Fermented Food: Benefits, Examples + Recipes
Adding fermented food to your diet is an empowering, sustainable method to improve your health.
Fermentation is when natural bacteria and yeasts break down the sugars and carbs in food, producing lactic acid. Fermenting food makes it easier to digest, adds nutrition, and works as a preservation method. It’s the food that flavors itself!
Health and tasty fermented food examples
You may not even realize that some of your favorite foods are the happy result of fermentation. Here’s a sample fermented food list:
Kombucha
Pickles
Kimchi
Miso
Yogurt
Sauerkraut
Sourdough
Perfect starter fermented food recipes
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is the perfect food to start your fermented food journey. Shred a batch of cabbage, coat it in salt, and let it sit inside a mason jar. The cabbage will release liquid, which will serve as the fermenting liquid. Convenient! The dish will be ready to eat in approximately 3 days, but the longer you wait to enjoy it, the more flavorful!
Pickles
First, slice up some pickles into that lovely wedge shape. From there, combine filtered water, salt, garlic, black pepper, chili pepper, dill, and highlight with a sprinkle of cayenne or cinnamon.
Kombucha
Kombucha is a juicy fermented drink with an acquired taste.
To get the proportions right, you may want to check out a more specific Kombucha recipe. You’ll also need unflavored kombucha and SCOBY (a culture of bacteria and yeast).
The simple recipe starts with boiling water and letting the sugar dissolve into the mixture. Remove it from the heat and pour it into a mason jar. Add black tea. Let stand for 8-10 minutes to allow the tea to steep. Remove the tea, add water, then stir in unflavored kombucha.
Toss in the SCOBY and rubber-band a cloth atop the mason jar you’ve put everything into. Allow the fermentation process to go on for 1-2 weeks, leaving the jar away from sunlight and at room temperature. Lastly, remove the SCOBY and refrigerate the kombucha for a minimum of 24 hours. Enjoy!
Fermented food benefits
A natural probiotic, which leads to better gut health
These fermented foods increase the diversity in your microbiome, which is a good thing. They act as a probiotic for your gut. Kombucha is especially gifted at enabling fermented food gut health.
Improved mental health
Over time, it has become more and more clear how intricately linked our gut microbiomes are to our mental health and mood. The trillions of bacteria that make up our digestive system, when functioning better, reduce the symptoms of a number of anxiety and depressive disorders.
Immune boosting activity
By improving the health of the gut microbiome, fermented food also boosts our immune systems. A healthier gut is a healthier us.
A fermenting future
Fermented food is great for your health. As a homemade food, it’s also great for the planet and makes for a fun hobby. There’s nothing like whipping out a batch of kimchi or sauerkraut for dinner with friends, and saying, “Oh! We fermented this ourselves.” For other sustainable living ideas, go here.