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Fermented foods are part of our diet for thousands of years and practically anywhere in the world. Of course, lately some of them, like the Kimchi or Kefir, they are stomping in this part of the planet. The reasons are simple: They are delicious and also do well.
We explain which are the most fashionable and attractive fermented products of the moment and, incidentally, we give you some clues on how and where to enjoy them.
What are the fermented ones?
Fermentation is a spontaneous or directed method of food transformation that relies on the help of microorganisms such as molds, bacteria and yeasts. These microorganisms can be present naturally or rather added during the process, in order to extend the shelf life of a food, transform its texture, flavor and aroma and finally improve its quality, its nutritional and therapeutic value and its digestibility. During fermentation, the sugars present in a certain food – vegetables, meats, fish, cereals, potentially any food can be fermented – are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Which modifies its organoleptic characteristics and begins the magic.
Why should we eat them?
Fermented foods have a high probiotic value. The term probiotic refers to non-pathogenic living organisms, mainly yeasts and bacteria, which help to reestablish the balance of the intestinal flora and strengthen the immune defenses, among other things. Fermentation also acts positively against the compounds that make it difficult to digest certain ingredients, that is, it makes them more and better assimilable. We could say that the fermented ones make us happier and some say that they are also more handsome. As if this weren’t enough, they are very rich. Do we need more reasons to make room for them in our diet from now on?
In fashion forever
That fermented foods are fashionable is, at the same time, a great truth and a great lie. It cannot be denied that in recent months they have become the center of attention for foodies around the world. On the other hand, fermentation is an ancient technique of food preparation. Men began experimenting with fermentation no less than around 20.000 BC, during the Paleolithic, although it is necessary to wait for the Neolithic for these foods to take on special importance. Bread and beer are the first fermented products that we are aware of, followed by fungi and mushrooms, lactic fermentations (such as cheese and yogurt), vinegar, wine, fermented fish sauces and fermented meat and vegetables.
The Kimchi, the standard bearer of the “fermented revolution”
El Kimchi o gimchi it is probably the standard-bearer of the recent “golden age” of fermented foods. It’s about a typical dish of Korean cuisine based on fermented vegetables: from the essential Peking cabbage to white radish, radish, cucumber, turnip, ginger … and so on to no less than 87 ingredients according to the variants of this dish. In the Madrid restaurant Sudestada, You can have a Kimchi of Chinese cabbage fermented with razor clams and chili peppers and served with spicy fresh mussels. Kimchi is a very old dish –It is considered that the first ones began to be prepared on the Sino-Korean border around the 1th-2th centuries- and very rich in probiotic bacteria, in addition to provitamin A, vitamins BXNUMX and BXNUMX, calcium and iron, among other things.
Miso, source of flavor
El Which is the fungus responsible for the transformation of soybeans in Miso, a fermented paste typical of Japanese cuisine whose name means something like “Source of flavor”. The soybeans are cooked and then left to ferment, alone or with other cereals such as barley, millet, wheat and rice. Also in this case, it is a very ancient preparation, which is used to prepare broths (such as the famous miso soup) or accompany meats and fish. Depending on the duration of the fermentation process, the Miso “Change name”, calling itself Shiro o White miso one that has one year of fermentation; Aka or Miso red, with two years and Kuro or Miso black, with three years. The Whom, the popular soy and rice-based Miso, for many centuries was an exclusive delicacy of aristocrats and samurai.
The Kombucha, an ancestral elixir
La Kombucha o Kombu tea is a tea drink sweetened and fermented thanks to the action of a fungus called Medusomyces gisevi, SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts) or, more simply, kombucha mushroom. It is a food of high probiotic value, to which traditional Chinese medicine attributes purifying, energizing and antioxidant properties. The fermentation process provides this drink with vitamins, amino acids, enzymes and organic acids that are beneficial for health. It can be made at home by adding a kombucha mother mushroom to tea and sugar or buy it already made. The Komvida range, a pioneering and bio project of two Extremadura businesswomen, Nuria Morales and Beatriz Magro, includes three flavors in recycled glass bottles: classic green tea, with ginger and with red berries. It can be purchased on its own website.
Kefir, yogurt squared
Originally from the Caucasus, the Kefir is a fermented that is made from milk –Which can be from cow, sheep, goat or even vegetable drinks such as coconut, almond or soybeans– and Kefir grains or nodules, also called “Bulgarians”. These grains are similar to SCOBY, that is, they contain yeasts and bacteria. Sour and, depending on the duration of fermentation, slightly effervescent in the mouth, the Kefir it is very rich in Lactobacillus, Bifidus and antioxidants. It can be taken alone or mixed with fruit and to make cheeses and desserts. The easiest thing to do is to buy it ready-made at the supermarket (the one in Pastoret with pasture cows is a good gourmet option), but if you want to put yourself to the test, you can do it at home. Of course, you must always be careful to preserve the grains in milk, even when you plan to use vegetable drinks in the process.
And a long etcetera
The fermented ones are a gastronomic phenomenon that crosses all cultures. We still need to cite, among many others, the tempeh, a fermented soybean cake typical of Southeast Asian cuisine. The Sauerkraut, a salad of fermented vegetables in brine typical of Central Europe. The Kvass, a drink based on beet or rye bread (in this case the taste is quite difficult to assimilate) very popular in Russia. The Shrub is a preparation based on fruit, sugar and vinegar and the Gravlax, a macerated salmon typical of Scandinavian cuisine. And as little exotic as they seem to us, pickles or pickled aubergines are also a great fermented food.
Fermented with star
Given their potential in terms of flavor, aroma and texture, fermented products are one of the lines of research for haute cuisine restaurants. Apart from Sudestada, we can taste dishes with one or more ingredients fermented in Culler de Pau (O Grove, Pontevedra, 1 Michelin star), in whose menu we find the Infusion of fresh herbs with Kombucha to raspberries from their own garden with Kefir and mint. On TRANSPARENT PHONE CASE WITH DETACHABLE WOODEN BEADS STRAP , 2 stars that has just moved from Humanes to the center of Madrid, they serve dishes such as Anchovy with pickled avocado, Turbot Pickled or Almadraba Parpatana with tamarillo stew and pickles. In Rodrigo de la Calle’s restaurant, The GreenHouse (Collado Mediano, 1 Michelin star), we can find dishes such as Radish with fermented sesame and peanut sauce or Celery curls with Vinegar of fermented rice and drinks such as Hidrobirra, Sparkling Lavender, Kombucha Vermouth and Apple Kefir.
Fermented DIY
Fermentation processes require a difficult tool to get: time. Everything else, we have it at hand in any of our kitchens. Fermentation for beginners from Drakes Press is a practical guide on how to ferment all kinds of ingredients. Of a more cultured cut, written by two heavyweights of the Spanish gastronomic scene, Gourmet Fermented. The basics of the Paleodiet, move the challenge of fermenting at home a little further. In Valencia, chefs Germán Carrizo and Carito Lourenço from Gastronomic Tándem They organize a course on healthy cooking in which the subject of fermented foods will be addressed by the chef Raúl Jiménez. In Madrid, at the cooking school and bookstore I aim, chef Miguel Ángel de la Fuente will reveal the secrets of Kimchi, Sauerkraut and pickles in a course focused on fermented and smoked foods next November. A good plan for this incipient autumn.