Give your veggies a boost with Body Ecology’s Culture Starter
In many cultures around the world, fermented (or cultured) foods are common. From sauerkraut in Europe to kimchi in Korea to kombucha in China, fermented foods have had a long history and some of these are only now taking root in American cuisine. If you want to get more fermented foods into your diet, one way to do that is to give your veggies a boost with Body Ecology’s Culture Starter.
This product comes with 6 packets of culture starter, which you add to raw vegetables or other foods like dairy products. (Each packet can culture quite a hefty amount of vegetables.) Let the food sit for a few days and then you have a cultured food that you can eat as is or add to other foods. It’s simple, convenient, and very good for you!
Fermented/cultured foods are great for digestion and gut bacteria, which are always important for those with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. Body Ecology’s product is also good for resisting infections, can help with appetite and weight control, and is ideal for pregnant women and for children with autism or ADD.
To get you started, here’s a recipe from Body Ecology for a simple cultured cabbage.
Body Ecology’s Culture Starter Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 packet Body Ecology® Veggie Culture Starter
- ½ cup warm 90°F water
- 3 heads green cabbage shredded in a food processor
- 6 carrots large shredded in a food processor
- 3- inch piece ginger peeled and chopped
- 6 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
- Several cabbage leaves
Instructions
- Dissolve Veggie Culture Starter with warm water. Add some form of sugar to feed the starter (try rapadura, sucanat, honey, agave, or Body Ecology’s EcoBloom). Let the starter/sugar mixture sit for about 20 minutes or longer while the bacteria wake up and begin enjoying the sugar. Put aside.
- Combine shredded cabbage, carrots, ginger, and garlic in a large bowl.
- Remove several cups of this mixture and put into a blender. Add enough filtered water to make a “brine” the consistency of thick juice. Add culture starter mixture to the brine. Blend well and then add brine back into the shredded veggies. Stir well.
- Pack mixture down into glass or stainless-steel containers. Use your fist, a wooden dowel, or a potato masher to pack veggies tightly.
- Fill containers almost full but leave about 2 inches of room at the top for veggies to expand. Roll up several cabbage leaves into a tight “log” and place them on top to fill the remaining 2-inch space. Clamp jars closed.
- Let veggies sit at about a 70°F room temperature for at least 3 days. A week is even better. Refrigerate to slow down fermentation. Enjoy!
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How do I distribute the starter culture evenly among cabbage if I’m doing it in separate bowls? I don’t have one huge container to hold that much cabbage at once
You can divide the starter in portions by weight if you have a food scale, that would probably be the most accurate way to do this.
Has anyone actually made this recipe and had it work? I mean, the recipe calls for absolutely zero salt! How is that possible?
It has garlic and ginger in it and the culture starter, so once it’s done it should have good flavor and you can always add salt after, if desired.