One of the best, and oldest, ways to liven up a dish or a meal is by adding a side-dish or table seasoning made with fermented food. Why fermented food? The benefits outlined by Dr. David Williams are encouraging validations for going on the fermented route: Traditional fermented foods assist in managing the balance of stomach acid production; act as digestive aids that help the body produce acetylcholine - providing benefits to diabetics; assist in inhibiting the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the body.
Some of the best fermented food choices have been compiled at Paste:
Fermented Honey Garlic
This is simply putting peeled fresh garlic into a bottle of raw honey and storing for fermentation for about a month. Both ingredients would have turned darker within this period. Besides being a digestive aid, fermented honey garlic is also a good remedy for sore throat.
Pickled Onions
Two types of pickled onions exist. One is onion preserved in vinegar and sugar. The other, which has probiotic benefits, is made by storing peeled and sliced onions in water and salt.
Home-made Hot Sauce
Lacto-fermenting does not only enhance or maintain enzyme and vitamin levels, but also enhances the innate flavour of the fermented fruit or vegetable such as chilli peppers, which make for hot sauce potency that surpasses the commercial variety.
Vinegar from Fruit Leftovers
With food wastage in America coming to an annual total of $165 billion worth of food, creating vinegar out of fruit leavings is a good way to stem such waste. Fruit peels or overripe fruits when stored into a jar with water and sugar will produce fruit vinegar.
Sauerkraut
It looks and smells daunting but this traditional dish is among the most gut-friendly probiotic sources around.
Ketchup
This all-time favourite table sauce does not only come in bottle form. Home-made ketchup can also be made by creating a paste out of fresh tomatoes.
