Fermented Foods and Probiotics
Probiotics, cultured foods, and prebiotics
Fermented foods are one of the best ways to get as much nutrients as possible from the food. The fermented foods are also a great source of probiotics. There are many health benefits to enrich your nutrition with fermented foods, and they are delicious as well. The only disadvantage is that there are not too many products on the market, and since these are perishable products, with a short shelf life, you have to buy them locally.
There aren’t many places where you can buy lacto-fermented pickles, and buying them on Internet is not an option. However, you can make your own lacto-fermented pickles, either using a bacterial starter, or just using a brine, and let the wild bacteria do the job. If you add the proper ingredients, (salt and some prebiotic foods), lactobacilli will always thrive in a salty environment, while bad bacteria will not survive it.
This collection of articles will introduce you in the wonderful world of fermented foods, providing you with information on fermentation methods, tips and tricks, recipes, and health benefits of fermented foods.
Making probiotic milk at home is very easy if you can get the proper milk. The proper milk is the one that can actually nourish bacteria, so a culture can properly develop. This can be raw milk, or pasteurized milk, but not the ultra pasteurized one, or the UHT. In other words, any milk that … Read more
Difference Between Prebiotics and Probiotics Probiotics are microorganisms in a symbiotic relationship with humans, and prebiotics are the food for the microorganisms. In order to benefit from probiotics, (the good microbacterial flora), we need to nourish them, to allow the proper growth of their colony; without the proper food the micro flora would just starve … Read more
Borș is a sour fermented juice obtained by fermenting wheat bran. Borș is traditionally used by Romanians to prepare their sour soups, (named either ciorbă, or less frequent borș), or they just drink it plain. Borș is pronounced “borsh“, and it might derive from the Ukrainian борщ, (borscht), although the fermented juice recipe is traditionally prepared in Romania … Read more
The Benefits of Unpasteurized Fermented Foods There are many health benefits from eating fermented foods, and historically, fermented foods have been known since the antiquity. There is a lot of scientific evidence that eating fermented foods benefits our health on a long and short term. There is almost no restriction to the age that fermented foods … Read more
Yogurt Might Not Be the Best Fermented Milk Drink Kefir is a fermented milk drink, similar to yogurt, with a milder taste and a different probiotic composition. Kefir is gaining popularity more and more, because of its specific taste that appeals to many people, and because of its increased health benefits. Yogurt on the other … Read more
Candida overgrowth can be cured with probiotics at home. Probiotics can be bought over the counter, but you need to know certain things before you start on a probiotic treatment. For some severe cases additional measures have to be taken to kill the excess of yeast, but in most cases a temporary increase in the … Read more
Fermented foods are foods that are transformed through controlled fermentation, by microorganisms. Food fermentation has various objectives such preservation, taste and aroma enhancements, or even obtaining absolutely new foods, or drinks, without any resemblance of the original ingredients. What is Food Fermentation? Fermentation is basically a process in which an organism converts a carbohydrate such … Read more
Yogurt is a fermented milk product, made by controlled fermentation with special cultures. The cultures contain selected bacteria, that produce lactic acid giving the milk the sour taste. The bacteria also modify the milk’s texture, giving it the specific thickness that is very prized. Although there is an increased interest in vegan yogurt, we are … Read more
How To Make Sauerkraut, Probiotic Pickled Cucumbers, and Pickled Vegetables Sour pickles are obtained by fermenting various vegetables in a brine. The process is also known as lactofermentation, because of the lactic acid bacteria, which are responsible for the fermentation process. Sour pickles are a great probiotic fermented food, very nutritious, and healthy. The fermentation … Read more
Probiotic Drink Boza Recipe Although the original recipe is done with millet, boza can be made from other cereals as well, and it is equally tasty and healthy. Most often it is made from bulgur, which is more accessible, and easier to process. In most of the Eastern European countries, the drink it is called … Read more
Why Do We Need Fermented Foods? Probiotics are not a new medical discovery, humanity has been eating fermented foods, the best source of probiotics, since the beginning of history. The modern era has rediscovered the probiotics, hence the extra attention given by the medical world, the health industry, and the media. Probiotics are tiny life … Read more