I’ve been fermenting foods for about a year and a half now. I love it! I love how simple and easy it is to do and the healthful benefits that come from fermentation. By mixing food with living, healthy bacteria and leaving it on the bench for a few days, your food can transform into a natural, healing gem, better than any pill you can buy from a pharmacy. Fermenting foods increases enzymes and the bioavailability of micro and macronutrients, while also making food more digestible. The live bacteria that grow during fermentation, also act as your own battalion of loyal soldiers that will line your gut with strong forces to fight off pathogens and other ‘bad’ bacteria. These live bacteria will help to heal your gut (if you eat processed foods, even ‘a little’, your gut is in need of repairing), keeping your digestive tract in good working order, and keeping you healthy. There are heaps of other positive health benefits that come from eating fermented foods. They will help to:

  • Increase the rate of metabolism
  • Detoxify chemicals
  • Promote cell growth, including that of the red blood cells that help prevent anemia
  • Enhance the immune and nervous system
  • Decrease sugar cravings (I like that one! And I can say from experience that eating more fermented foods actually helps get over sugar cravings)

Since fermenting foods, I’ve kind of been sticking to the usual things, like making my own yogurt, sauerkraut, water kefir and soaking and sprouting quinoa and oat groats. Not really all that adventurous. But then I was recently given Deidre Rawlings book “Fermented Foods for Health” and my eyes opened to all the things you can ferment – literally any wholefood can be nutritionally improved through fermentation!

Last week I tried one of the recipes – “Apple, Ginger and Mint Chutney with a Kick” – and it turned out a treat! I’ve been using it in stir-frys, on fish and pork, and even blobbing a little in my salads. Soooo good and full of flavour. Even Chris liked it, and he’s usually a little standoffish with my ‘hippy’ foods, lol. We have three apple trees out the back which have literally been dropping apples, as well as lots of mint in the garden, so I wanted to make the most of my home-grown, spray-free produce.

 

Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try it:

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INGREDIENTS

  • 4-6 ripe apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
  • 1 inch (2.5cm) long piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1 cup fresh mint leaves, finely minced
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp whey

METHOD

  1. Place the apples, ginger, mint and chilli peppers in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth (I used the thermomix at Speed 8 for 5-10 seconds).
  2. Stir in ¼ cup whey.
  3. Spoon the chutney mixture into a wide-mouth fermentation jar (I just used a clean recycled glass jar) in batches and mash with a wooden spoon until the apples release their juice. Continue spooning the chutney into the jar, mashing it with a spoon, until all the mixture in the jar and the liquid covers the apple solids.
  4. Spoon the remaining 2 tbsp whey over chutney. Be sure the level of the liquid stays 1 inch below the jar rim to allow for expansion. (Note: I had trouble getting enough apple juice to cover the mixture, so I used more than 2 tbsp to ensure the mixture was adequately covered with liquid).
  5. Cover the jar loosely with a towel to keep out any fruit flies.
  6. Allow the chutney to ferment in a dark spot at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
  7. Screw a lid on tightly and refrigerate. This should keep for several weeks.

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Hope you enjoy this recipe! Making chutney (as well as relish, jam and other condiments) through fermentation is a much better way than adding lots of sugar to the produce and boiling it over the stove, which will essentially kill a lot of the enzymes and vitamins and minerals in fresh produce.

If you have any fermented food recipes that you adore, feel free to share 🙂

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