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There was once a group of highly intelligent vegetables. They would sit together and in proper polite matter, take their turn to espouse very important commentary on the workings of society, the most meaningful and excellent of literature and which server brought the most correctly made cucumber sandwich.

They were vegetables who were cultured.(source)

Although charming, I’m not talking about that kind of cultured vegetables today. For one, I’m pretty sure that even the above cultured vegetables were made in exactly the same way as their lower brow brothers and sisters.

In fact, their difference is not in their knowledge of higher society but in the fact they have been fermented so that they were rich in beneficial bacteria and enzymes.

No doubt they also share observations on Proust while fermenting.

Recently I’ve explained the process of making cultured vegetables to a lot of clients for good reason – they are incredibly helpful, therapeutic foods. I thought it was about time I featured them here on the blog.

So what are cultured vegetables?

To quote, “cultured vegetables are made by shredding cabbage or a combination of cabbage and other vegetables and then packing them tightly into an airtight container. They are left to ferment at room temperature for several days or longer. Friendly bacteria naturally present in the vegetables quickly lower the pH, making a more acidic environment so the bacteria can reproduce. The vegetables become soft, delicious, and somewhat “pickled.” (source)

This culturing process allows beneficial bacteria and enzymes to proliferate in the vegetables so that when you eat them with other foods your whole meal is digested better.

Having great digestion is absolutely critical to amazing health and energy. I have covered the core principles of great digestion in detail in my free virtual health classes (the next one is on Wednesday and covers losing weight and keeping it off!) and the Discover Detox 3 week program is all about getting your digestion working as optimally as possible and allowing your body to clean out effectively. The result is your energy soars, you drop weight and your skin, mood and overall health improves! Lovely .

The bacteria cultured vegetables provide also populate your intestinal tract so you are better able to assimilate nutrients in your small intestine and move waste out via the colon so you can eliminate toxins, “bad” bacteria and yeast, and impaction which holds you back from experiencing wonderful health.

When you first bring in cultured vegetables, you can have a bit more gas and bloating as the bacteria does it’s thing, but it should subside within a few days. Colon cleansing with colonics and enemas will help this process (in fact every process in your body!) further.

You can enjoy the wonderful therapeutic effects of cultured vegetables with any meal. They have a sour taste that I personally really like (similar to sauerkraut), but if you find it too new or just plain don’t like it, add a few drops of stevia and some lemon juice and stir it into a salad. It will taste amazing.

A final note before my instructions, if you eat animal protein or grains regularly, definitely get into cultured veggies and eat them with these foods. The difference will be huge in how you digest them and thus how tired and heavy you feel!

Here’s how to make cultured (fermented) vegetables…

The Basic Recipe

3 heads of cabbage

Pure water

What I used:

3 heads of cabbage

Pure water

1 tablespoon of dried dill

1 inch of ginger

1 clove of garlic

You can use any vegetables you like, plus any spices or herbs. Chilli, cayenne pepper, turmeric, carrot, coriander/cilantro, cucumber, beetroot, seaweeds like arame and hijiki, raw sweet potato, goji berries, apple…the list goes on.

Including a little bit of fruit or a high quality sweetener in your cultured vegetables is actually helpful (although not necessary) and doesn’t exacerbate candida overgrowth as the helpful bacteria feed off the sugar so the yeast in your body that cause all sorts of symptoms don’t!

There are a few ways to make cultured vegetables. You can massage bacteria-rich vegetables like cabbage and cucumber with sea salt to release their juice. Then tightly pack them into clean and ideally sterilised glass containers and allow them to sit out of the fridge at room temperature (roughly 22°C/72°F) for at least 3 days and up to 10.

I don’t like using a lot of salt so I personally choose to make my fermented vegetables without it. I do however like to use a veggie culture starter to ensure there is a very good chance the bacteria that grows is particularly strong and hardy.

You simply warm some pure water to room temperature and then dissolve one packet of the starter culture into the liquid with a bit of sweetener. I used a teaspoon of raw honey. Let this sit for at least 20 minutes to let the bacteria come alive and eat that yummy honey.

It will look something like this after 20 minutes…

While your bacteria is doing it’s thing, take your cabbages and peel off the outer layers. Put those aside. You’ll need them later. Shred your cabbage finely with a knife or in your food processor.

Place the cabbage and any other ingredients you wish to use (I used dill, chopped garlic and peeled and chopped ginger) in a large and very clean bowl or pot.

Take a few cups of the veggies and put them in a blender with enough pure water to make a thick juice. Blend well.

Pour the blended juice over the cabbage and other veggies and mix really well. It’s easiest to use your hands, just wash them really well first as you don’t want to transfer any germs or unhelpful bacteria.

Fill glass or stainless steel jars or containers with the mixture, leaving about two inches of room at the top. Using you hand or a clean spoon, really pack the mixture down into the jars so there is no air in with the veggies. The juice will come to the top of the veggies. Add a little bit of pure water to the top of the veggies so that they are completely immersed in liquid if you need to.

Is anyone else as messy as I am when making this stuff? Honestly, it’s like two torpedos made of cabbage hit each other at full speed and exploded all over my kitchen. Suffice to say my photos were limited so I didn’t totally destroy my camera with cabbage juice .

Now take your cabbage leaves and roll them into tight logs to place on top of the veggies, to again remove the air from the jars. This will help to keep the veggies packed tightly down so there is less chance of mould. If your cabbage leaves become mouldy over the next few days, you can simply remove them and eat the shredded veggies underneath. They’ll still be good.

Put the lids on your jars and let the veggies sit somewhere at room temperature for a minimum of three days, and up to 10 days. You can taste them after three days to see whether you want to let them ferment more or not. They will become more sour over time. I usually let mine sit for about 7 days.

When they are as you’d like, remove the cabbage leaves and transfer them to the fridge. Enjoy a half cup with your meals! Start with only a half cup once per day and then have them with all your meals if you like. You will need to allow your body a little time to adjust to this powerfully therapeutic food.

Don’t forget my August detox educational and delicious raw food preparation classes, including the new Juice and Smoothie Tasting Party, are coming up fast! Get details here and then secure your spot by emailing me.

Lastly, the workouts for Week 3 of the Strong Is Sexy Fitness Challenge I am co-hosting with the lovely Pure2Raw twins Lori and Michelle, are up! Yeehah! I am loving it so much! Check them out here!

Have you ever tasted or made cultured vegetables before? Did they impact your health?