HEALTH Fermented foods on the rise

Fermented foods on the rise


Growing
Hans Wieland

I am just back from the LitFest 2015 at Ballymaloe House and my head is still spinning and even fermenting with all the ideas and new trends in cooking and food production. I have never seen so many fermented foods under one roof in The Big Shed over the course of the weekend.
There were the more traditional fermented foods like coffee, salami and cheese and sourdough breads, but the most exciting thing was to see kombucha on the tap by a very funky young company ‘My Goodness’. I heard star chef Kevin Thornton and new star JP McMahon talk about fermented foods on the menu, attended a cooking demonstration on fermenting vegetables and was invited to present (with co-fermentista Gaby) probiotic drinks and cocktails means. We will hear even more in the future about the benefits and the taste of fermentation through lactic acid bacteria and scobys, so let me introduce you to the magic world of the lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillales), the essential ‘good life bacteria’.

Sourdough, Sauerkraut and sour milk
Baking sourdough bread, making Sauerkraut and fermenting milk to all sorts of cheeses has become an intrinsic part of the Wieland family in producing some of our own food. The use of the lactic acid bacteria has become part of our daily lives from the day we arrived in Rosslare 25 years ago.
One of the most fantastic things to know about the lactic acid bacteria is that they work entirely on their own, which was pretty important for us, because we had no electricity for over a year and best of all some of them are free. Born of both necessity and practicality, lactic acid fermentation proved to be not only an efficient method of preserving food for our ancestors, but also a critical one, because fermented food like sauerkraut, cheese, wine, kvass, soured grain porridge and breads often sustained tribes and villages during harsh winters when fresh food simply wasn’t available, let alone plentiful.
Lactic acid bacteria help us to preserve flour, ideally freshly hand milled, in the form of bread, shredded cabbage in the form of sauerkraut and fresh milk in the form of quark, cheese or yoghurt.

How does lactic Acid bacteria work?
Lactic acid bacteria is used in preserving and producing food for several reasons. They feast on sugars (lactose, fructose) and their growth lowers both the carbohydrate content of the foods that they ferment, and the pH due to lactic acid production. It is this acidification process which is one of the most desirable side-effects of their growth. The pH may drop to as low as 4.0, low enough to inhibit the growth of most other microorganisms including the most common human pathogens, thus allowing these foods prolonged shelf life. The acidity also changes the texture of the foods due to precipitation of some proteins, and the biochemical conversions involved in growth enhance the flavour.
Lactic acid fermentation is used in many areas of the world to produce foods that cannot be produced through other methods, eg, cheeses and yoghurt.

Health benefits
Fermented food has many health benefits. The fermentation process can transform the flavor of food from the plain and mundane to a mouth-watering sourness enriched by colonies of beneficial bacteria and enhanced micronutrients. While fermented food like yogurt, sauerkraut and kefir are well-known, virtually every food with a sugar content can benefit from lactic fermentation. My grandmother used to pickle not only cabbage but beetroot, cauliflower and carrots.
In many societies, including our own where yogurt has been heralded as a health food since the 19th century, fermented food has gained a reputation for its beneficial effects on immunity, intestinal health and general well-being. Vegetables, fruits, legumes and grains subjected to lactic acid fermentation often see an increase in the activity of vitamin C and vitamin A and particularly lysine with its antiviral effects increases.
Take advantage of all the health benefits that lactic acid fermentation offers and incorporate fermented food into your diet.

Hans Wieland is training manager at The Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim, which offers courses, training and information on organic growing and cooking, and runs an Eco Shop and an online gardening store. For more information, visit www.theorganiccentre.ie.
Gardening questions or comments? Contact Hans at living@mayonews.ie.