With bountiful harvests showering us with nourishing foods, this time of year can inspire even the most novice food enthusiast.
If you are like me, you watched your mother pack pickling cukes into canning jars, drowning them in a vinegar and spice concoction and then processing them in a large canning pot. While this process produced edible pickles, a notch up from the ones found on the supermarket shelves, they were unfortunately devout of beneficial nutrients and enzymes.
However, just a couple of generations ago, our relatives did not have the luxury of freezers or high heat, canning machines to preserve food. Instead, an ancient method called lacto-fermentation was used to preserve food. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria. These methods have been used all over the world for ages to preserve a wide range of nourishing foods.
To make pickled vegetables is easy and requires little ingredients. 1. Vegetables 2. Water 3. Sea Salt 4. Spices According to Sally Fallon of the Weston A. Price Foundation (author of Nourishing Traditions), "Salt inhibits putrefying bacteria for several days until enough lactic acid is produced to preserve the vegetables for many months. The amount of salt can be reduced or even eliminated if whey (the watery stuff on the top of yogurt is an example of whey) is added to the pickling solution. Rich in lactic acid and lactic-acid-producing bacteria, whey acts as an inoculant, reducing the time needed for sufficient lactic acid to be produced to ensure preservation. Use of whey will result in consistently successful pickling; it is essential for pickling fruits. During the first few days of fermentation, the vegetables are kept at room temperature; afterwards, they must be placed in a cool, dark place for long-term preservation."
There has been a lot of recent attention and information surfacing as to the benefits, the methods, and the history of lacto-fermentation. Sally Fallon further explains that, "lacto-fermentation has numerous advantages beyond those of simple preservation. The proliferation of lactobacilli in fermented vegetables enhances their digestibility and increases vitamin levels. These beneficial organisms produce numerous helpful enzymes as well as antibiotic and anticarcinogenic substances." Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fermentation,notes that, "Hundreds of medical and scientific studies confirm what folklore has always known: Fermented foods help people stay healthy."
Until fairly recently, the only option for fermenting pickles was to submerse the pickles under the line of water in a crock or jar. This was done in order to create an anaerobic (oxygen free) environment to further inhibit "bad" bacteria growth. Occasionally the crock would need to be checked to skim off any benign growth on the surface. Eventually, you would have nicely pickles veggies, packed with beneficial enzymes and nutrients.
We now have the ability to create an anaerobic environment easily with a handy little tool called an airlock. This removes the responsibility of having to 'baby-sit' or check on your fermenting jars on a daily basis and negates any need for skimming. There are a few companies who have created a optimal combination of a glass pickling jar with an airlock. (*see link below) The lids on these traditional canning jars are removable and interchangeable so when it comes time to transfer your pickles to the fridge, you can place a standard lid on top.
If you are like me, you watched your mother pack pickling cukes into canning jars, drowning them in a vinegar and spice concoction and then processing them in a large canning pot. While this process produced edible pickles, a notch up from the ones found on the supermarket shelves, they were unfortunately devout of beneficial nutrients and enzymes.
However, just a couple of generations ago, our relatives did not have the luxury of freezers or high heat, canning machines to preserve food. Instead, an ancient method called lacto-fermentation was used to preserve food. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria. These methods have been used all over the world for ages to preserve a wide range of nourishing foods.
To make pickled vegetables is easy and requires little ingredients. 1. Vegetables 2. Water 3. Sea Salt 4. Spices According to Sally Fallon of the Weston A. Price Foundation (author of Nourishing Traditions), "Salt inhibits putrefying bacteria for several days until enough lactic acid is produced to preserve the vegetables for many months. The amount of salt can be reduced or even eliminated if whey (the watery stuff on the top of yogurt is an example of whey) is added to the pickling solution. Rich in lactic acid and lactic-acid-producing bacteria, whey acts as an inoculant, reducing the time needed for sufficient lactic acid to be produced to ensure preservation. Use of whey will result in consistently successful pickling; it is essential for pickling fruits. During the first few days of fermentation, the vegetables are kept at room temperature; afterwards, they must be placed in a cool, dark place for long-term preservation."
There has been a lot of recent attention and information surfacing as to the benefits, the methods, and the history of lacto-fermentation. Sally Fallon further explains that, "lacto-fermentation has numerous advantages beyond those of simple preservation. The proliferation of lactobacilli in fermented vegetables enhances their digestibility and increases vitamin levels. These beneficial organisms produce numerous helpful enzymes as well as antibiotic and anticarcinogenic substances." Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fermentation,notes that, "Hundreds of medical and scientific studies confirm what folklore has always known: Fermented foods help people stay healthy."
Until fairly recently, the only option for fermenting pickles was to submerse the pickles under the line of water in a crock or jar. This was done in order to create an anaerobic (oxygen free) environment to further inhibit "bad" bacteria growth. Occasionally the crock would need to be checked to skim off any benign growth on the surface. Eventually, you would have nicely pickles veggies, packed with beneficial enzymes and nutrients.
We now have the ability to create an anaerobic environment easily with a handy little tool called an airlock. This removes the responsibility of having to 'baby-sit' or check on your fermenting jars on a daily basis and negates any need for skimming. There are a few companies who have created a optimal combination of a glass pickling jar with an airlock. (*see link below) The lids on these traditional canning jars are removable and interchangeable so when it comes time to transfer your pickles to the fridge, you can place a standard lid on top.