Probiotic recipes

me&thegals

A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Messages
3,806
Reaction score
9
Points
163
Location
central WI
Hi everybody! All this talk about cheese has gotten me thinking. How many of you make foods using probiotics? How many would like to learn how to do this?

In our house, I make buttermilk, yogurt, occasionally kefir and now I'm brewing my first batch of kombucha. Looking forward to making apple cider vinegar for the first time this fall with my applesaucing apple scraps. I would also like to try homemade sauerkraut if I finally get some decent cabbages!

How about you all?
 

freemotion

Food Guru
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
10,817
Reaction score
90
Points
317
Location
Southwick, MA
My digestion has been steadily failing over the past couple of decades, and food sensitivities and allergies have been increasing. After many visits to MD's, ND's, homeopaths, and a wonderful acupuncturist (I'd still be going if money were no object!), I attended a lecture on digestive issues by yet another ND. I became a patient for a while until she moved, and she got me into lacto-fermenting and other fermented things. In a couple of years, I am adding foods back into my diet and I am no longer in daily pain. Occasional relapses get me to drastically increase all the healing foods, then I am right back on track.

Kombucha is one fermented drink we use, it is so deliciously refreshing mixed with iced ginger tea and a bit of stevia....MMMMM!

I made lacto-fermented sauerkraut last fall and can eat the cabbage it is made with, even though I am fairly allergic to cabbage. I made beet kvass last fall and fermented "ginger ale...." but don't think commercial ginger ale, it was rather medicinal, but good.

I found ways to add yogurt to my diet although I don't really care for it, it likes me, so I would strain it and layer it with fruit in small canning jars for my own yogurt cups. That sure is yummy! Now I make my own yogurt, but haven't been as successful in straining it. Maybe I need a looser-weave cloth or something? The goat's milk seems to behave differently than the store-bought cow's milk yogurt. It just gums up the cloth and doesn't really strain.

I lacto-ferment grain products most of the time, like pasta and bread and crackers. Yum. With all the whey from straining the yogurt, and now from making cheese, it is really a simple matter. Just don't use the whey from ricotta, as the bacteria are killed in the ricotta process.

We have a lot of orchards nearby, so I hope to get some drops for making vinegar, too. Can't wait for all the threads this fall on that!

I want to make fermented pickles this summer.

Haven't tried kefir yet, I'll have to buy a little pricey bottle and see if I like it first. And buttermilk....have the cultures, but haven't done it yet. We don't eat grain products enough to justify keeping buttermilk, so I'm not sure why I bought the cultures! Gotta have pancakes once in a while, and biscuits!! With sausage gravy, even though I'm a Northerner!

Whew, that's all I can think of. I've been working really hard at the fermented thing for a couple of years now.
 

freemotion

Food Guru
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
10,817
Reaction score
90
Points
317
Location
Southwick, MA
Oh, and here is an important little tidbit: When my horse was in her last couple of years, she had difficulty keeping weight on, and would lose over the winter no matter what I did. She finally started gaining weight when I started lacto-fermenting whole grains for her! I gradually discontinued the commercial senior food, since some of the pellets never dissolved even with a day of soaking, which made me seriously wonder about their digestibility.

I simply set up her grain in a little bucket and added lukewarm water and an ounce or two of whey and let it sit at room temp for 12 hours. She came out of her last winter in fine shape weight-wise!
 

ORChick

Almost Self-Reliant
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Messages
2,525
Reaction score
3
Points
195
freemotion said:
My digestion has been steadily failing over the past couple of decades, and food sensitivities and allergies have been increasing. After many visits to MD's, ND's, homeopaths, and a wonderful acupuncturist (I'd still be going if money were no object!), I attended a lecture on digestive issues by yet another ND. I became a patient for a while until she moved, and she got me into lacto-fermenting and other fermented things. In a couple of years, I am adding foods back into my diet and I am no longer in daily pain. Occasional relapses get me to drastically increase all the healing foods, then I am right back on track.

Kombucha is one fermented drink we use, it is so deliciously refreshing mixed with iced ginger tea and a bit of stevia....MMMMM!

I made lacto-fermented sauerkraut last fall and can eat the cabbage it is made with, even though I am fairly allergic to cabbage. I made beet kvass last fall and fermented "ginger ale...." but don't think commercial ginger ale, it was rather medicinal, but good.

I found ways to add yogurt to my diet although I don't really care for it, it likes me, so I would strain it and layer it with fruit in small canning jars for my own yogurt cups. That sure is yummy! Now I make my own yogurt, but haven't been as successful in straining it. Maybe I need a looser-weave cloth or something? The goat's milk seems to behave differently than the store-bought cow's milk yogurt. It just gums up the cloth and doesn't really strain.

I lacto-ferment grain products most of the time, like pasta and bread and crackers. Yum. With all the whey from straining the yogurt, and now from making cheese, it is really a simple matter. Just don't use the whey from ricotta, as the bacteria are killed in the ricotta process.

We have a lot of orchards nearby, so I hope to get some drops for making vinegar, too. Can't wait for all the threads this fall on that!

I want to make fermented pickles this summer.

Haven't tried kefir yet, I'll have to buy a little pricey bottle and see if I like it first. And buttermilk....have the cultures, but haven't done it yet. We don't eat grain products enough to justify keeping buttermilk, so I'm not sure why I bought the cultures! Gotta have pancakes once in a while, and biscuits!! With sausage gravy, even though I'm a Northerner!

Whew, that's all I can think of. I've been working really hard at the fermented thing for a couple of years now.
Nothing against buttermilk (in fact, I quite like it as a drink), but if you have yogurt on hand anyway it makes a fine substitute for buttermilk in baked goods - pancakes etc. It sounds like your goat milk yogurt is fairly thick, in which case I might dilute it a bit with fresh milk. Kefir (if/when you have it) will also work as a buttermilk substitute. Of course, the probiotic effect will be lost in the heat of baking, but that is also the case with the buttermilk.
 

gettinaclue

Almost Self-Reliant
Joined
Mar 3, 2009
Messages
1,357
Reaction score
0
Points
114
Location
Spotsylvania, Virginia
How do you make Kombucha?

The only step in this direction I have taken is the fermented foods...but I really like them, so it wasn't to much of a stretch for me :D.

I'm already looking into crocks to make saurkraut, rumtopt (sp) and some pickles.
 

freemotion

Food Guru
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
10,817
Reaction score
90
Points
317
Location
Southwick, MA
Yes, I do use yogurt now on the rare occasion when I bake. I still think buttermilk is a bit better, though, guess that is why I got it....I can't even shop online when I am hungry!

My yogurt is rather runny, but it gets weird in the cloth-lined strainer. Still runny, but sits in the cloth and doesn't want to go anywhere! The firm yogurt from the store strains out quite nicely. Maybe I should start a thread and see what the goat people think?

Oh, and I forgot about the rumtopf thingy :D

For kombucha, there are a couple of methods, but basically you make a big batch of black tea with sugar and cool it, put it in a gallon jar with a bit of well-fermented kombucha and a mother culture (the "mushroom" that floats on top...usually) and let it do it's thing in a dark, warm place for about two weeks or so. Longer in the cool weather. Then bottle it and refrigerate, and start another batch. You'll get another mushroom with each batch to share, so check around, you can likely find a free one somewhere. Properly fermented, there is no sugar left, it is all used up by the microbes.

With all available fridge space holding milk now, I started a continuous brew batch of kombucha, which is similar, but you use a large crock with a tap on it and add more of the sweetened tea as you draw off the kombucha. My new batch will be ready on the 22nd. This method retains some of the sugar, so I will have to see if my body can tolerate it. We may end up getting another fridge....
 

me&thegals

A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Messages
3,806
Reaction score
9
Points
163
Location
central WI
I'd like to hear more about fermented pickles. And more about fermented grains (was this covered in another thread?). I've made sprouted wheat bread before, but I think you're talking about something else.

Kombucha "mothers" can be found by somebody already brewing. I don't think they are sold commercially, just the tea. I would just ask around. One of my egg customers was doing a class on kombucha, so we swapped eggs for the kombucha kit and directions. I haven't had mine yet--it's still brewing, but I'm excited to try it, especially with her and Freemotion's suggestions for adding extra flavor!
 

freemotion

Food Guru
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
10,817
Reaction score
90
Points
317
Location
Southwick, MA
I think it is kom-BU-cha!

Ask around at the health food store, and naturopaths or anyone with the reputation of being "crunchy granola" in your area. You can buy them online if you have lots of money to toss around. Some health food stores have them for just a few dollars, I've heard. I don't go into those stores much anymore since they are mostly processed "big organic" now and not real food much anymore. Maybe try craigslist.

My dh likes to use some organic juice to flavor his, the nearby discount store has quart bottles for $3, the same ones that sell for $7-8 at the fancy stores. The bottles are great for milk, too, and kombucha! Only use glass or stainless for kombucha.

As for the grains, it was covered in another thread, but I think it belongs here, too. Traditional cultures who ate grains and were vibrantly healthy only ate grains that were fermented. Like sourdough bread, made the traditional (and very sour!) way with wild yeast and two weeks of fermenting. Or the bread was aged for two weeks after baking. It was not the soft, white sandwich bread found in the stores today!

But fermenting unlocks much of the nutrition in the grains and also makes it digestible for humans, neutralizing anti-nutrients. Most seeds have germination inhibitors in the seed coats, such as phytic acid, to prevent the ripe seeds from sprouting until conditions are right for growth. For example, grains that ripen in the fall need to make it until spring, because if they all sprout at the first mist, there will be no more grain to grow in the spring. So a certain soaking period is needed. The same when starting most garden seeds. You must keep the soil consistantly moist for several days for germination to happen.

These substances also inhibit digestion. In some people it will cause severe digestive trouble, wheat or soy "allergies" (gluten intolerance is something different but some people can eat traditionally prepared grains after a healing time period of daily bone broths.)

The soaking removes or neutralizes the phytic acid. Lactofermenting speeds up the process quite a bit, so a 12-24 hour soak is all that is needed for most people to do well with the grain.

So what I do is to simply add some whey in place of some of the water in my recipes, and let the dough sit, covered, on the counter overnight. I do pasta, pie crust, crackers, etc., this way. The MEN artisan bread dough method is PERFECT for this method. You can use yogurt, too, or a bit of apple cider vinegar (raw) in a pinch.

Oatmeal can be made this way, too, soak it right in the pan it will be cooked in. You may be able to shorten the cooking time.

Rice and flax do not need to be soaked. Soy will not benefit by soaking. Soy has anti-nutrients that are very dangerous and are only neutralized by fermenting for 3-6 months, as in traditionally prepared soy sauce and miso. Humans should NOT consume soy products. Yes, there is a lot of hype about how good it is for you, but follow the money. The soy industry is a gigantic money machine.

This is the short version. Much more info available in the book, Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon. Also on www.westonaprice.com
 

freemotion

Food Guru
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
10,817
Reaction score
90
Points
317
Location
Southwick, MA
Another thought: I always use the long-soak method when cooking beans now, and soak for 24 hours when possible with a little whey. Never use the "quick soak" method where you simmer for a few minutes and let the beans sit for an hour. That is not enough.

Beans that are prepared with whey and a nice long soak will be much less gassy, too! Black beans are supposed to be the least gas-producing, I've heard, so in self-defense, that is what I usually prepare. DH loves beans, and I always have a bunch of plain cooked beans available for him to add to his lunches. I like to mash them with some garlic and onion, s&p, and use them as refried beans with nachos or burritoes.
 
Top