Listener Questions (KYF121)

It’s time to do another round of listener questions! Please keep them coming… I love to answer and help you!

Here are the questions I’m answering:

• what can you ferment?
• why does milk cause gas?
• can you mix different batches of kefir?
• is it safe to heat kefir for hot chocolate?
• where to start?
• what’s a fermented vegetable your family will like?

All the answers are in this episode, and any links mentioned are below. Plus… the tip of the week!

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Tip of the Week: 25 Fermented Fruit & Chutney Recipes

Preserve the beautiful flavors and colors of the summer’s fruit! Here are 25 Fermented Fruit & Chutney Recipes to get you started.

Listener Questions

Henri H. D. asks several questions:

“Can you ferment pretty much anything at all?”

“Why do I experience excessive gas from drinking organic milk. The milk is bought from a store and it’s non-homogenized and pasteurized. It’s also whole milk with 3% fat and pretty much the best I can get here in Finland. I still don’t understand why I experience problems with my body. The same happens with organic heavy cream which is 15%. Is it the breed of the cow we have here or something else any idea? I had the same problems when I drank just regular, homogenized, pasteurized and it was 1-1,5% fat milk, but the symptoms were even worse. I eat a lot of bread and the bread is always at least some part of it whole-grain. Could that be the reason for bloating/excessive gas? I exercise a lot by doing many types of sports, so I drink a lot of milk for recovery. Sometimes over 1 litre a day (approx. 1quart, I think). I eat a lot of organic eggs, and only organic and the very best I can find. I rarely get any problems from them.”

“Can I mix different kefir batches together in a bigger glass jar? So, does it matter if let’s say the first batch I pour into the glass jar is from 24h ago and then the second batch I pour into the same glass is made 24h later? Or should I ferment every batch separately in a bigger jar at once? Does the kefir milk stay good for how long after fermenting (in the fridge)?”

“Is it safe to heat up kefir milk for hot chocolate on a stove? Do the probiotics die from the heat, if they do, then in what temperature does that happen?”

Link for Henri:

• Digestive enzymes (these are GREAT)

Michelle W. asks:

“Hi, I have been on your site and have found it both wonderful and benificial. I would love to order everything off your site but am on a small disability for PTSD and I need advise as to what to do. I am 100 pds over weight and my lifestyle is lethargic and easy high carb processed meals due to the stress of 8 deaths(my father and ex-fiance, 3 aunts, an uncle, and two friends) all in the last 4 years. I want to change my lifestyle but don’t know where to begin when it comes to food. I have no skills in the kitchen with traditional cooking. I tried fermenting a cabbage and some ginger last week but I don’t know if it worked or not as I have never done this before. So when I found your site I was over joyed. I looked over the 8 books as well as the Traditional Skills and do not know what to do nor where to start. I am also a Canadian and our dollar is 20 cents below yours so anything I buy will be alot more than your advertised price. I am a Christian and since you are too I would ask if you would consider praying about what I should do since you have the knowledge of your material. Thank you so much, Blessings, Michelle”

Links for Michelle:

• How I Lost More Than 30 Pounds In 1 Year (podcast #113)
• Fundamentals I and II eBooks

Esther D. asks:

“I would really like to find a fermented vegetable that my family likes. Can I ferment vegetables and fruits together and is there anything special that needs to be done to ensure the right organisms growing? For instance, could I make an apple-carrot-slaw heavy on the apples and carrots? Would it be a problem making this with salt only and no whey? What is the rule of thumb to determine how much salt to use in proportion to my fruits and veggies?

If that is a recipe for disaster, do you have any recipe recommendations? My family has turned down Bubbies pickles, sauerkraut, and every kind of salad dressings I have made. They don’t care for sour, dill, spicy, or any cabbage. However, I do have hope of converting them eventually since they gladly eat smoothies made with milk kefir, yogurt served with honey and granola or fruit, water kefir when that was an option (it’s not anymore with our chloramine treated water) and the apple chutney I made from your book. I would like to serve them fermented vegetables though because they already eat loads of fruit and enough (i.e. not “too much”) vegetables and because my impression is that vegetables last longer than fruits so I could make a big batch less frequently, which would work much better with my schedule. I also want them eating more fermented foods because I think we would all benefit from being on the Gaps diet for awhile. But so far I cannot convince them to eat anything fermented that is savory.”

Link for Esther:

• Fermented Apple Chutney

iTunes

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Anything to Add?

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