Fermenting isn't just for dairy: Curtido, or Latin "sauerkraut"

As I mentioned in my kefir post, once you start fermenting dairy, you've entered into whole other world of local-hippie-whole food.  Fermenting a few veggies to create the Latin relish curtido was the next logical step.  From what I can tell, the recipe I used most closely resembles the Salvadoran version of this common condiment.  I adapted the recipe from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.  Who would have thought fermenting your own veggies would be so easy?  Again, as far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out on whether probiotics are a panacea or not, but at least they taste darn good.

Salvadoran Curtido (a la Nourishing Traditions)


1.  Shred 1/2 to 3/4 of a full green cabbage, grate about 1 cup's worth of carrots, and finely slice half of a large red onion from pole to pole.  Combine in a large bowl.

2.  To the bowl of veggies, combine a tbsp of kosher salt, a 1-2 tsp of dried oregano, and a big pinch of crushed red pepper.  Add 4 tbsp of whey (I strained out some from an over-fermented batch of kefir).

3.  Do some light stretching, then smash all the veggies to extract their water.  It should take about 10 minutes worth of smashing.  You could use a meat tenderizer, or do like I did, and grind them with a pint glass.  I believe Alton Brown would call that a multi-tasker.

After ten minutes, and switching arms a few times, it should looks like this:

4.  Transfer the veggies and liquid into a very clean quart-size jar with a lid.  Pack down the veggies so that they are completely submerged by the fermenting liquid.  This is important, because from what I've read, failure to do this may lead to spoilage (growth of the bad rather than the good bugs).  Make sure that there is at least an inch from the top of the jar to prevent explosions.  Cover and leave at room temperature for 72 hours, then transfer to the fridge.  The curtido will improve with time in the fridge.  I finished mine within two weeks, and it was great until the end.  Not sure how much longer it would last.

I let mine ferment with its friends...

When it's finished, it will look something like this:

Tangy, flavorful, and spicy.  A bit too strong on it's own, but it is incredible with the richness of meat.  Especially with my almost-daily burger:

Unintentional paleo...

Here's to good bacteria, in milk and in veggies.

How I make Kefir

You didn't think that I would write an entire post on kefir without sharing how I make it, did you?  From what I've been able to find, the fundamentals of making kefir are universal, but everyone has their own take on the proportions, time, and processing.  Here's how I've been doing it.

1.  Remember, this is a continual process from the previous batch of kefir.  After straining the kefir, I set the grains aside and thoroughly wash the glass jar I used for fermentation.  I use about two tablespoons of kefir grains for every 12-14 ounces of milk, which is more concentrated than typically called for.

I don't wash the grains, but some people do.  Over several batches, the grains will accumulate a polysaccharide gel known as kefiran, and many writers purport that this enhances the kefir making process - I'll talk about this in a later post.  

Kefir grains

2.  Place the kefir grains into a large jar and add 12 ounces of whole fat milk.  I add a couple tablespoons of cream for good measure.  I use this as an afternoon snack, so it needs plenty of calories to hold me over.

I do my best to buy organic milk, especially if I am more confident that the cows are mostly grass-fed.  Remember, organic cows can still be on a feedlot.  I try my best to use the pasture-based animal products since it's better for the cows and doesn't perpetuate the over-use of antibiotics in cattle feed.  And grass-fed organic cow's milk is probably somewhat more nutritious than conventional grain fed cow's milk.  After all, cows evolved eating grass and not corn.  However, the major problem with organic milk is that it is usually ultra pasteurized (UHT) rather than conventionally pasteurized.  Thus, it tends to have a cooked taste.  I was pleased to find conventionally pasteurized organic milk at Sprout's.  This particular dairy does not have to rely on excessive pasteurization to prevent early spoilage because it is local and travels a shorter distance.   

Bath-time for the grains

Organic and pasteurized, not UHT.

3.  Allow the mixture to ferment for roughly twenty-four hours at room temperature.  Cover with a towel.  Keep in mind that the ambient temperature will change the rate of fermentation.  Hotter days/nights will speed up the process.

Kefir-ing.

4.  The kefir is ready when it has small pockets of clear-yellow whey and small bubbles.  It smells of yogurt (due to the lactic acid producing bacteria) with a hint of sourdough bread (due to the yeast).  Pour the mixture through a strainer and bump the shaker with your hand until you are left with kefiran-covered kefir grains.

Notice the small bubbles at the surface.

Strain into a large-ish bowl to prevent a mess.

5.  Pour the kefir into a jar and let it chill in the refrigerator.  It will continue to ferment in the refrigerator because of the residual microorganisms, but it will be much slower at this lower temperature.  I like to drink it straight, especially with a touch of sweetener.  But there are many other things you can do with it...

Kefir goodness

Introducing Kefir

Kefir

After coming across various blog posts on fermented dairy (yogurt, kefir, cultured butter), I was intrigued.  I placed an order for kefir grains from The KefirLady and started a batch as soon as they arrived in the mail.  Once you start fermenting your own dairy, you've crossed into a another world of hippie-locavore-homecooking that you cannot return from.

Kefir is simply fermented milk.  Its origins have been traced to Caucasus, where the Muslim population regarded kefir as a gift from Allah.  The fermentation is achieved by inoculating a container of milk with a combination of bacteria and yeast, collectively known as kefir grains. The grains metabolize the nutrients in the milk - the lactose and some fatty acids - and in-turn produce carbon dioxide, lactic acid, and small amounts of a host of other compounds, including ethanol.  These benign microorganisms out-compete and actually fend-off pathogenic bacteria, thus preserving the milk without refrigeration.  Kefir is unique because it contains both bacteria and yeast, unlike yogurt which only contains bacteria, and because the grains are re-used again and again with each new batch.  Similar to other fermented foods, kefir is considered a probiotic.

Kefir grains

A probiotic is defined as "microbial cell preparations or components of microbial cells that have a beneficial effect on the health and well being of the host."  Many of the purported health benefits of fermented products are commonly attributed to improved gut health and modulation of the immune system (via the gut), although some have investigated possible anti-cancer properties. While everyone is familiar with probiotics because of the yogurt craze, the idea that fermented foods are healthful is not new.  As implied above, the people of Caucasus had much appreciation for kefir.  But despite the precedence, we cannot yet call probiotic foods a panacea. 

The Cochrane Collaboration has found no benefit in probiotics for inducing remission or maintaining remission in Crohn's disease, which perhaps argues against how strongly probiotics can modulate the immune response.  In regard to general gut health, Cochrane did find limited evidence for reduced c. dificile re-infection and minor improvements in childhood diarrhea.  These trials commonly used isolated  probiotics, so perhaps whole food probiotics are more beneficial.

There is some evidence that yogurt and the lactobacillus bacteria it contains can improve gut health in humans.  However, the most compelling evidence seems to be in regard to relieving constipation, particularly in children and women.  From what I can gather, lactobacillus containing yogurt does appear to relieve constipation, although not necessarily with the consistency asserted by advertisments.  To be sure, my cursory review of the literature does not warrant a definitive assessment for or against the benefits of probiotic foods, but I think there are a few things to keep in mind.  

The whole area of probiotic research suffers from inconsistant trial design, inconsistent use of bacteria and probiotic sources, and trouble defining exactly what "gut health" is.  The role of gut bacteria and health is compelling, but our understanding is still in its infancy.  We know that illness is associated with different gut microflora, such that obese children and those with Crohn's disease have different gut microflora composition than normal controls.  And as I learned from this past weekend's American Diabetes Association conference, these microflora are partially malleable e.g bariatric surgery changes the prevalance of different bacteria within the same individual.  However, we still do not understand what these associations and changes mean.  And while this research will likely provide improved treatment for gut disorders and diseases, we are still unsure how readily one food (kefir, yogurt, fermented vegetables) will change our gut bacteria and subsequently our health.  But I still think trying kefir is worthwhile.

From my experience, and I know that I am not alone, conventional medicine does a poor job with general gut health.  Conventional medicine clearly has a grasp on serious digestive diseases such as colon cancer, but more nuanced problems, such as food intolerances or sensitivities, usually evoke eye-rolling or a psycho-somatic diagnosis.  The diagnosis-by-exclusion Irritable Bowel Syndrome is likely a symptom of this general ignorance.  Although to be fair, I am not convinced that alternative medicine understands gut health as much as it purports to.  So given that fermented foods are both traditional and whole foods (avoid sugar containing yogurts!), and given their potential benefit, I think they are absolutely worth trying.  And because I make the kefir myself, I know that it has the probiotics that it is supposed to.  And if it is nothing but nutritional mysticism, at least it is low carb mysticism (the bacteria eat the milk sugar so that I don't have to).  And hey, instead of a cat to keep me company, now I have kefir grains to come home to.