The Way to Better Mental Health May Go Through Your Stomach
https://bcmp.hms.harvard.edu/news/getting-how-gut-bacterias-connection-depression
https://magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2021/gut-microbiome-and-brain
The Way to Better Mental Health May Go Through Your Stomach
https://bcmp.hms.harvard.edu/news/getting-how-gut-bacterias-connection-depression
https://magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2021/gut-microbiome-and-brain
Two years ago I started fermenting vegetables from my garden and eating them several times a week. The difference has been striking.
In what sense has the difference been striking?
And how do you safely ferment vegetables?
And fermenting is the safest preserving method I know! Clean jar, water+salt (look up how much), you’re good.
As for the difference it made… Hard to explain. I feel fuller after eating fermented veggies instead of raw or cooked. More energetic.
When I don’t for a while (vacation…), my poop is less regular and more crappy-looking. I never feel like I’ve pooped it all.
As for fermented drinks (home-made kombucha), they hit the spot the way soda or store-bought drinks never do.
I’d say there’s the same difference between a regular diet and a fermentation-heavy diet than between a Happy Meal and a hamburger from a nice restaurant. At least for me.
Of course, it might all be in my head just because I enjoy the process and the taste so much, and because all those jars of goodness add so much depth to any meal I cook. But hey.
There are known food safety principles in fermentation, and it’s not an “anything goes” kind of practice.
It’s not just about the cleanliness of the jar, especially when you’re putting in vegetables that will carry their own microbes and spores on their surface or in the accompanying soil/dirt.
Most lacto fermented pickle recipes will follow guidelines for keeping things safe and for keeping things tasty (some bad ferments aren’t actually dangerous but just don’t taste as good), and there are a lot of helpful guidelines out there that depend a bit on the vegetable itself (which might have different water content, pH, commonly associated microbes or pathogens).
You don’t need to be able to submit a certified HACCP plan for your process, but for anyone who isn’t already familiar with the risks and best practices should stick with established recipes from reputable sources.
Some people talk about botulism risk, but the reality is that almost no botulism cases come from home pickling, and very few come from home canning. C. botulinum cells and spores don’t like acid and don’t like salt, so most pickling recipes will easily prevent that problem in almost any home environment.
All that is to say: it’s not exactly a high risk activity, but stick with established recipes from reputable sources unless and until you know what you’re doing with pathogenic risks.
Submerge them in brine for a few weeks. This creates an environment favouring lactic acid bacteria which will create pickling acid from the veggies that prevents mould.
You need to keep them submerged which you can do by putting a freezer bag full of brine on top.
It’ll release CO2 so if you don’t have airlocks you’ll need to seal the jars only loosely or burb them occasionally.
Couldn’t we just as easily say that you have to fart them occasionally
Wow, fantastic explanation and instructions, thanks!
Don’t know about the “striking” part, but fermentation of veg has been done safely for a long time.
Think Kimchi, pickles, Sauerkraut or even things like soy sauce or chocolate. All fermented or have fermentation in the process. I had some fermented pickles this summer from a “picklefest”. They were awesome.
There are plenty of online sources, you’d need to look up what you want to try to make and follow the instructions.
Thank you! Very enlightening.