Fermented foods are a trend now! The good bacteria may boost immunity, improve digestion, and even help reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. Here are 6 fermented foods you can easily make at home.
1. Kefir
If you like yogurt but have never tried kefir you’re missing out. It’s creamy and tangy and good for you, and contrary to popular belief it’s very easy to make. All you need is some kefir grains and some milk. From there you just put the granules into a cup of milk, cover, and leave at room temperature for about 24 hours. Strain afterwards, and you can reuse the kefir grains.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup milk, preferably whole fat
- 1 teaspoon active kefir grains
2. Kimchi
Kimchi is delicious and amazing for your gut, but lots of people think it’s very difficult to make, so they only have it when they go to Asian restaurants. Well here’s how you can make it at home. All you need to do it cut the cabbage, salt it generously and massage it so that the cabbage goes soft, leave for a couple of hours. Then make the spice paste, cut up the rest of the veggies. Rinse the cabbage thoroughly and drain it, mix in with veggies and spice paste, pack into a mason jar and leave in the fridge for about 5 days. Your kimchi should be done by the end of the week.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium head napa cabbage
- 1/4 cup sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon grated garlic (5 to 6 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce or salted shrimp paste, or 3 tablespoons water
- 1 to 5 tablespoons Korean red pepper flakes
- 8 ounces Korean radish or daikon radish, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 4 medium scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3. Kombucha
Kombucha isn’t just a trendy hipster drink that tastes good, it’s also a great fermented drink that will satisfy your thirst on a hot day and provide 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 (leftover kombucha). And of course, just brew some sugary tea. You just have to combine and leave it for a couple of days. It’s that easy.
Ingredients:
- 3 1/2 quarts water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 8 bags of tea (black or green is up to you)
- 2 cups starter tea from the last batch of kombucha or store-bought kombucha
- 1 scoby per fermentation jar
4. Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is ridiculously easy to make. All you really need to do is cut up some cabbage, salt it and massage the salt in, then weigh it down and let it ferment from 3 to 10 days. The cabbage will release liquid when salted and it will ferment in it on its own.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium head green cabbage
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
5. Fermented Carrots
These fermented carrots are absolutely delicious. And very easy to make. Just combine salt with water until it dissolves completely to make a brine. It’s best 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 brine until only about an inch is left, cover with cheesecloth and leave in a warm room for about a week. Make sure to remove any white mould that forms at the top, it’s part of the process, but you should check on it daily and get it out. After a week it’s done and ready to be consumed.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 1 tablespoon peeled and thinly sliced galangal or fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon grated lime zest
- 2 teaspoons pickling salt
6. Sparkling Cider
You’ll be surprised how you can turn apple juice into sparkling cider within 24 hours. Warm up the apple juice slightly, it should be room temperature, not cold. Then dissolve the yeast in about ½ cup of apple 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 place for 24 hours. Voila – you’ve got sparkling cider.
Ingredients: