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Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe

February 11, 2017 by admin 16 Comments

 

Sauerkraut is likely the simplest fermented food to make and a great place to start, it was certainly my introduction to fermentation.  I’ve always loved the taste of pickled beetroot from a young age and so I instantly fell in love with the flavour of Sauerkraut.  I particularly like making purple kraut because I love its vibrant colour but green cabbages work just as well.

Sauerkraut originates from Germany but one of the first documented cases of its nutritional power was when the English Explorer James Cook took barrels of Sauerkraut aboard his ship.  It is said that he reserved the Sauerkraut for the Officers knowing full well that the sailors would then be enticed to consume it.  This was one of the first explorations where the sailors didn’t perish from scurvy, this is because Sauerkraut is packed full of Vitamin C (far more than an orange!).  Prior to fermentation it was extremely difficult to keep food fresh with no refrigeration and near impossible aboard long boat rides. Read here for more of the health benefits of fermented foods.

kraut

The recipe below is a basic recipe for beginners but once you start, there are plenty of further delicious flavours to try:

  1. Other Vegetables – carrots, celery, squash, salad onions, garlic
  2. Add some orange rind and juice for a different flavour
  3. A little turmeric for anti-inflammatory health benefits
  4. Lemon juice and onions
  5. Chilli for an extra kick

There are so many variations, I hope you have a go and please write your creations or questions below in the comments section.

 

5.0 from 6 reviews
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Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe
Author: Vanessa Woozley
Recipe type: Fermented foods
Cuisine: Fermentation
Prep time:  15 mins
Total time:  15 mins
 
Homemade sauerkraut
Ingredients
  • 2 cabbage, any kind
  • 2 tablespoon of sea salt not table salt
  • 1 grated apple
  • 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds
  • A mason jar
Instructions
  1. Shred the cabbage in a food processor or using a knife and put in a bowl with the sea salt sprinkled on top.
  2. Kneed the cabbage in the bowl so that it releases some cabbage juice as it starts to break down with the salt added.
  3. Cover with a tea towel and leave for 5 hours.
  4. Pour the cabbage and juice into a mason jar and keep pushing it down until the juice comes over the top of cabbage. If it doesn't add a little water.
  5. Close jar and check on your kraut every few days
  6. You should see little bubbles rising and a foam forming on top, this is the cabbage fermenting and producing very potent probiotics.
  7. Taste kraut after 3 days if it tastes sour and to your liking it is done and if you are new to fermentation this is probably about the right strength to begin with.
  8. After 3-7 days refrigerate and consume.
  9. The sauerkraut will keep for years this way.
3.2.2925

FAQ

My cabbage has risen above the liquid and has some mould on top, is it safe to eat?

Scrape this off and discard, taste the submerged cabbage underneath, this should be fine as it will be under the liquid but let your taste buds guide you.

How long should I ferment for?

If you are new to fermentation I suggest 3 days as this will be strong enough.  Most people will ferment for 7-10 days, I now like to ferment mine for about a month because I like it strong!

Is there anyone who shouldn’t eat sauerkraut?

It is safe for children, in fact you are helping to build their immune system but start with small amounts, add a little of the kraut juice to their food before serving.  About 1% of the population will have histermine intolerance and fermented foods contain high levels of histermine (as do many other natural foods), if you feel adverse reactions stay reduce fermented foods while you find alternative ways to balance your histermine levels.

Can I add kraut to my cooking?

Cooking will kill the probiotic rich goodness so add sauerkraut to your dishes as the condiment.

Filed Under: Probiotics, Recipes, Uncategorized

Beetroot, Fennel and Dill Ferment – Perfect for Beginners

May 9, 2016 by admin 32 Comments

Beetroot-ferment

This is my daughter’s favourite ferment, she has it most days in her lunch box and loves it. Fermentation is what has been used for generations before refrigeration and is the perfect preserved food that wont spoil but has so many health benefits.  The beetroot gives it a really sweet flavour and the dill adds the most incredibly delicious smell whilst you are making it.

Beetroot-Ferment

If you’re new to fermentation, this is a great one to start with.  Beetroot contains betalin which powerfully supports detoxification of the liver.  This animal study shows the reduction in toxins in the blood when given beetroot extract.  The naturally occurring nitrates have also been shown to improve athletic performance and boost stamina.

Fennel has some wonderfully healing properties for anyone with gastrointestinal issues.  It is not only full of fiber but boosts the excretion of gastric juices so supports digestive function.  It has also been shown to be effective in reducing menstrual pain in girls.

Full of health benefits this ferment is a must to make!

Quick Tip

Beetroot ferments very quickly so make sure you only ferment for a few days and I put my jar in a bowl in my cupboard in case some of the liquid escapes from the top of the jar!

5.0 from 7 reviews
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Beetroot, Fennel and Dill Ferment
Author: Vanessa Woozley
 
Ingredients
  • 1 bunch of fresh beetroot
  • 1 bulb of fennel
  • 1 bunch of fresh dill
  • 1 tablespoon of sea salt (NOT table salt)
  • 500ml mason jar
Instructions
  1. Grate the beetroot - I use my food processor and the 4 ml grated blade so that it doesnt release too much of the liquid of the beetroot
  2. Finely slice the fennel
  3. Put your dill through the food processor too for speed and finely chop
  4. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and cover with the salt and squeeze until the beetroot until it releases the juice.
  5. Add the ingredients to the mason jar and push down until the liquid covers, allow at leat 3 cm at the top of the jar for the vegetables to expand
  6. Close lid and put in a dark cupboard for 3-5 days to ferment
  7. NB It might be worth putting a bowl underneath the jar just in case the liquid spills.
3.2.2925

 

Filed Under: Probiotics, Recipes, Uncategorized

Fermented Lemon Chutney

March 5, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

lemon-chutney

Very easy to make and a great accompaniment to most dishes, this is the perfect fermented foods to start when you’re new to cultured foods. Enhancing the nutritional properties of this low sugar fruit, fermentation adds beneficial microbes that will give your immune system a boost.

Lemons are renowned for their cleansing properties but what most people don’t know is that most of the nutrition is locked in the skin or zest of the lemon and this is often the part we throw away.  More vitamin C than an orange and powerful at supporting liver detoxification, this is a great way to utilise all the nutritional properties.

Lemons help the liver produce more bile and protect the liver from oxidative damage (see study). Lemons are also commonly used for their natural pectin which has appetite suppressing capabilities.

I personally love this with Moroccan tagines or curry.

No need to peel, you can use the rind too but make sure you use organic lemons without wax.  This only takes a few minutes to prepare with a grater blade on the food processor, I even threw in a couple of limes for good measure too!

 

lemon-chutney-2

 

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Fermented Lemon Chutney
Author: Vanessa Woozley
Recipe type: Fermented foods
Prep time:  10 mins
Total time:  10 mins
 
Ingredients
  • 10 lemons
  • 2 limes
  • 1 tablespoon of sea salt (not table salt)
  • 1 tablespoon of raw honey
  • 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
Instructions
  1. Push the lemons and limes through the grater attachment of the food processor
  2. Mix with all the other ingrediants
  3. Add to a medium sized mason jar or I used 2 small ones
  4. Push the mixture down to ensure the liquid covers the lemon chutney
  5. Store in a dark cupboard for 3-10 days
3.2.2925

 

Filed Under: Probiotics, Recipes, Uncategorized

Fermented Mayonnaise

June 17, 2015 by admin 8 Comments

mayo

I love mayonnaise and this creamy home-made variety tastes in my opinion far superior to shop bought ones.  If you use free-range (preferably organic) eggs you also get a completely different colour mayonnaise and grass-foraging chickens have healthier Omega 3 containing eggs. I’m sure you’ve noticed the difference in yolk colours but when you crack an egg from a free range egg, you get a vibrant nearly orange coloured yolk, compare this to a barn coloured egg yolk and you’ll get an insipid pale yellow mayonnaise.

Having used olive oil in the past, I prefer avocado oil, it doesn’t have the overpowering flavour coming through the mayonnaise.  Avocado oil is also high in Vitamin E which is reputed for its health benefits to the skin.  Avocado oil has been used in studies for healing wounds and found particularly useful for those who suffer with psoriasis.

I used to be nervous of making mayonnaise thinking it would curdle or take ages to make but moving towards a whole-food life, I decided to make this healthier swap and I’ve never looked back. This takes me 3 minutes maximum from start to finish and then you can ferment the mayonnaise in the most natural way possible using whey that you can extract from your kefir.

To obtain the whey from kefir watch my YouTube clip

5.0 from 5 reviews
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Fermented Mayonnaise
Author: Vanessa Woozley
Recipe type: Fermented Mayonnaise
Prep time:  5 mins
Total time:  5 mins
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of avocado oil
  • 2 eggs room temperature
  • Juice from half a lemon
  • ½ a teaspoon of mustard powder
  • 2 tablespoons of whey
  • Pinch of sea salt
Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients apart (from the whey) to a mason jar
  2. Place a stick blender in the bottom of the jar and blend on full power until the mayo emulsifies and thickens, takes about 1 minute
  3. Stir in the whey
  4. Close the lid on the jar and allow to ferment at room temperature for 5 hours.
  5. Then place the mayonnnaise in the fridge where it will keep for several weeks, although it never lasts that long in my house!
3.2.2925

 

Filed Under: Dips, Probiotics, Recipes, Salads, Uncategorized

Fermented Spicy Salsa

June 4, 2015 by admin 2 Comments

I love salsa, what I don’t love is the sugar and other fillers that are added to shop bought salsa.  Most people who endeavour to eat healthily will make their own whole-food equivalent of their favourite food but the biggest challenge is keeping it fresh without preservatives.

salsa3
This is the beautiful thing about fermentation, you can make one big batch of your favourite food, allow it to ferment for a period of time (according to ferment) and then it will keep fresh for several months. Not only is it completely safe, (there has never been a recorded person in history becoming seriously ill from fermented foods) but fermentation also enhances all the nutrition in that food and provides trillions of beneficial bacteria to your body. Check out this post for more information about the healing capacity of fermented foods.

This salsa is nutritionally superior and tastes amazing.  Add chilli amount to taste, I add the seeds because I like it hot but leave them out if you prefer a milder salsa.

Spicy foods have been proven to improve satiety so have also been used as a weight loss tool.  Research also suggests that capsaicin can increase fat burning by 16%.

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Fermented Spicy Salsa
Author: Vanessa Woozley
Recipe type: Fermented Spicy Salsa
Prep time:  10 mins
Total time:  10 mins
 
Ingredients
  • 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes
  • 5 large tomatoes
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 hot red chilli
  • bunch of fresh mint
  • 1 lime
  • 2 tablespoons of natural sea salt
Instructions
  1. Put all the ingredients apart from half an onion into a food processor, squeezing the juice from the lime in and adding a little zest, continue to blend until combined but still has some texture - you don't want a sauce!
  2. Add the extra half an onion in chopped small so that it add more crunch to your salsa
  3. Stir in the salt and put into a mason jar, close lid and add leave for 7 days before transferring to a refrigerator, this is a delicious accompaniment to some fish or on top of a jacket potato.
3.2.2925

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Probiotics, Recipes, Uncategorized

Beetroot, Fennel and Mandarin Ferment

May 20, 2015 by admin 2 Comments

beetroot-fennel

Guest post from Jamie Raftery, Michelin trained chef.  Jamie has worked with an amazing variety of inspiring mentors throughout his career, including Michael Caines, Gordon Ramsay, after winning the Ramsay scholarship in 2007, Rasmus Kofoed, the gold, silver and bronze Bocuse d’or culinary super-hero from Denmark, Marcus Wareing, Heston Bluementhal, Corey Lee, Clare Clarke and Angela Hartnett.

Jamie is currently studying holistic nutrition. Drawing on his experience and knowledge he is developing techniques, dishes and a range of products with the ultimate goal of opening his own restaurant and inspiring people with healthier food. Jamie is currently showcasing his products and dishes through a combination of pop-up dining events, collaborations with holistic practitioners and restaurant consultancy throughout the UK and can be found here as The Holistic Chef.

Here is one of Jamie’s simple but mouthwatering recipes that I can’t wait to try.

jamie-prep

 

Jamie2-prep

Both Jamie and I can be found at the Fermentation Masterclass at Newlyn’s Cookery School, 28th June 2015, where Jamie will be serving lunch and sharing knowledge and recipes, click here for more details.

 

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Beetroot, Fennel and Mandarin Ferment
Author: Vanessa Woozley
Recipe type: Fermentation
Prep time:  10 mins
Total time:  10 mins
 
Ingredients
  • 2 large red beetroot
  • 2 heads of baby fennel or 1 large fennel
  • 2 mandarins
  • 1 tablespoon of Malden salt
Instructions
  1. Grate the beetroot
  2. Very thinly slice the fennel
  3. Squeeze the juice from 2 mandarins
  4. Add the vegetables to a kilner or mason jar
  5. Cover the beetroot in the salt and kneed to release the juices
  6. Mix with the juice and fennel and push down firmly into a kilner / mason jar
  7. Close lid and allow to ferment at room temperature for 2-3 days
  8. Transfer to the fridge and serve
3.2.2925

 

Filed Under: Probiotics, Recipes, Uncategorized

Fermented Ginger and Orange Carrots

May 6, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

ginger-orange-carrots

Fermented ginger carrots supply the perfect marriage between sweet, citrus carrots and tangy ginger, I love this combination and it’s perfect paired with a crisp salad on a summer day.

Really simple to make, the liquids release really easily from the carrots as they start to produce lactobacillus, the sour tasting lacto-fermented form of bacteria.  Fermented foods are full of probiotic goodness giving you abundant health but most of all it tastes really delicious and like sauerkraut is a really simple way to start.

If you don’t like ginger you can leave it out or interchange it with some garlic or a freshly grated apple.

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Fermented Ginger, Orange Carrots
Author: Vanessa Woozley
Recipe type: Fermented Ginger Carrots
Prep time:  15 mins
Total time:  15 mins
 
Ingredients
  • 1 large bag of carrots
  • 1 cm root of fresh ginger
  • Juice and zest of half an organge
  • 1 tablespoon of natural salt
  • Either 2 tablespoons of whey or an extra 1 tablespoon of salt
  • 1 litre mason jar
Instructions
  1. Grate the carrot using the large grate on your standard grater
  2. Peel the ginger to remove the outer skin and use the fine grater to grate the ginger finely
  3. Grate half an orange and squeeze the juice.
  4. Add the ingredients into a bowl and sprinkle with sea salt and / or you whey is using
  5. Kneed and squeeze the carrot and ginger in a bowl to release the natural juices from the vegetables
  6. Push the carrots and ginger into a mason jar and press down firmly
  7. Keep pushing until the juice rises above the carrots then close the lid and leave to ferment for 3 days
3.2.2925

 

Filed Under: Probiotics, Recipes, Uncategorized

Curry Kraut

May 6, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

currykraut

This week I have Michelle Knox guest posting one of her wonderful recipes.  Michelle can be found at Sprouts, Krauts and Spice and has a real passion for adding unusual spices to her fermentation recipes. These wonderful spices have some incredible health benefits, check out this article with scientific literature about the benefits of black seed also called Nigella Sativa.  I can’t wait to try this recipe and we certainly share a passion for sprouts that are so easy and nutritious to make.  Please read Michelle’s amazing healing journey below and be encouraged to give fermentation a try.

My name is Michelle Knox. After being sick and in pain for forty years, I finally discovered the link between good health and good Food!!! I was crippled with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Diverticulitis, Fibromyalgia, Hiatal Hernia, Migraines, Ankylosing Spondylitis and many other potentially serious diagnoses for decades… I was Eating what I believed to be the ‘Most nutritious diet” in the world… I was a Vegetarian/Vegan/Raw Vegan…. And I was getting steadily sicker and collecting yet more dread diseases!!! How could that even be???  I listened to my doctors for years telling me “If it hurts, rest it!!” And I obeyed.. Spending hours and days and years curled on the couch with heating pads that I would move from area to area in hopes of alleviating the pain…

And then… I got really tired of all that!!!  I discovered that eating The Most Nutritious Food that you can possibly find, will help you rid your body of the symptoms that plague you!!!  Eating foods that have No ingredient label, No spokesperson, No commercial, No pyramid scheme, and Nothing fake, can have a tremendous difference on how you feel!!!  Now in my fifties, I am in better health than I Ever have been, I ditched my prescriptions, started going to a fitness class, and I have entirely changed the way I eat, and how I feel about food!!

I’d like to take you all on a journey.. My journey… Discovering Fresh, Clean, Wholesome food and learning how to prepare it in such a delicious way that it’s really irresistible!! Discovering fermented foods and how they can work to heal your gut – and your whole body!! Discovering healing spices from around the world and learning how they can not only impact your health, but make your food seriously Wonderful!!!

Michelle Knox can be found at https://sproutskrautsandspice.wordpress.com/

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Curry Kraut
Author: Michelle Knox
Prep time:  15 mins
Total time:  15 mins
 
Ingredients
  • 2 heads of cabbage - chopped ( not too finely)
  • 2 T sea salt
  • 1 red onion - chopped
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 1 T hot curry powder
  • 1 T ground turmeric
  • 1 T nigella Sativa seeds
  • 1 T Ajwan seeds
  • 1 tsp Sumac
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1T chopped garlic
  • 2 T grated ginger
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
  1. Mix together and beat it up til the brine is about an inch deep on the bottom you your bowl.
  2. Press tightly into a ½ gallon mason jar.
  3. Weight down and close tightly.
  4. Put in a dark cupboard for a month without messing with it!!!
  5. I put a plastic bowl underneath the jar just in case
  6. Waiting a month is the hardest part!!!
3.2.2925

 

Filed Under: Probiotics, Recipes, Uncategorized

Vanessa Woozley

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