The Good Food and Valuable Nutrition We Waste

[tarz]

When it comes to food, there is so much waste among the 'affluent' and other misguided members of our society. Although the freshest foods might seem ideal in many ways, there is no good reason to reject food just because it has become wilted. There is very little loss of vitamins and other nutritional values, and if you are on a tight budget, there are many places where food in such a condition is often given away for free. And when used to make soups, smoothies, or in a stir fry, there is virtually no way to tell the difference between the fresh and the wilted, and any detected change of flavor can be easily modified with additional spices or fruits, etc. -

washingtonpost.com/lifestyl...

Natural fermentation seems to be another mistaken excuse for rejection of potentially wonderful sources of probiotic nutrition. Besides sauerkraut and apple cider, practically any fruit or vegetable, or the juice derived therefrom, can be converted into an extremely healthful food or beverage, whether deliberately or by accident, and rich with probiotic nutrition.

Over the years, I have discovered, from time to time, to my delight, that one juice or another (apple, grape, pear, prune, orange, etc.) had 'gone bad?', and had been converted into a rich, carbonated, non-alcoholic, probiotic refreshment. BTW, all these drinks can be made without the use of store-bought yeast, as natural, perfectly healthful, wild yeasts are found everywhere, floating in the air, landing on plants and animals, etc., and all that is required for them to work their magic is a brief exposure.

And using similar fermenting techniques like those that turn cabbage into sauerkraut, or cucumbers into pickles, they can also be used to create probiotic-rich foods from onions, carrots, beets, broccoli, okra and other vegetables for a virtually infinite variety of tasty probiotic dishes, with instructions and recipes available for all on line. So it is not hard to understand why the food which is often thrown in the garbage might, in many instances, be more beneficial than that which is served at the table.

Back in the 70's, when natural, organic foods were just beginning to gain popular recognition in California, we used to have an amusing saying you'd hear in co-ops like Erewhon and Aunt Tilly's Natural Grocers and others out of Los Angeles, and from San Diego in the south, to The Bodhi Tree in Santa Cruz in the north (places where I distributed products from the Garden of Eatin'). You would hear the natural, organic aficionados say, out of their disdain for preservatives, “If mold won't grow on it, neither will you!”

thekitchn.com/23-essential-...

[parkie13]

Looks like an interesting site, I'm going to try some of those things. I used to make my own sauerkraut, all the time in a half-gallon jar. It's used to come out really good tasting.

[tarz in reply to parkie13]

why did you stop making it?

[parkie13 in reply to tarz]

My husband did not like it that much. Then it was kind of hard for me to cut up the cabbage. I did not look at the directions from the email but what I did was, cut up the Cabbage into small long pieces, take a half a gallon jar , put some salt on the bottom put some cabbage with a little bit of salt on top, put some more cabbage with a little bit of salt till the jar was pretty much filled you can also add a little bit of sterilized water. I would press it and mesh it up with a wooden spoon. I would fill a small glass of water and press it down as a weight. Then I would set it on the windowsill just covered Loosely with a paper towel or a small plate. After few days when it started to turn I would put it in the refrigerator and let it finish doing it's fermentation there. You can eat it anytime it doesn't have to be finished. On some of the betches I would sprinkle some caraway seeds.

[tarz in reply to parkie13]

Sounds so delicious and nutritious to me.