In this blog, I will be sharing with you how to make fermented foods using the Kultured Wellness products. For why I love them, you can check this blog post out here.

First step:

• Order your culture starters from Kultured Wellness (use code JESS20 for discount). Choose from either kefir or yoghurt.
• Order a cliptop jar for storing your fermented foods in (I get the Kilner brand or Kmart!) For the kefir, I use a 2L jar and for the yoghurt I use a 1L.

Second step:

• Once the culture starters arrive, it's time to make the kefir or yoghurt.
• To make the kefir: Get your 2L cliptop jar and give a rinse with hot water then allow to dry. Empty the entire kefir culture starter into the jar. Add in enough additive-free, organic if possible, coconut water (around 1.8L) until you have filled the cliptop jar with 2cm gap at the top. Sit on your kitchen countertop away from direct sunlight. Kefir should be ready after about 48 hours of fermenting on the bench top in mild weather. It should be fizzy, have a tart taste and you should no longer be able to taste any sugar from the coconut water. If the full ferment is too strong for you initially, you may wish to make a shorter ferment (i.e.) only 24 hours but keep in mind that your Kefir will contain more sugar. In warmer climates and hotter weather the kefir may be ready earlier than the recommended 48 hours. If you live in a warmer climate or if the weather has been hot check you kefir earlier to see if it is ready. Once it's ready, store in the fridge.
• To make the yoghurt: Get your 1L cliptop jar and give a rinse with hot water then allow to dry. Empty the entire yoghurt culture starter into the jar. Add in enough additive-free, organic if possible, coconut cream (around 800mL) until you have filled the cliptop jar with 2cm gap at the top. Sit on your kitchen countertop away from direct sunlight. Yoghurt takes about 8-12 hours on the bench top to ferment. Once again it will have a tart taste and you will no longer taste the sugar from the coconut cream. In warmer climates it may be ready sooner and in colder climates it may need a little longer. You can judge this by tasting the yoghurt. Once it's ready, store in the fridge.

Third step:

• Once your ferments are ready, you can use these to make all kinds of things - dips, dressings, smoothies, ice blocks, flavoured fizzy, ice cream and so much more (see step four). When you get down to only having ONE CUP of either yoghurt or kefir remaining in your clip top jar, then it's time to referment. You simply treat the remaining one cup like your original culture starter and top it up with either coconut water or coconut cream and allow space to ferment again. You can do this over and over again until your culture starter has no more oomph left - you should get around 10L of both kefir and yoghurt.
• Remember you can use these ferments to go on to make secondary ferments for fermented fruit and flavoured yoghurt etc so one starter culture can do you for a long while in your kitchen!
• To ferment fruit, simply add at least 1 cup of fruit (frozen is fine) to the bottom of a cliptop jar. Add ONE CUP of coconut water kefir (ensuring you leave one cup in your original jar for refermenting more) and then top up with more coconut water. Sit on the bench out of direct sunlight to ferment again until the fruit is all fermented. You can find the fermentation times for different fruits here.

Fourth step:

• Now you have your initial ferment done with the kefir or yoghurt, you can get creative in the kitchen!
• For the yoghurt, you can use it to make flavoured yoghurt by blending the yoghurt with fruit and leaving to ferment for a couple of hours on the bench. You can also blend the yoghurt with already fermented fruit that you've fermented in kefir. You can use the yoghurt in dips and dressings. You can use it in smoothies or ice blocks/creams.
• For the kefir, you can drink it plain by the glassful (I love it with a squeeze of lemon and pinch of quality celtic salt) or use it to ferment fruit, grains, nuts, seeds or vegetables. By doing so, it makes the food easier to digest as the bacteria has done a lot of the hard work for us! For example, as Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride states in Gut and Physiology Syndrome, a handful of sauerkraut can provide almost 20 times more bio-available vitamin C than the same amount of raw cabbage.
• To read all about fermenting fruit and the ins and outs of this process, click here.

How to make sauerkraut:

• Once you have the culture starters sorted, it's time to make sauerkraut (and other fermented goodies!)
• Here's my super simple recipe:
  • Get one cabbage (green or red) and wash the outside of the cabbage (ideally in filtered water).
  • Remove the outer leaves and set aside (you'll be using these).
  • On a large chopping board, cut your cabbage into quarters.
  • Get a large stainless steel stock pot or mixing bowl.
  • Get a sharp knife and your quality sea salt (I like this one from Part and Parcel - use code NOURISHANDBLOOM for $20 off).
  • Slice the cabbage as finely as you can without cutting a finger (think about the sized pieces you'd like to eat!) until the whole quarter is shredded.
  • Add this shredded quarter to your stainless steel pot and sprinkle with about 1 tsp of your salt.
  • Repeat for the remaining three quarters.
  • Put an airtight lid on your pot and leave for 15 mins (to allow the salt to work it's magic and draw out the liquid from the cabbage).
  • Now rinse your hands and then start massaging the cabbage and salt together like you're giving it a head massage.
  • Do this until the cabbage is dripping with liquid and feels soft to touch.
  • Add the cabbage to a cliptop jar and push down as you add it so it's all squished down to the bottom of the jar. You may need to use two jars - don't overfill here. You want to allow at least 5cm for the fermentation to fizz.
  • Once filled, tip in the liquid from the bottom of the stainless steel pot.
  • Then top up with coconut water kefir (for a large jar you could use 1/2 cup, for a smaller jar use 1/4 cup).
  • Then get those outer cabbage leaves from the beginning and folding them in half, use them as a lid over the top of your sauerkraut so they keep the cabbage all submerged under the liquid.
  • Shut the lid and leave to ferment on your bench for around 3-5 days. In warmer climates and hotter weather the sauerkraut may be ready earlier than the recommended timeframe. If you live in a warmer climate or if the weather has been hot check your batch earlier to see if it is ready.
  • While you're waiting for it to be ready, you can also 'burp' the sauerkraut every 24 hours or so to release the pressure and fizz.

FAQ

• Can I introduce these foods to my baby?
  • Yes absolutely, in fact, these are the foods my babies have started on and still love! Start slowly, with only 1/4 tsp of the products and build up from there.
• What brand coconut cream and coconut water do you use?
  • Coconut cream here and coconut water here.
• Where do Kultured Wellness ship to?
  • Currently mainly Australia and NZ but internationally on request.
• How long will each culture starter last?
  • If you use the kefir or yoghurt until you have one cup remaining from each batch, you'll get 10L of both kefir and yoghurt from each culture starter.
• Why do you soak or ferment nuts/seeds/grains?
  • You can read an old blog post I have written about this here. Fermenting the food is taking it to the next level beyond soaking, making it even easier to digest for some.
• How do you make that super yummy looking strawberry kefir you're always drinking?
  • You simply ferment the strawberries (by covering with kefir - but you can get a full lowdown here) and then drink the byproduct which is the flavoured kefir.
• Can you use frozen fruit to ferment?
  • Absolutely!

If you have any further questions, send them to me in a DM, I'd love to hear from you.

Jess xx