Hello Reader,

I clearly remember making my first batch of sauerkraut over 20 years ago, following the recipe in Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions as I would a cookie recipe. 🍪

I had no idea what fermentation was or that 4-6 million bacteria 🦠🦠🦠 in that jar were responsible for the transformation from sweet cabbage into tangy sauerkraut.

I just knew that healthy traditional cultures worldwide all consumed fermented food.

I wanted our family to be healthy, so we would eat some type of fermented food with our meals. Simple as that!

✨ As my understanding of fermentation moved from a "cookie recipe" to a magical, powerful transformation made possible by millions of microbes, I learned that:

• ​Fermentation requires bacteria, Lactobacillus acidophilus​
  ​Lactobacillus brevis, Lactococcus lactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides​
  ​Pediococcus acidilactici, to name just a handful.
• Fresh-picked local produce is teeming with the bacteria responsible for fermentation.
• Vegetable fermentation is an anaerobic process, meaning keep your ferments under the brine.
• Fermentation best unfolds at a set salinity, meaning use the correct salt concentration.

I now thank those bacteria daily. 🙏

My recipes incorporate these principles to help you achieve success.

​Fermented Radish Pickle Recipe {Simple}​

Local spring radishes are teeming with beneficial bacteria and are delicious fermented with a 2.0% salt concentration.

You can ferment various types of radishes, such as red, daikon, and watermelon. Just be sure to cut them into wedges or slices of similar thickness so that they ferment evenly.

💥 Give it a try.

​https://www.makesauerkraut.com/fermented-radishes/​

The Appropriate Omnivore

I recently chatted with Aaron from the Appropriate Omnivore. You'll be the first to hear when our podcast episode goes live. His website is worth checking out.

I'm careful when eating chips to choose brands that fry their potatoes in traditional fats, such as beef tallow. His post on 14 Best Potato Chips Fried in Healthy Oils & Fats can provide you with some options. Here in Canada, we have access to Cedar Valley Pita Chips, which are fried in coconut oil.

If you live in Los Angeles, he has a review of some of the best grass-fed burgers in the area.

"I also point out other ways the restaurants and businesses use real food from organic hamburger buns to local and organic produce to grass fed cheese to real condiments. I even list great beverage pairings that these burger eateries include in terms of cane sugar soda pops and shakes made with grass fed ice cream"

In Case You Missed It...

​7 Health Benefits of Fermented Vegetables This ancient food is not only delicious but also provides a wealth of health benefits, from improved digestion to a more robust immune system. READ

Pickled vs Fermented 🤔 {Which is Better for Gut Health?} If you’re wanting to consume the most nutritious pickle to garner the gut health benefits from fermented foods, you’ll want to understand the difference. READ