What's Fermenting?

Updated1/27/10 Despite the winter weather there's lots fermenting! Right now I'm working with some new beverage cultures in the hopes of offering a natural soda making class in the coming months. There was a great responce for the January fermenting class I taught through Cape Elizabeth Community Services with lots of eager folks turning up to make kraut and kimchi. I recently made my first foray into meat fermenting, creating some wonderful dry cured salami style sausage with the help of acidifying bacteria. And my pear mead has finally aged to delishiousness. Now it's time to plan the garden for all the ingredients I need next season!

Benefits of Fermenting

• Makes food easier to digest. Foods are broken down or pre-digested with the help of micro-organisms. An example would be yogurt which can be tolerated by many people who cannot drink milk.
• Supports healthy immune function. Fermented vegetables are a wonderful pro-biotic food that help to establish good intestinal flora, protecting us from less desirable bacteria that might otherwise take up residence.
• Improves the bioavailability of nutrients. Many nutrient rich foods are largely indigestible without fermentation. Soybeans are one such food, best consumed after fermentation into protein rich tempeh and miso.
• Preserves food. The process of fermentation creates an environment that prevents spoilage. This enables people to enjoy raw, vitamin rich food regardless of their growing season.
• Creates new nutrients and antioxidants. Vitamins, amino acids, essential fatty acids and protein are all created during the fermentation process.
• Removes anti-nutrients from food. Some foods contain substances that block our absorption of nutrients. All grains for example contain phytic acid which blocks absorption of minerals. Fermenting breaks down those compounds. Remember to soak your oatmeal.
• It tastes great! Fermented foods are eaten all over the world in every culture. They bring a variety of flavors, colors, textures and nutrients to every meal.

There are currently no scheduled workshops. If you would like to be notified of future workshops please let me know by email.

Workshops include:

• Preparation of one or more lacto-fermented recipes
• A brief overview of the history and health benefits of lacto-fermented foods
• A demonstration of how to obtain starter cultures (whey) from milk or yogurt. (Information will also be provided about sourcing non-dairy derived cultures and wild fermenting)
• Lots of sampling of various fermented foods and simple soft cheeses (the by products of whey making)
• Creation of your own customized quart jar that will be ready to eat after a few days of fermenting time.

Host a Fermenting Party

An alternative to attending a workshop is hosting a fermenting party at your home with friends and family. It covers all of the same information as the workshops, and can be customized to your personal tastes or garden harvest. Email for more information.

Fermenting Resources

• Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz
  I had the pleasure of spending a week in Tennessee at one of Sandor's fermentation intensives. He is a master of micro-organisms and his website, www.wildfermentation.com, has a wealth of information.
  
• Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
  This is a great intro book to small scale fermenting and many other traditional food preparation methods
  
• I'll be adding more to this list soon. In the meantime, there are many websites and recipes that can be found with a quick Google search.