Do kimchi and other fermented foods give you more fizz?
Ich zitiere mal einige Passagen, die mir besonders gefallen:
Menschen haben die Aktivitaeten von Mikroorganismen seit Jahrtausenden genutzt, um Nahrung zu konservieren. Man koennte fast sagen: "nicht die Menschen haben die Fermentierung erschaffen, sondern die Fermentatierung hat die Menschen erschaffen."Humans have been harnessing the natural action of microorganisms to preserve food for thousands of years. In fact, as “fermentation revivalist” and pickle evangelist Sandor Katz put it on a recent edition of Radio 4’s Food Programme: “Humans did not invent or create fermentation. It would be more accurate to state that fermentation created us.”
Fermentieren ist wie Kochen ohne Hitze. Die nuetzlichen Bakterien verwandeln den Zucker in andere Verbindungen, wie Alkohol oder laktische Saeure. Dadurch wird der Geschmack veraendert und die Verbreitung von schaedlichen Bakterien wird unterdrueckt. Durch die Fermentierung wird verhindert, dass Lebensmittel verderben.In simple terms, fermentation involves the use of micro-organisms to transform food from one state to another – sort of like cooking, but without the application of heat. In the right conditions, bacteria and yeasts will start to convert the natural sugars in foods into other compounds, such as alcohol or lactic acid. This not only inhibits the growth of other potentially more harmful bacteria, but also changes the flavour of the food concerned – the distinctive tang of yoghurt, for example, is produced by microbes feeding on the lactose in milk. It also, helpfully, slows the spoiling process.
Die Geschmacksverbesserung ist nur ein nuetzlicher Nebeneffekt. Bakterien sind nuetzlich fuer die Darmfauna. Es gibt 39 Trillionen Bakterien im Darm, die einen wesentlichen Einfluss auf unsere Gesundheit und Wohlbefinden haben.But, although interesting flavours are a handy side-effect, it is the microbial content that has got health types excited – because bacteria are big news these days. More specifically, the 39tn microbes, weighing about as much as your brain, that live happily in your gut, the makeup of which, some evidence suggests, may have a significant effect on everything from your long-term weight to your current mood.
Unser natuerliche Darmfauna ist unter staendiger Belagerung durch Antibiotika und Sterilisierungs- sowie Reinigungsprodukten. Junk Food sowie chemische Zusaetze in Lebensmitteln fuehren zu einer reduzierten Vielfalt der Darmbakterien. Dadurch koennen Allergien und andere Autoimmunkrankheiten entstehen.Unfortunately, the typical modern western menu does little to nourish this “huge alien ecosystem”, as Dr Michael Moseley puts it, under siege as it is from antibiotics and a deluge of cleaning products designed to sterilise every part of our existence. However much we may like junk food and chemical additives, our gut bacteria does not – and our increasingly narrow diet has led to a similar lack of diversity in our gut. Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London and the author of The Diet Myth, explains that if we “wipe out our gut microbes, then our immune system goes into autodrive and starts attacking us with autoimmune diseases and allergies”.
Die nuetzlichen Darmbakterien werden durch fermentierte Lebensmittel sowie Prebiotika wie Zwiebeln, Knoblauch, Chickory, Spargel, Artischocken, usw. unterstuetzt.One way of boosting your natural gut flora is to eat more of the kind of foods they thrive on – which, according to the British Dietetic Association, include onions, garlic, asparagus, artichoke, chicory and banana. These prebiotics, as they are known, will encourage microbe growth. The other way, which is what concerns us here, is the use of so-called probiotics, foods or supplements containing beneficial bacteria that, if they make it as far as our guts, will take up residence there. Fermented foods, or at least live fermented foods (beware pasteurised pickles, for example), are generally considered to be an excellent source of these desirable microbes.
Gekaufte fermentierte Produkte enthalten oft sehr wenige Bakterien. Selbst hergestellte Produkte enthalten meistens eine groessere Vielfalt an Bakterien.In the long term, however, you might be better off preparing your own. Like many other ferments, kimchi is surprisingly easy to make at home with little more than a sturdy jar and a bit of patience. Mosley’s recent findings in an episode of BBC2’s Trust Me, I’m a Doctor suggest that homemade ferments often contain a more diverse range of microbes than their shop-bought equivalents; some of the commercial products he looked at contained barely any.
lg. Dieter