Fermented foods area trend now! The good bacteria may boost immunity, improve digestion,and even help reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. Here are 6fermented foods you can easily make at home.
1. Kefir
If you like yogurtbut have never tried kefir you’re missing out. It’s creamy andtangy and good for you, and contrary to popular belief it’s veryeasy to make. All you need is some kefir grains and some milk. Fromthere you just put the granules into a cup of milk, cover, and leaveat room temperature for about 24 hours. Strain afterwards, and youcan reuse the kefir grains.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup milk,preferably whole fat
- 1 teaspoonactive kefir grains
2. Kimchi
Kimchi is deliciousand amazing for your gut, but lots of people think it’s verydifficult to make, so they only have it when they go to Asianrestaurants. Well here’s how you can make it at home. All you needto do it cut the cabbage, salt it generously and massage it so thatthe cabbage goes soft, leave for a couple of hours. Then make thespice paste, cut up the rest of the veggies. Rinse the cabbagethoroughly and drain it, mix in with veggies and spice paste, packinto a mason jar and leave in the fridge for about 5 days. Yourkimchi should be done by the end of the week.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium headnapa cabbage
- 1/4 cup seasalt or kosher salt
- 1 tablespoongrated garlic (5 to 6 cloves)
- 1 teaspoongrated peeled fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoongranulated sugar
- 2 tablespoonsfish sauce or salted shrimp paste, or 3 tablespoons water
- 1 to 5tablespoons Korean red pepper flakes
- 8 ouncesKorean radish or daikon radish, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 4 mediumscallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3. Kombucha
Kombucha isn’tjust a trendy hipster drink that tastes good, it’s also a greatfermented drink that will satisfy your thirst on a hot day andprovide 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 (leftoverkombucha). And of course, just brew some sugary tea. You just have tocombine and leave it for a couple of days. It’s that easy.
Ingredients:
- 3 1/2 quartswater
- 1 cupgranulated sugar
- 8 bags of tea(black or green is up to you)
- 2 cupsstarter tea from the last batch of kombucha or store-bought kombucha
- 1 scoby perfermentation jar
4. Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut isridiculously easy to make. All you really need to do is cut up somecabbage, salt it and massage the salt in, then weigh it down and letit ferment from 3 to 10 days. The cabbage will release liquid whensalted and it will ferment in it on its own.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium headgreen cabbage
- 1 1/2tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespooncaraway seeds
5. FermentedCarrots
These fermentedcarrots are absolutely delicious. And very easy to make. Just combinesalt with water until it dissolves completely to make a brine. It’sbest 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 brineuntil only about an inch is left, cover with cheesecloth and leave ina warm room for about a week. Make sure to remove any white mouldthat forms at the top, it’s part of the process, but you shouldcheck on it daily and get it out. After a week it’s done and readyto be consumed.
Ingredients:
- 1 poundcarrots, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 1 tablespoonpeeled and thinly sliced galangal or fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoongrated lime zest
- 2 teaspoonspickling salt
6. Sparkling Cider
You’ll besurprised how you can turn apple juice into sparkling cider within 24hours. Warm up the apple juice slightly, it should be roomtemperature, not cold. Then dissolve the yeast in about ½ cup ofapple 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 placefor 24 hours. Voila – you’ve got sparkling cider.
Ingredients:
