Throughout history, people have been consuming fermented foods. It probably started out as a way to preserve the bounty of the harvest for leaner times, but somewhere along the line people began to realize how beneficial these foods were for their health. Research has shown that eating fermented foods aids in digestion, supports immune function, and increases overall health by adding B vitamins and anti-inflammatory Omega -3 fatty acids. Fermented foods introduce some serious probiotics to the gut, the benefits of which can be protection from colon cancer, reduction of lacto intolerance, the promotion of anti-cancer and anti-tumor activity in the body, and they can alleviate many common digestion disorders. And that's just the short list! You can also ferment foods with whey, which is known as Lacto-Fermentation. To quote Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions;
“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. Their main by-product, lactic acid, not only keeps vegetables and fruits in a state of perfect preservation but also promotes the growth of healthy flora throughout the intestine.”
The more that I have learned about fermentation, and lacto-fermentation over the past year, the more that I am convinced that fermented foods are sorely lacking in our diet. So I have set out to change that, even if its taken me a while to get around to it!
I have been brewing Kombucha at home since early summer, and I am working on a post to show that process. I made my first foray into lacto-fermentation this last weekend by making a ketchup recipe that I found online.
Reading through the list of supplies I would need, I was temporarily stumped when I read whey as one of the ingredients i would need. I know that whey is the by product of cheese making, but I haven't quite tackled that yet! Luckily, I remembered reading something about a way to procure whey without cheese making, and a quick Internet search verified that I could use plain store bought yogurt and accomplish the same thing. I bought a container of Nancy's plain organic whole milk yogurt, because it contains live cultures and those where what I needed to do the work of fermenting my ketchup. I lined a strainer with a couple layers of cheesecloth and set it on top of a stainless steel bowl to catch the dripping whey. I dumped the yogurt in, and let it sit on the counter at room temperature for about 12 hours:
When it was done, I had about two cups of whey in the bottom of my bowl!
Once I had that, I was ready to get started mixing the rest of the ingredients together:
I used the following proportions (original recipe can be found HERE):
I ended up with about 2 cups worth of ketchup:
I let it sit, covered, on the counter for 48 hours, giving the fermentation time to take place before moving it to the fridge. A quick taste (and smell!) confirmed that this is definitely not Heinz ketchup, neither in taste nor consistency. This ketchup is very....zippy. We made lamb burgers for dinner and I loaded my bun up with our new homemade ketchup. The flavor worked really well with the lamb, and I was starting to get all excited about my new condiment. A few days later though, we made homemade fries and when I brought out the lacto-fermented ketchup for dipping it was not well received. There were actually a bunch of yucks, and no thank you's at the table, even from me. I cant pinpoint the problem, but we have it narrowed down to either the taste of vinegar or one of the spices. It just really doesn't taste like ketchup, and truthfully isn't all that good on its own. I am disappointed, but may try to tinker with the proportions in the recipe.
However, I am not giving up on this! I am looking forward to continuing to experiment with fermenting foods...I have a homemade jar of Kimchi that I got from a friend sitting in the fridge, and I am excited to try it (I am working up my nerve, because I don't like spicy foods at all). After that, who knows? You can lacto-ferment just about anything, and on my list to try are; salsa, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, sauerkraut, chutney, relish...the ideas are endless and I know somewhere down the road of fermentation, I will find something delicious that we all love to eat and then we shall reap the benefits!
“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. Their main by-product, lactic acid, not only keeps vegetables and fruits in a state of perfect preservation but also promotes the growth of healthy flora throughout the intestine.”
The more that I have learned about fermentation, and lacto-fermentation over the past year, the more that I am convinced that fermented foods are sorely lacking in our diet. So I have set out to change that, even if its taken me a while to get around to it!
I have been brewing Kombucha at home since early summer, and I am working on a post to show that process. I made my first foray into lacto-fermentation this last weekend by making a ketchup recipe that I found online.
Reading through the list of supplies I would need, I was temporarily stumped when I read whey as one of the ingredients i would need. I know that whey is the by product of cheese making, but I haven't quite tackled that yet! Luckily, I remembered reading something about a way to procure whey without cheese making, and a quick Internet search verified that I could use plain store bought yogurt and accomplish the same thing. I bought a container of Nancy's plain organic whole milk yogurt, because it contains live cultures and those where what I needed to do the work of fermenting my ketchup. I lined a strainer with a couple layers of cheesecloth and set it on top of a stainless steel bowl to catch the dripping whey. I dumped the yogurt in, and let it sit on the counter at room temperature for about 12 hours:
When it was done, I had about two cups of whey in the bottom of my bowl!
Once I had that, I was ready to get started mixing the rest of the ingredients together:
I used the following proportions (original recipe can be found HERE):
- 12 ounces organic tomato paste (no salt added)
- 1/4 + 1/8 cup water
- 1/8 cup whey (or water)
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder (could probably use a prepared dijon mustard if you don’t have powder)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used larger grained salt.)
- 1/4-1/3 cup maple syrup or honey (You could even add a bit of molasses.)
I ended up with about 2 cups worth of ketchup:
I let it sit, covered, on the counter for 48 hours, giving the fermentation time to take place before moving it to the fridge. A quick taste (and smell!) confirmed that this is definitely not Heinz ketchup, neither in taste nor consistency. This ketchup is very....zippy. We made lamb burgers for dinner and I loaded my bun up with our new homemade ketchup. The flavor worked really well with the lamb, and I was starting to get all excited about my new condiment. A few days later though, we made homemade fries and when I brought out the lacto-fermented ketchup for dipping it was not well received. There were actually a bunch of yucks, and no thank you's at the table, even from me. I cant pinpoint the problem, but we have it narrowed down to either the taste of vinegar or one of the spices. It just really doesn't taste like ketchup, and truthfully isn't all that good on its own. I am disappointed, but may try to tinker with the proportions in the recipe.
However, I am not giving up on this! I am looking forward to continuing to experiment with fermenting foods...I have a homemade jar of Kimchi that I got from a friend sitting in the fridge, and I am excited to try it (I am working up my nerve, because I don't like spicy foods at all). After that, who knows? You can lacto-ferment just about anything, and on my list to try are; salsa, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, sauerkraut, chutney, relish...the ideas are endless and I know somewhere down the road of fermentation, I will find something delicious that we all love to eat and then we shall reap the benefits!