Our gut has been dubbed our second brain…ever heard the phrase “trust your gut feeling”? And fermented foods are your gut’s best friend. Here’s a pretty basic and simple guide to fermenting your own veggies easily with tools you already have. There are, of course, more sophisticated ways to ferment, but that’s for another time.

Reasons to Eat Fermented Foods

• They restore good bacteria in your gut
• Improve digestion
• They help you to absorb nutrients from your food
• They’re rich in enzymes
• They increase the vitamin content you can absorb
• They can improve anxiety and depression. (95% of serotonin is produced in the gut)
• It’s easy and inexpensive to do
• They taste delicious and make the perfect addition to a tossed salad, as a side dish, or to compliment a mezze platter

Basic Rules for Fermentation

-Always use filtered water
-Use organic vegetables when possible. If they’re not organic, wash them in a 1:2 vinegar water wash.
-you can use any vegetables that you like, although that I find that crunchier veg work better (texture-wise) but don’t let that limit you!
-Make sure you have a sealed top, whichever vessel you’re using

Some good types to try:

– Carrots & Ginger (5:1 ratio)
-Red Beet & Red Cabbage
-Cucumber & Kohlrabi
-Cabbage and Garlic (5:1 ratio)
Extras to season: garlic salt, cayenne, chili flakes, tumeric, fresh black pepper, dill, basil, etc.

Precautions

The amount of veg you need will be determined by the size of the container you decide to use. Before you go grab your veggies from the local market, eyeball the size of the container and make a generous guess about how many veg you’ll need to pack it to the top. If you make something that you don’t like, keep experimenting. If you’re going off the beaten track with your concoction, perhaps choose a smaller size container so that not a lot goes to waste. You can play around with the time of the length of the fermentation as well. Now, let’s get to the method!

Method:

1.  Decide which veg you’d like to use and finely grate or slice that. Put aside two or three larger slices of the veg, if it’s cabbage, two or three leaves. Put it into a big glass bowl and cover it with salted filtered water (approx. one tablespoon of salt or less). Massage through the mixture and then let soak for 10 min.
2. Strain and add in whichever other spices you’d like to add (e.g. garlic, chili, fresh pepper). Mix again.
3.  Pack super tightly into a glass jar, and even when you think you’re done, keep packing it down in. This is the most important step, in order to make sure you get rid of all air pockets.
4.  Next make sure the mixture reaches the top and then cover with the larger slices of veg that you saved from earlier.
5.  Now wait 3-5 or 7 days depending on how sour you want it. Put in the fridge before trying, so that it tastes nice and fresh.

Have you ever tried fermenting your own veg? How did it go? Let me know in the comments below!