fermented foods

Fermenting oats is an easy way to to make them more nutritious, deliciously creamy and shorten the cooking time. The process of fermenting grains breaks down the proteins, fats and carbohydrates; making the nutrients more bioavailable, and creating a healthy, rich, flavorful breakfast porridge.

Creamy Fermented Breakfast Oats

steel cut oats

filtered water

Tbsp.

Place grains in a medium bowl and cover with water. If using kefir, mix into water before adding to oats.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place at room temperature in a spot away from direct sunlight.

Ferment overnight, but no more than 24 hours.

Cook your fermented oats following the directions on the package, and adding a pinch of sea salt to the cooking water.

Serve with toppings of your choice.

The crunchiness of this kraut really shines with the fennel, but if you don't have that much fennel lying around, you can certainly use this recipe to make a standard cabbage kraut with these seasonings. You can also use wild fennel, which doesn't set much of a bulb, but does have a sort of thick part at its base in spring that you can use if you slice it thinly.

Fennel Sauerkraut

fennel bulbs, (sliced thin)

cabbage

salt

juniper berries

caraway seeds

celery seed

fennel seeds

wild carrot seeds ((optional))

Mix the shredded fennel and cabbage well in a very large bowl. Put down a layer of the vegetables about an inch thick in a 3-gallon crock. Sprinkle with salt and some of the seeds. Repeat until you have everything in the crock. If you can, mix it one more time. Place a plate or somesuch on the kraut and weigh it down with a large jar of water. Put the crock in a cool, dark place.

The next day, check to see if the vegetables have given up enough brine to completely cover themselves. If not, make some brine and add it. You want the brine to be 2 percent by weight, so 19 grams (or 0.7 ounces) of salt per quart of water. Let the sauerkraut ferment at between 60°F and 73°F for at least a week, and up to a month.

To finish, remove the weight and plate and move the finished kraut to quart-sized canning jars. If there is not enough brine to completely submerge the fennel kraut in the jars, make more brine as you did in Step 2. Cover the jar with their lids and store in the refrigerator for basically ever. I've had batches of sauerkraut last 2 years in the fridge.

Kombucha is a delicious fermented drink. Try making it with green tea for another variation. 

Make sure you follow the instructions that come with your scoby. Please note that kombucha contains a tiny amount of alcohol.<br/><br/>

For this recipe you will need a 2 litre/3½ pint wide-mouthed clip-top jar, a very jug or bowl, a large measuring jug or bowl, a clean tightly woven muslin, a
rubber band or string, a funnel and clip-top round glass bottles for decanting.

Kombucha 

tea bags (everyday black tea rather than a speciality tea)

grams/3½oz sugar

1.75 litres/3 pints just-boiled filtered water

kombucha scoby culture (available online)

25 Immune-Boosting Foods and Recipes to help us all stay healthy or help minimize the symptoms if we do fall ill.  Fermented foods -full of healthy probiotics, fresh fruits veggies with antioxidants, Vitamin C, and Zinc, these simple immunity-boosting recipes can easily be incorporated into our everyday diet.

25 Immune System Boosting Recipes!

Eat a diverse range of ORGANIC fruits & veggies, high

foods: (PROBIOTICS) Foods alive

Supplements:

Reduce anxiety. Turn off the news!

Limit Sugar, seed oils, processed foods, alcohol, non-organic foods (or anything that causes inflammation)

SLEEP

BREATH- move your body every day.

GET sunlight everday!

Gradually start incorporating these into your daily routine.

Always remember to be gentle with your body, supporting and bolstering your immune system, not overloading it, challenging it or over-taxing it with extreme measures.

Great for salads and for many uses around the house, apple cider vinegar is a healthy condiment that&#x27;s easy and inexpensive to make at home!

Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar

apples ((or apple scraps))

Tbsp sugar

water (or enough to cover the apples)

apple cider vinegar (to quick-start the process and help suppress microbial growth.)

brewer's yeast (or yeasts meant

Rinse and dry the apples and remove any rotten areas and the stems. (You can also remove the seeds.)

Cut the apples into small pieces and place them in the bottom of the glass jar.

Add around 1 tsp. sugar for each apple used. Mix together.

Cover the apples and sugar with water until they are fully covered.

If you will be using a brewer&#x27;s yeast and want to kill off any competing wild yeasts, heat the mixture to above 160ºF for a few minutes. Allow the mixture to cool and then add in the yeast of choice.

Optionally add a dash of vinegar to help quick-start the process and help prevent unwanted molds and bacteria from forming.

Ideally, the apples should stay under the surface of the water to help prevent mold from forming. You can press down on them with a bowl or use a fermentation disk to weigh them down. Cover the mixture with a clean cloth, coffee filter, or paper towels to allow air through but to keep insects away.

Preparing the Mixture

For the first days, remove the cloth and stir the mixture several times per day. (Make sure to cover it again as soon as you are finished each time.)

When the mixture begins to bubble, you can add in a vinegar mother to help speed up the fermentation process.

Once the apples fall to the bottom of the jar, you no longer need to stir the mixture.

Days later, when the mixture stops bubbling, you can strain out the apples if you like. If a mother has begun to form on the surface, you may choose to leave the apples so as not to disturb the mother.

After several weeks, you can begin to taste test the vinegar. When you are happy with the flavor, you can bottle the vinegar.

Fermentation begins

Remove the apple solids by pouring the mixture through a funnel with a strainer into glass bottles.

To obtain more of the vinegar from the apples, pour the apples into a cloth-lined bowl. Pick up the ends of the cloth and wring it, pressing out any excess vinegar.

Straining and Bottling the vinegar

Vinegar is best stored in a cool, dark place. You can store it in the refrigerator, but it&#x27;s not necessary. Cool temperatures help prevent further fermentation.To age vinegar properly, you want as little airspace as possible. That&#x27;s why bottles are ideal (vs. jars). This will help prevent another mother from forming and, again, further fermentation).

Storing the vinegar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9AeFZ5bFJk

Full recipe and instructions: https://thethingswellmake.com/how-to-make-apple-cider-vinegar/
Not only does homemade apple cider vinegar taste better, but it's easy and frugal to make. Find out why and how to make your own vinegar from apple scraps, apple juice, or whole apples.

Easy Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar with the Mother - Healthy DIY

There are lots of variables going on with this seemingly simple sauce, so don't freak out if it doesn't taste exactly like Tabasco. It'll still be great. Your chiles will affect the flavor, as will where they were grown. So will your salt -- don't use iodized salt, it will muddy the flavor -- and your vinegar. Tabasco's private stock is made with white wine vinegar, and it is noticeably better tasting than the stuff you buy in the store. Use a good vinegar. And you really need the toasted oak cubes to get the full Tabasco effect. They store their mash in oak barrels, and unless you are making that much sauce, the oak cubes are the way to go. You can buy them at any winemaking shop or online. Try to let the mash ferment as long as you can. Every month you let it go makes it better. Finally, this recipe can be scaled up or down. Just remember, the key ratio is 2 percent salt by weight of the chopped-up chiles.

Fermented, Tabasco-Style Hot Sauce

chile peppers, (about 1.5 kilos)

kosher salt, (about 37 grams)

water

oak cubes

white wine vinegar

xanthan gum ((optional))

Roughly chop the chiles and compost the stems. Blitz the chiles in a food processor or blender with the salt and water until you get a rough paste or slurry, depending on how much moisture there is in the peppers themselves. I keep the seeds in the chiles, but if you want a milder sauce, remove them.

Put the mash into quart mason jars and cap them loosely. "Burp" the caps at least once a day to let out escaping gases and let air in. The chiles will ferment like this for at least a week, and sometimes up to 3 weeks. When the chiles settle down, add the oak cubes, distributing them evenly throughout the jars. Tighten the lids and store the jars in a cool, dark place. I kept mine in my salami fridge, which is 55°F. A basement is fine, as would a fridge. Tabasco keeps their mash barrels at ambient temperatures, which in Louisiana can top 100°F. I am working on a batch fermented this way now, and I see no reason it won't work. Don't let the mash freeze, however.

Keep the mash like this no less than 3 months, and up to 2 years. When you are ready to finish the sauce, mix the mash with the vinegar.

You now have two choices: You can do what Tabasco does and return the mix to the jars, shake them every day for a month and then strain out the pulp and seeds. Or, do what I do and keep all that pulp, which will give the sauce body and thickness. If you choose my method, you will need to really blend the sauce and stabilize it -- otherwise the sauce will eventually separate and will need to be shaken up before each use. To do so, dissolve the xanthan gum in 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the blender. Blend for a solid minute. Let the sauce rest for 1 hour before bottling so any trapped air in sauce (from the blending process) can escape. Bottle and store. The sauce will keep for a year or more.

This healthy udon noodle soup combines heady “umami” Japanese flavours with fresh veg and springy, chewy noodles. You can find most of the ingredients in an Asian supermarket.

Udon noodle soup

kombu seaweed

dashi powder

ginger,

tbsp white miso paste

caster sugar

mirin

tofu,

vegetable oil

garlic clove,

shiitake mushrooms, sliced

bok choi, sliced

75 grams/2½oz kale, shredded

courgette,

grams/2¾oz sugar snap peas

tbsp Japanese soy sauce

grams/2½oz mushrooms,

spring onions, finely sliced

tsp shichimi pepper

sesame seeds

x 150 grams/5 ounces packet udon rice noodles

If you haven’t made sauerkraut before, this simple recipe is a great place to start. Once you’ve got the hang of it, it’s easy to double up the quantities. 

Please note, if mould forms on your sauerkraut at any point, discard the batch and start again. 

For this recipe you will need a 750ml/1⅓ pint clip top jar (such as a Kilner jar), a large mixing bowl, a large metal spoon, a small ladle, and a ramekin or small shallow jar.

Sauerkraut 

sea salt

tsp black peppercorns

½ tsp caraway seeds (optional)

A luscious, fruity yogurt that makes a satisfying breakfast. Using frozen berries saves money and they make a delicious juice as they thaw. 

As part of an <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/intermittent_dieting_recipes">Intermittent diet</a> plan, 1 serving provides:
Your daily piece of fruit
2 of your 3 daily low-fat dairy portions
This meal provides 149 kcal per portion.

Berry yoghurt

175 grams/6 ounces frozen mixed berries, defrosted

340 grams/12 ounces fat-free Greek yoghurt

grams/¼oz flaked almonds, toasted

Making your own healthy and delicious sauerkraut at home is easy and cost-efficient. Using a jar rather than a crock allows you to see the transformation from cabbage to kraut, making this a perfect recipe for beginners monitoring the process.

How to Make Sauerkraut

Remove the coarse outer leaves and discard them. 

Remove and rinse a few unblemished leaves and set them aside for later. 

Pat cabbage dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel.

With a large knife, slice the cabbage to quarters on a cutting board. Use the knife to carefully cut away the core.

Thinly slice the cabbage and transfer the cabbage to a large bowl. 

With your hands, massage salt into the cabbage until it starts to look wet and shiny. 

Taste the cabbage — you want to taste the salt without it being overwhelming. Add more salt, a little at a time, to get that ‘salty but not too salty’ taste.

Continue to massage for 3-5 minutes until the cabbage becomes wet and limp, and liquid, (brine), begins to pool in the bottom of the bowl. You want to be able to squeeze the cabbage in your hands so the brine runs freely into the bowl. If you’ve put in a good effort and don’t have much brine, cover the bowl and let it sit for 45 minutes. 

Massage again until the liquid runs freely when squeezing a handful of cabbage in your hands.

Transfer the cabbage to a clean 1-quart mason jar a few handfuls at a time. Press the cabbage into the bottom of the jar using your hand to work out any air pockets before you add more cabbage.

Repeat until all of the cabbage has been packed tightly into the jar. You should have 2-3 inches of headspace and some brine on top of the cabbage once it’s all been pressed into the jar. If you have too much cabbage, place some in another clean jar following the same process. 

Top the packed cabbage with 1 or 2 of the reserved leaves, gently tucking them down along the sides to keep little bits of cabbage under the brine. Bits of cabbage floating in the brine should be picked out to the best of your ability to avoid developing mold. 

Place a zip-top freezer bag, or sub with a weight, into the jar, using your fingers to spread it out so that it covers as much of the cabbage leaf as possible.

Fill with cool filtered water, sealing and pressing out as much air as possible. Tuck the top of the bag into the jar and very loosely screw the lid on the  jar, or cover with a clean kitchen towel. If using a lid with an airlock, follow the directions for your particular lid.

Store the jar out of direct sunlight in a cool place (55-75 F) to ferment for 4-14 days. Dark is best, but don’t forget about it. If you keep your jar on the kitchen counter, cover with a kitchen towel.

After about two days, check for air pockets in the cabbage and that the brine is still completely covering the cabbage. If you notice these, use clean hands to remove the bag and gently press down to release the air bubbles. Return everything to below the brine.

Replace the bag and lid and let it do its thing. If your sauerkraut is particularly active or the room is warm, repeat this process as needed for the next 2-3 days.

Begin taste-testing your kraut on day 4 by carefully removing the bag and pushing the cabbage leaf aside with clean hands or a utensil. The kraut is ready when it exhibits a pleasant pickle flavor without strong vinegar acidity and has softened yet crunchy cabbage that appears more yellow and translucent. This typically happens between 4 and 14 days, depending on room temperature.

If the sauerkraut is not ready, rinse the bag under running water. Carefully place it back in the jar making sure the cabbage is below the brine. Wait another day or two to taste again and see what you think.

Store the sauerkraut in the refrigerator when it’s to your liking.

Enjoy radish kraut in salads, hot dogs and burgers. It has a similar flavour to sauerkraut, and boasts the gut-friendly goodness of similar fermented foods

Radish kraut

radishes,

½ red pepper, finely chopped

tsp sea salt

sugar

garlic cloves, crushed

red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

still mineral water, to top up

You must sterilise your jars before you start and you will need to check your ferment every day for four to five days.

Combine the radishes and red pepper in a bowl with the salt and sugar, and really scrunch up with your hands, squeezing to start releasing their juices. Leave to cure for 1 hr, then squeeze again for about 10 mins. Add the garlic and chilli, and squeeze some more.

Pack the radish kraut into a sterilised jar, pressing down hard to make sure there are no air bubbles (I use the end of a clean rolling pin for this). As you push down, the brine from the vegetables should cover them (they won’t come all the way up the jar; you should be left with 2-3cm of space at the top). You really need to push down hard. If the brine doesn’t fully immerse the vegetables, add a bit of mineral water to ensure the veg is fully covered with liquid – this is crucial.

Scrunch up some baking parchment and stuff it firmly down into the jar – this will weigh down the veg and keep it immersed. Top with clean muslin and fasten with a rubber band. Leave on a cool, dark shelf for four to seven days, depending on how funky you like it to taste – this really is more of a guideline, as it does come down to personal taste. The speed at which it ferments will also depend on the season. If it’s warm, the process will be quicker; if it’s cold, slower. I like to check my ferment every day to see how it’s coming on, and also to lift off the muslin and parchment to release those fermentation gases before resealing (known as burping), so that the jar doesn’t explode. When you’re happy with the taste, remove the parchment and muslin, seal with the lid and store in the fridge to stop it fermenting any further. Will keep for months.

Fermented Garlic is the easiest ferment EVER! With just 2 ingredients and no starter culture required, you can preserve garlic through the magic of fermentation for a health-promoting food that can be added to your favorite dishes, dips, dressings, and used as a natural remedy!

Top 12 fermented foods recipes from across the web

The most viewed fermented foods recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Creamy Fermented Breakfast Oats

Fennel Sauerkraut

Kombucha

25 Immune System Boosting Recipes!

Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar

Fermented, Tabasco-Style Hot Sauce

Udon noodle soup

Sauerkraut

Berry yoghurt

How to Make Sauerkraut

Radish kraut

Easy Fermented Garlic — 2 Ingredien...

Top 12 fermented foods recipes from across the web

The most viewed fermented foods recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Creamy Fermented Breakfast Oats

Fennel Sauerkraut

Kombucha

25 Immune System Boosting Recipes!

Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar

Fermented, Tabasco-Style Hot Sauce

Udon noodle soup

Sauerkraut

Berry yoghurt

How to Make Sauerkraut

Radish kraut

Easy Fermented Garlic — 2 Ingredien...

The most viewed fermented foods recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine