The above picture (click on it to enlarge) is of fermented foods prepared after going to the Scottsdale Farmer's Market and Save Your Dairy dairy farm in Queen Creek on Saturday. The fermentation process helps to be able to store food for longer periods and also helps by making the foods somewhat predigested, easier to assimilate, and using whey to ferment adds protein and vitamin B12 (not found in plants). It took roughly 4 hours to prepare everything in the picture, although the fermentation process can take a few days.
The 2 bottles that are red are beet kvass (kvass is a fermented beet drink), one with garlic in it and one without. The kvass is a energy and cleansing tonic that is drank daily.
The largest glass container (purple and white) and the one with orange (carrots and cabbage) are fermented sauerkraut, however, they are made with whey rather than vinegar (whey being healthier for you).
The milk-like bottles are just that, although one is kefir (a liquid yogurt-like drink) made from raw organic milk and the other is raw kefir cream cheese which was made from the kefir. Raw cream was used to make the raw butter and the whey. The butter is pictured below the dairy products.
The brown/purple bottle is a fermented black bean paste, which is similar to refried beans but the fermentation process denatures the phytates found in the beans. Phytates are hard to digest and rob the body of key minerals. Lastly are the red and green jars which are fermented salsa. Whey was used to ferment the salsa and help give it some bite rather than using vinegar.
Recipes used for the above were found in "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon,PhD, a must have for the kitchen.
