Fermenting isn’t as complicated as you might think. Find out how to do it yourself and how your body will benefit.
If all you know about fermented foods is that kimchi and sauerkraut are two examples of it, there’s a lot more that’s worth learning. For example, did you know that eating fermented foods regularly could help lessen feelings of depression and anxiety? And that’s not their only benefit — far from it.
Learning how to ferment foods (it’s actually not that hard) and incorporating them into your meals just might be the healthiest habit you start this fall.
What Is Fermentation?
Before getting into the benefits of fermented foods, you need to know what fermentation actually is. Essentially, fermentation is the process of introducing microbes to foods and beverages to change them, whether to preserve their shelf life, improve their flavor, or introduce health benefits, explains Caroll Lee, the CEO and founder of Provenance Meals, an Equinox Circle partner and meal-delivery service that often incorporates fermented foods into its dishes.
What are microbes, you ask? The most common types are bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Before you get completely grossed out, know that while there are some dangerous types of microbes, most are beneficial. Less than 1 percent of all bacteria are responsible for diseases.
More specifically, “fermentation occurs when bacteria eat carbohydrates and multiply, so fermented foods contain these live bacteria and the nutrients they make,” adds Kaytee Hadley, MSc, RDN, IFMCP, CPT, a functional medicine dietitian and gut health expert.
She explains that during fermentation, the bacteria create different vitamins, minerals, and enzymes while making a food’s nutrients more readily available for your body to use. There are also probiotics, a type of beneficial bacteria that helps maintain or improve the "good" bacteria in the body. This bacteria exists even before the fermentation process begins, Hadley explains. What the fermentation process does is cause them to multiply, increasing the benefits you reap from eating them.
The Benefits of Fermented Foods
Adding fermented foods to your plate can have a wide range of health benefits for both your mind and body.
Case in point: “Studies show that eating a diet high in fermented foods increases the diversity of bacteria in your gut microbiome and reduces inflammatory markers,” says Lee. In other words, the more bacteria diversity swimming around in your gut, the better — and eating fermented foods regularly is a great way to enhance that diversity.
Research also shows that gut bacteria diversity is not only crucial for digestion and how well nutrients are absorbed from foods, but it’s also essential for metabolism, immune system functioning, and brain health, according to the experts. For example, gut microbes impact metabolism by increasing energy production from food, which may make it easier to lose weight. In terms of immune health, the microbes in fermented foods decrease inflammatory proteins, which then supports immunity.
As for brain health, eating fermented foods regularly supports both cognitive and mental health. “The gut is where the majority of neurotransmitters like serotonin are produced,” says Lee. When you eat fermented foods and boost the bacteria diversity in your gut, you’re altering serotonin turnover (as well as GABA and dopamine). This is linked to both improving cognitive functioning and decreasing feelings of depression and anxiety.
How to Ferment Food at Home
Fermenting can be as simple as introducing microbes and keeping the food in a temperature-controlled environment, says Lee. For example, to make sauerkraut, simply shred cabbage, massage it with salt, and then let it sit in a mason jar full of water on a cool kitchen counter for a week, she adds. The lactobacillus from the air ferments the cabbage and transforms it into sauerkraut.
This same process works with virtually any vegetable. Some other vegetables that taste delicious fermented include cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, cauliflower, and beets. To get the most nutritional benefits possible, Hadley recommends fermenting vegetables that are high in prebiotic fiber. “Prebiotics feed the bacteria in the fermented food as well as the bacteria in our gut,” she says. “So when we eat these foods, we are getting the benefit of both the probiotics and the prebiotics together for full gut support.” Vegetables high in prebiotic fiber include onion, garlic, jicama, and leeks.
Another way to ferment your dishes: introduce a starter culture, also called a scoby (which stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), to the food, suggests Lee. This is how both kombucha and sourdough bread are made. If you’ve never fermented before, starting with fermenting vegetables is the simplest method. Once you feel comfortable with that, you can seek out sourdough or kombucha recipes, which give specific instructions on how to use the scoby.
How to Integrate Fermented Foods Into Your Meals
Knowing about the benefits of fermented foods is great and all, but if you don’t actually know how to work them into your meals in a way that tastes delicious, it’s pretty hard to be motivated to eat them regularly. Fortunately, Lee says there’s no shortage of ways to cook with fermented foods. “Not only do they add depth and umami that can perfectly balance the flavors in a dish, they add rich probiotics and digestive enzymes,” she adds.
Lee says that the chefs at Provenance Foods often use miso, tempeh, tamari, and kimchi (all examples of fermented foods) in Asian-inspired meals. The company also uses raw apple cider vinegar and coconut aminos (both of which are fermented) in its dressings and sauces. “A few of my favorite dishes with fermented ingredients as the main stars are the grilled chicken and miso veggie bowl, blackened tempeh and jicama jalapeño mango slaw, and pad kra pao, a spicy Thai dish with fermented fish sauce and coconut aminos,” she says.
If you like following recipes to ensure your meal will turn out perfectly, check out fermented food-focused cookbooks such as Fermented Vegetables by Christopher and Kristen Shockey, Fermented Foods at Every Meal by Hayley Barisa Ryczek, and Mastering Fermentation by Mary Karlin. These books teach you both how to ferment foods and how to use them.
When it comes to the benefits of fermented foods, Lee sums it up best. “As a society, we have generally been taught to be afraid of bacteria as agents of illness,” she explains. “The reality is that we have trillions of microorganisms living inside our body and on our skin that not only help us to survive but to thrive. Fermented foods are not only delicious, [but] they add to our bacterial community with prebiotics and probiotics that deliver incredible health benefits.” Bring on the bacteria!
Through Equinox Circle, members can harness the healing power of food with $100 off your first four Provenance orders of $150 or more, priority delivery on all orders, and 10% off products and cleanse programs in the Wellness Shop.