FAQs

Why Should I Eat More Raw Foods

That's a great question !

If you are suffering with any kind of illness, pain, disability, mental illness, disease etc your body will benefit a great deal by eating more 'alive' raw foods. Raw 'uncooked' foods contain live enzymes which are the key to your life - without them we would be dead ! As we age, our body cannot make as many enzymes for itself so it 's important that we supplement with some raw foods which are full of them. Food that is heated over 42-45 C contains no live enzymes so we must ensure the food is either cold or warm. Yes you can heat raw food but not over that temperature. That's good news if you want to eat raw foods in the cooler months. Heat your soup in a dehydrator (if it's the one with a door opening out) or in a very low oven or in a water bath.

My ferments sometimes have a strong odour

"Fermenting vegetables emit strong odors. This is normal and generally not a problem. If you or those you live with are bothered by the smell, you can try fermenting in a semi-outdoor ventilated space, provided that it doesn't get wet or excessively hot or cold.

Fermenting in jars is another approach. When you release the pressure by opening the jar every so often, just do it outside.

A truly putrid smell can indicate a number of problems and typically accompanied by long-growing, deep-penetrating surface growth of some sort that needs to be removed. Many times, I have removed top layers that were obnoxious and offensive in their smell and appearance from long-fermenting barrels and crocks full of vegetables, only to discover gorgeous mouth-wateringly aromatic kraut a few inches below"

From "The Art of Fermentation" by Sandor Katz

Why is my sauerkraut slimy on the top ?

And sometimes it can be slimy throughout the whole jar.

"Sometimes fermenting vegetables develop thick gooey viscous almost ropy brine. In some cases this is a fleeting stage of development as successive metabolic processes proceed the sliminess disappears. In other cases it may remain slimy.

It most often develops in warmer than ideal temperatures. Either put the ferment in a cooler place to do its thing or wait till the ambient temperature cools down."

From 'The Art of Fermentation' by Sandor Katz

I personally have had the whole jar go slimy so I put it in a bowl rinsed it well with cold water and repacked into the jar. It may be a good idea to add a brine back into the jar of about 2%.

What are enzymes and why are they important?

Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts, which means they speed up the thousands of chemical reactions in the body. Nearly every process in our cells, from digesting food to synthesizing DNA, relies on enzymes to proceed efficiently. Without sufficient enzymes, we would die. As we age the enzyme production decreases so we must add them to our body by the food we eat. The more live food we put into our bodies the more alive we feel. Heat above 42 degrees Celsius will destroy an enzyme so that is why it's important to eat lots of uncooked raw foods especially green leafies.

Enzymes are essential to maintaining the complex and finely-tuned chemistry required for health, with specific enzymes playing distinct roles across all bodily systems.

For example there is

lipase - breaks down fats

amylase - break sown carbohydrates

protease - breaks down proteins

Which make it possible for the body to absorb more nutrients.in

Then there is Bromelain obtained from pineapples which is a mixture of enzymes that breakdown proteins in the body. They include proteinases and proteases.

Another one is Papain from Paw Paw a proteolytic enzyme which helps to break proteins down into smaller protein fragments called peptides and amino acids. Paw paw is often used to tenderise meat.