crucial to the taste of cacao: without it, cacao beans won’t develop a chocolate flavour.
After the beans and pulp have been removed from the pod, they are placed in hardwood boxes, covered in banana leaves and turned twice a day to aerate them. Inside the boxes, the beans soon become a big mulchy mass and juice leaks from the pulp. The oxygen in the air activates the enzymes in the pulp sugar.
Did you know that the starter used to make sourdough bread is fermented from flour and water. This simple base fosters beneficial bacteria in the bread and in your body when you eat it. Lactobacillusis a kind of bacteria found in sourdough bread more so than other types of bread, and it results in higher levels of lactic acid which result in easier digestion and a happier gut. And taste buds!
Miso literally means ‘fermented beans’ in Japanese. A traditional ingredient in Japanese and Chinese diets, miso paste is made from fermented soybeans and grains and contains millions of beneficial bacteria. Use the paste to make a simple stock for miso soup, and add chicken and green veg for a wonderful ramen. It also makes a delicious hot drink.
Live vinegar is the fermentation of sugar or starch by yeast and bacteria. This forms the vinegar “mother” – that's the stringy looking gloop found at the bottom of the bottle. Despite making your bottle of fancy vinegar look cloudy, the mother is actually filled with enzyme goodness and gut-friendly bacteria that support your healthy body.
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