The jury is in: fermented foods are good for you

Not only is kimchi, a spicy fermented cabbage dish, practically Korea’s national food, it’s also listed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, a compendium of the treasures of cultures worldwide. It’s that important.

QUICK-AND- EASY KIMCHI

Serves 4
Preparation: 15 minutes, plus 3 hours’ standing time

• Place the 1 roughly chopped cabbage in a bowl and sprinkle over 3T salt. Toss and cover with clingwrap.
• Allow to stand for at least 3 hours, tossing every 30 minutes. Rinse the cabbage, then place in a clean bowl.
• Pound the 3 garlic cloves, 1 T of finely grated ginger, 1–2 finely chopped red chillies and 1⁄2 t chilli flakes in a mortar and pestle or blend to form a paste. Add 2 T fish sauce and 3 T of rice vinegar and pound into a paste. Coat the cabbage in the paste and store in an airtight container.

Think making your own sourdough starter is too difficult? Think again. Okay, it takes a while, but the result is totally worth it. Plus, your friends will be seriously impressed.

Wild yeast is present in all flour; you simply have to “activate” it to make your own starter so that you don’t have to use commercially produced yeast when baking. All you need is flour and water. After a day or two, bubbles will start to form in the starter, indicating that the yeast is becoming active and multiplying. Feed it with more flour and water for about five days (depending on the conditions in your kitchen) until it becomes frothy and ready to use.

SOURDOUGH STARTER

Makes 4 cups
To make the initial starter, mix 300 g Eureka Mills rye flour, 300 g Eureka Mills white bread flour and 1 1⁄2 cups of water place all the ingredients into a glass bowl and stir vigorously until combined into a smooth batter. Scrape down the sides and loosely cover the bowl with clingwrap. Place in a warm area in the kitchen and allow to stand for 24 hours.
To feed the starter, mix 300 g initial starter mixture, 300 g Eureka Mills white bread flour and 3⁄4 cup water place the feeding ingredients into a bowl and mix until smooth (discard the remaining initial mixture). Cover and place in a warm area for 24 hours. Repeat this process for 5 days.
The starter should be bubbly, even frothy. It should also smell quite sour and pungent. It’s now ready to use.

Did you know: Woolworths' yoghurt is made with selected yoghurt and also contains millions of live added bifidobacterium cultures, which contribute to a healthy digestive system. - Aimee Pleass, product developer.

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