I wanted to take some time to address the issue of cost as that is the main comment or concern people have made about the series. The second most comment I have received, about being overwhelmed, we’ll discuss in my next post.
When you look at the benefits of using a Pickl-It, I firmly believe that the benefits outweigh the cost AND you will far more than save the amount you invested in the vessels. As someone who is concerned about both time in the kitchen and the budget, I believe that the Pickl-It is a great kitchen investment. When I pick kitchen equipment, I look for items that will save money in the long-run. I have invested in other equipment such as a dehydrator, pressure canner, roaster, food processor, blender, quality knives, crock-pot and similar equipment to make my job faster and easier and save me money. The Pickl-It is no different.
I totally get tight budgets. Since 2008 we’ve been through two long stretches of unemployment, including right now. So I am writing this from a perspective of cost versus time, benefit versus risk and cost in time and money. If you enjoy fermentation and do it regularly, this will save you time and money in the long-run even if you aren’t trying to heal your gut. If you want to ferment but haven’t been able to do it successfully, this might be what you need to meet your goal.
The Pickl-It is a high quality piece of equipment that will last a lifetime. It’s made out of heavy glass and it isn’t easily breakable. Should you ever shatter a piece, Pickl-It will replace it for a low cost. Should you ever damage an airlock or other piece, they will replace it for a low cost. Should you ever tear a grommet, they’ll mail you a new one for free. You just have to call them to arrange it. They back their products so you won’t have to completely replace the entire unit should an accident occur.
Pickl-It Compared to Thrown Out Food
If you live in a humid or warmer area, you probably have had at least some ferments done in methods that aren’t airtight go bad. When the slimy-nasty-moldies set in on your carrots or kraut, you’re (hopefully) going to toss it. Because the Pickl-It excludes the oxygen-loving bacteria, you’re not nearly so likely to have a batch go bad. I’m not saying that it’s impossible to have it happen, I’m saying that it appears to be rare.
Before we moved, I had a hard time getting my non-aerobic ferments to turn out right thanks to the high humidity. I threw away a LOT of food. When I used other methods, I consistently had batches go bad before they were done fermenting or have to be thrown out before I could get through them. Sometimes that meant throwing out expensive, organic food. But even if it was just carrots, it hurt the budget.
It seems so often when people address the cost of fermentation and the various vessels, they rarely address the reality of failed batches. I’ve had people contact me who have read books and taken eCourses on fermentation who still couldn’t get it to turn out correctly until they went to a truly anaerobic method. After having many such people contact me, I believe the high failure rate is due to location (predominately warm and humid climates) and not due to user error. Many people have reported switching to a Harsch or a Pickl-It solved the issue.
If you enjoy making ferments with some of the more expensive fruits and vegetables, you can really save in the long-run as your chances of having a batch go bad are much, much lower. When you pay $4 or more for a pound of organic cherries or $3 for a pound of asparagus, it doesn’t take throwing out much food to pay for the first vessel. I easily threw out enough ingredients in one year to pay for a 4L Pickl-It, not even accounting for the time spent making the recipe. Having a Pickl-It would have saved me money, time and frustration from the wasted batches.
It also takes longer for ferments like fruit chutneys to go bad in a Pickl-It, as exposure to oxygen speeds up the formation of alcohol. That gives you more time to consume those ferments. This is very budget friendly as many of the fruit ferments are more costly than the vegetable ones. We’ll be giving more details about alcohol in another post.
Pickl-It Compared to Digestive Enzymes
When I became ill, other methods of fermentation didn’t give me the digestive enzymes I needed in order to be able to quit taking the pills. Had I used a Pickl-It from the beginning, it would have saved me $50-$150 a month, depending on which enzymes you need, in purchasing commercial digestive enzyme pills. At that rate, it doesn’t take long at all to recoup even an investment in a large set of Pickl-Its- one to three months to pay for a big bundle of five and you’d have it for a lifetime to produce digestive enzymes without having to buy pills again. We’ll be covering more details about the enzymes in a properly fermented product soon, as this is an area I have found to be fascinating. I’m excited to share details 🙂
Pickl-It Compared to Probiotics
As with the digestive enzymes, I wasn’t able to get off of the probiotic pills until I went to anaerobic ferments. Many people are currently using the GAPS diet to heal their guts, so let’s look at the GAPS recommended probiotic, called BioKult. Currently, BioKult costs $42 for 120 pills, plus shipping. If you are following the GAPS diet, the book calls for 15-20 billion bacteria per day for six months to heal your gut (pages 251-252 of Gut and Psychology Syndrome). Each BioKult capsule contains 2 billion per pill, meaning you would need to take 8-10 a day. If you want to order 10 bottles, you can get it for $377.55 plus shipping. That would cover only four to five of the six months. If you choose to do the whole six months, BioKult would cost you $503.55 if you took 8 a day (consuming 13 bottles) and $629.55 if you took ten a day (consuming 16 bottles).
If I purchased the big bundle of 5 from Pickl-It, that would cost $158.50 including shipping to my house. That contains two 3L vessels and three 1.5L vessels. You’d recoup your cost in less than two months and you’d have it for a lifetime to produce probiotics without having to buy pills again.
How Much Fermented Food Would I Have To Eat?
By way of comparison, one study pegged anaerobically-fermented sauerkraut as having 1 – 1.5 billion bacteria per 25-gram serving. Note that aerobic methods of fermenting will have far less due to competition. 1/4 cup of sauerkraut without the juice was 60 grams on my scale. That’s works out to be about 1 to 1.5 cups of sauerkraut. So how to work that level of food into your diet?
- Use two 3L Pickl-Its for sauerkraut and eat 1/3 cup of sauerkraut at both lunch and dinner- have one container that you’re eating out of and one ‘brewing’ to be ready when you finish it.
- Use a 1.5L Pickl-It so you can pick a different ferment for breakfast.
- Drink some water kefir or dairy kefir made in a 1.5L Pickl-It at one meal or as a snack.
- You could also include yogurt in your dessert.
- Use the last 1.5L Pickl-It to give yourself more variety and experiment so you don’t get bored with your food.
You’re likely going over the 15 billion mark Dr. McBride set for a LOT less money!
Lactofermented food will also contain beneficial yeast. BioKult doesn’t contain any yeast. In order to get beneficial yeast, you must purchase a separate pill, costing more money and giving you yet more pills to swallow. Personally, when I was at my sickest, I swallowed a LOT of pills. I’d much rather have had the option to eat something than to have to swallow yet another pill!
Comparison of Probiotic Types
I know someone will ask if fermented veggies contain everything that BioKult has, so let’s take a look. BioKult contains:
Probiotic cultures [Bacillus subtilis PXN 21, Bifidobacterium spp. (B. bifidum PXN 23, B. breve PXN 25, B. infantis PXN 27, B. longum PXN 30), Lactobacillus spp. (L. acidophilus PXN 35, L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus PXN 39, L. casei PXN 37, L. plantarum PXN 47, L. rhamnosus PXN 54, L. helveticus PXN 45, L. salivarius PXN 57), Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis PXN 63, Streptococcus thermophilus PXN 66], Cellulose (bulking agent), Vegetable Capsule (Hydroxypropylmethyl Cellulose).
I looked up each one listed to find where you’re most likely to locate it in the world of fermentation. In order to replicate those contents, you’d need to make sauerkraut, a different type of fermented vegetable for variety if you need it, and yogurt or kefir. Non-Dairy yogurt can easily be made at home if you’re intolerant to dairy and it isn’t expensive to make. And you wouldn’t be consuming any cellulose in the deal.
What If I’m Not Healing My Gut?
If you aren’t working on gut healing or health problems, you might be taking a different type of probiotic. You likely aren’t needing the massive doses listed above. You could purchase a smaller bundle, such as the Veggie Duo, which is two 1.5L vessels. Including shipping, that bundle would cost me $67. Since many of the good probiotics cost at least $1 per day, you could recoup the cost in less than 3 months AND produce and consume far more probiotics in the meantime!
Food Intolerances
Another thing to consider is that BioKult contains dairy and soy. Most probiotics on the market do have dairy in them. It’s difficult to find dairy-free probiotics. Soy is problematic for many. When you use a Pickl-It, you can guarantee that your ferments don’t have soy or dairy or any other allergen you might have in them.
Pickl-It Compared to The Harsch Crock
The Pickl-It and the Harsch are direct competitors- they turn out the same product. One 5L Harsch, the smallest model I could find, is $120.95 plus shipping of around $50. The crocks are big and VERY heavy, so they’re expensive to ship even with the slow boat method. The Pickl-It is $39 with a shipping cost of $12, sent by FedEx. The Pickl-It costs 70% less than a Harsch. If you purchase more than one Pickl-It at a time, you save significantly on the shipping. Adding a second Pickl-It only ups the shipping by $6.
The Pickl-It excels over the Harsch in three areas. First, if you neglect your Harsch, it can develop mold and you can’t get it out. When that happens, you have to throw the crock away. The Pickl-It is made of glass so it can not mold. If you’re prone to forget your ferments, this is significant.
Second, the Pickl-It is available in a wide variety of sizes. This saves space, tons of money and if you don’t like a flavor combination you’ve created, you aren’t out a lot of ingredients as the smallest Harsch available is a 5L (that’s 1-1/3 gallons) and you must fill it at least 75% full. With a Pickl-It, you can do a tiny batch in a 3/4L to make sure you like the flavor and you’ll eat a lot of it before making bigger batches.
Third, it is important to consider variety. Even if you love sauerkraut, you’ll likely get tired of eating it at each meal, three times a day, for months on end. With the Pickl-It you can be creative and ferment a wide variety of foods so you don’t get bored and possibly reduce your intake or stop eating the fermented foods.
Pickl-It can also be used for water kefirs, sourdoughs and fermented batters. The Harsch crock is much too large to work with these options. And it would be difficult to use up almost a gallon of a fruit ferment before it could go bad unless you’re feeding a really large crowd.
When you add it all up, the Pickl-It has a large advantage over the Harsch.
So, the question to me isn’t how can you afford a Pickl-It, the question is if you’re working on fixing your health and spending lots of money in the process, how can you NOT afford it? If you’re just taking probiotics as insurance, you’ll save money with the Pickl-It in the long-run. If you’re currently throwing out ferments that have gone bad, the Pickl-It will save you that money and more in the long-run.
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I know many people are struggling, but in reality the Pickl-It is fairly affordable, especially compared to the Harsch crock. Years ago when I got into fermenting, I looked at getting the Harsch crock but it felt too big/heavy and expensive. I love that you can get the Pickl-It in a variety of sizes which is another advantage of the Pickl-It. I pretty much only ferment for myself so the Harsch crock would be too much. I think the problem is that the mason jars are so cheap and people are very reluctant to spend more. From reading all your work, I feel that if someone has gut issues, they are being penny wise and dollar foolish.
When you use the Pickl-It, do you also store your ferments in it after they’re fermented to your liking, or transfer it to another vessel?
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Becca, I’ve been exchanging the airlock for the Plug-r and leaving them in the fridge. I read about the possibility of transferring them to a Fido, but I came across some info that suggested excess CO2 can have negative effects on the ferment. So I’m still reading before making a final decision. Until then, I’ll continue using the Pickl-Its to hold them in the fridge.
KerryAnn Foster recently posted..Pickl-It: Invest a Little, Save a Lot
You can also store the Pickl-its in the fridge with a mini airlock for ferments like sauerkraut which keep curing.
True, true. I didn’t think about that option because I haven’t gotten to try a mini-airlock yet. Maybe with my next order. 🙂
KerryAnn Foster recently posted..Pickl-It: Invest a Little, Save a Lot
Hi KerryAnn,
Did you ever reach a conclusion about moving your ferments into a Fido jar for fridge storage? What do you think about taking ferments from a larger Pickl-It, say the 3L, and dividing them into several smaller Fido jars, maybe 1/2L or 1L sized? Will there be appreciable CO2 buildup in the fridge with a Fido jar lid?
Thanks so much for all of your hard research and great posts on fermentation. As a scientist, I appreciate that you back up your statements with facts and papers from the literature!
Amanda, I have. I ferment in a Pickl-It until the valve in the airlock has dropped completely, then I leave it another week or so to make sure the active off-gassing is done. Then I swap the lid with a Fido lid. You can divide into smaller jars, as well. I recommend you move it to a smaller jar once it is 50% full. That gives the lactic acid bacteria the best chance to survive.
I don’t believe you’ll see pressure build-up if the valve has completely dropped.
I haven’t been following the controversy because I’m of the ‘who cares’ crowd. If you like it, great! If you don’t, great! They all do different things and have different outcomes. Find what works for you and stick with it. 🙂 I’m going to try a Pickl-It to see how I like it so thanks for highlighting that option! I almost always ferment in my Harsch (mason jar for beet kvass) and would love a smaller and more convenient option for the little stuff that I don’t make yet like chutneys and ginger carrot sticks. One of my only true allergies left is mold, and it’s reassuring that I can almost completely avoid it in my ferments. I also love all of the info that the issue has sparked. I know it must be tough to deal with, but it brings out more in-depth info that’s very helpful for those who want to learn and take their knowledge to the next step. I’d rather do my own experimenting and research. It keeps me from being a sheeple. 😉 My daughter is on digestive enzymes now and doing wonderfully well with them, but I forgot about ferments being able to take their place (sometimes the info right in front of your face escapes you). Your ongoing research and explanations are very much appreciated. For newbies and those of us doing it for awhile, little gems of information (or loads of it) are always welcome!
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Hi!
I’m a first time fermenter. Which size pickle it would you use for water kiefer? I’m planning on making your water kiefer lemonade. Is their a taste/quality difference between using the pickle it vs using the grolich bottles? I want my children (7 and 8 years) to be able to serve themselves; Is the pickle it easy to pour and not too heavy?
Thanks so much for your time and all of your fab information.
Pamela, the Grolsch and the Pickl-It function differently.
I use a 1.5L Pickl-It for my first ferment, then add the lemon juice and transfer to the Grolsch bottles for the second ferment. You see, the Grolsch being airtight with no outlet is what makes the carbon dioxide stay and make the lemonade fizzy. If you do a second ferment in a Pickl-It, it will let all of the carbon dioxide out and you won’t get a fizzy drink.
The Pickl-Its are heavy and I trust my 9 year old to handle them but not my 7 year old. It isn’t easy to pour from a Pickl-It due to the hinged lid. I do recommend you use the Grolsch lock bottles for the drinks because they’re much easier for the kids to handle.
KerryAnn Foster recently posted..Pickl-It: Invest a Little, Save a Lot
So I see how, in the long run, you save money using the pick-it. There still isn’t much advice here for the people who just can’t afford that extra $50. I”m not trying to start a poor me party or anything, but I am a single, 3 months aways from being a first time mom, and my boss ahs taken me off the the work schedule for the last month, even though I had requested to work up until 2 weeks before my due date. I am on food stamps. I can barely make ends meet. I don’t use pill probiotics. I eat everything I buy. There is no wiggle room in my budget. Nutrition is very important to me, especially ever since I was lucky enough to see the light about traditional eating. And even more so now that I’m pregnant and going to be taking care of new human being. I know I will figure out how to be the best mom I can be and keep making those ends meet, but the invest a little, save a lot isn’t a reality for us all. I mean, I have an old juice jar on my desk for spare change that has now become my pick-it fund, but is there a way to create an airlock for a mason jar or some way that does not take an initial $50 investment? I want to do what’s best here, but its still pretty unclear on what that is, besides just giving up on fermenting?
Jami, it is not my intention to discourage people from fermentation and I do realize that some people can’t afford the equipment. I do have one post that has a lot of hints to help if you can’t afford a Pickl-It and I’ll be posting more about it as I find more ways. https://www.onevibrantmama.com/but-i-thought-it-was-anaerobic-as-long-as-it-was-under-the-brine/ Look under the section called ‘weighty matters.’
Hi KerryAnn,
Another blogger has this on her recent promotion for a fermentation class. She says “Did you know that 1 gram of naturally-fermented sauerkraut can easily contain 54 billion live bacteria?”…”54 billion live bacteria??? In less than a half a teaspoon? ”
Unless, I am misunderstanding something, this does not seem to jive with what you have (which is referenced!). I’ve asked her for a reference.
Angela, I can find many quotes of different numbers of bacteria without reference to a study online. However, that was the only number I could find that was connected to a study that I could verify for myself. However, I didn’t do an exhaustive search. Should I find something different or someone could provide a reference, I would gladly update the information and the resulting material. I’d be thrilled to be able to verify there could be more!
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KerryAnn
She did not have a reference either. Her number seemed kinda high to me. Yours seemed more reasonable. Here’s her reply:
I read about it on a WAPF email list when someone affiliated with Immunitrition (a company that makes cultured veggies and has sponsored WAPF conferences) supplied the results of their most recent round of safety testing for the FDA. Immunitrition cultures these veggies using the same traditional methods you would use at home, no industrial processing or funkiness goes on. They do use a starter culture, so it’s not a wild ferment. But I often do that too because it helps ensure consistency between batches.”
I would assume the starter culture was part of the reason why- bacteria levels ebb and flow and if you test during certain phases of fermentation, they’ll be high even if the finished product isn’t high. Also, I have heard about their results and I believe the results were on all bacteria, not just the lactic acid bacteria. I’ll contact the company and ask for specifics.
I did purposefully go towards a lower number because in wild ferments, there is a lot of variation on how much is produced, even between batches started at the same time. That’s why the starter culture gets pushed. However, the starters do have an effect on flavor that some people don’t like. I leave the starter for drinks and do wild ferments for my veggies, especially kraut.
KerryAnn Foster recently posted..But I Thought It Was Anaerobic As Long As It Was Under The Brine?!?
Do you make Kombucha in a Pickl-It, or does a scoby not have the same issues as a wild ferment?
ambre @MyTempleRemodeling.com recently posted..A Home I’ll Never See
Ambre, Kombucha requires oxygen, so I don’t make mine in a Pickl-It. Instead, I make min in a glass bowl with a wide top and secure cloth over the top.
That’s how we make ours too. Okay, great! Thanks for all you share!
ambre @MyTempleRemodeling.com recently posted..A Home I’ll Never See
Angela,
I am not where you found that reference about 54 billion bacteria – but I have stated that myself based on a study that Caroline Barringer, owner of Immunitrition, did through Dr. Mercola testing their veggies. I don’t have it in print or the actual study yet myself, though I am asking for it in print. From what I currently understand, those were done with ferments, like you said, using a culture. And from what I now understand they use a more professional method of fermenting such as larger crocks/vessels like the Harsh. I do not know exactly what vessels they use. I know I have mentioned this information at some point online, but only in comments elsewhere – I don’t think I’ve quoted it direct on my blog as of yet.
From what I understand Immunitrition is getting more testing done to find out exactly what and how much good bacteria is present in each of their ferments – it’s an expensive process so they are doing it slowly over time. Anyway, for what it’s worth I thought I’d throw that in there since I know I’ve quoted that myself here and there.
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From her statement, it isn’t clear to me if they use the moats on the Harsch crocks or not. And total bacterial counts don’t indicate that they are all lactic acid bacteria.
KerryAnn Foster recently posted..But I Thought It Was Anaerobic As Long As It Was Under The Brine?!?
I agree KA.
I just had to put the direct quote I heard out there since I know I’ve commented based on that info here before and perhaps even somewhere else and since someone on here mentioned hearing that info. I wanted to clarify it, at least to some degree, on my end because I know I put that info out into cyber world without any backing. At least now people will know the source and do their own questioning and thinking.
I’ve never used a Harsch crock, so I did not know to ask any further in regards to it.
lydia recently posted..How To Make Ghee
Okay, I found where Caroline and I dialogued about this and here’s some of what was discussed;
‘The lab results for the microbial count of our veggies was 54 Billion per GRAM – not per teaspoon. These veggies tested were cultured IN A MASON JAR using Dr. Mercola’s Complete Probiotics powder. We opened his capsules and used the powder inside. We now have a different powder from him that does not have the silica in it and we use this powder as our starter for our commercial veggie production.’ ~ Caroline Barringer
Mercola’s starter will be on the market at some point, but is not yet.
Here’s more of what Caroline shared with me;
‘At Immunitrition, we TIGHTLY PACK our vessels with veggies in a celery juice brine (in which we have dissolved the starter powder) and we make sure to have at least one inch of liquid OVER THE TOP OF SEVERAL LAYERS OF cabbage leaves. In other words, the cabbage leaves are submerged UNDER the brine. These cabbage leaves cover the entire top surface area of our veggies to serve as a seal from oxygen. The inch or more of brine keeps the entire contents (the top layer of leaves and the shredded veggies and brine in and underneath the veggies) fully away from oxygen so the culturing process is 100% anearobic. Then we place a square, glass casserole dish that is the perfect fit to the top of our 2 gallon vessels, and place it at the top of the vessel. The glass dish then rests in the brine and sits on top of the cabbage leaves with a 5 lb. flat stone inside the casserole dish to keep the contents UNDER the brine and completely anaerobic at all times. Crocks work on the same principle. As long as everything inside the crock is under brine/water with the crock stones on top, even if the whole crock is not full, you will still have a robust lactic-acid ferment because what IS under the brine is anaerobic. The crocks also have a moat around the outside rim at the top that you fill with water to seal out further oxygen, but I consider the cabbage leaf layers, the 5 lb. stone, the glass covering of the casserole dish that holds the weighted stone, and the mason jar cover or our stainless steel covers that our veggies never come into contact with, to be just as effective as a traditional crock. Our 2 gallon vessels produce hardy, low pH, delicious veggies every time.’
So, here’s another question to consider – there are wild ferments, such as Sandor Katz type of ferments using no culture, but then there are controlled ferments using a culture starter (of which I have NEVER used). I am wondering if the ferments using a starter culture are safer/hardier regardless of using the mason jar, and have active LABS. Though now I am remembering KA saying that won’t deal with mold issues. But wouldn’t the good bacteria in our bodies deal with mold or any toxins/pathogens for that matter? So therefore wouldn’t the good bacteria starter cultures do the same in our ferments? Just processing out loud (in type) here.
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Yes, that is total bacterial count, both good and bad. You can’t assume all bacteria in a sample are lactic acid bacteria. She didn’t say at what point they were tested- how many days or weeks into the process.
Using a starter culture does have an influence on the ferment, both good and bad. It does bump the count significantly at some stages of fermentation, but it has some negative effects on flavor- because it limits the bacterial types, it tends to give a flavor profile that isn’t as full and rich as wild fermentation. Starter cultures can be used to manipulate the counts, as well. Most starters have only one to three bacterial types in them.
The use of celery juice presents its own problems with putting nitrates into the ferment and I’ll be posting about that soon. Those nitrates turn into nitrosamines in the gut without the presence of Vitamin C, and fermenting in light or in the presence of oxygen destroys the C in a ferment.
I discussed the fallacy of anaerobic brine here- https://www.onevibrantmama.com/but-i-thought-it-was-anaerobic-as-long-as-it-was-under-the-brine/ I guess that’s going to be the fermentation myth that just won’t die, huh?
Starter cultures are necessary for mason jar ferments to have any chance- whey is a starter culture and it really is a good one because it contains multiple strains of LABs instead of just one to three as the starter cultures currently on the market do. No, it won’t deal with the mold issue, and no, it won’t necessarily deal with the toxins from the mold. Some of them, such as botulism, can be deadly, even in healthy people. Besides, most of the people consuming ferments have at least some level of gut problems or health issues they’re trying to overcome, so I wouldn’t consider them ‘healthy.’
KerryAnn Foster recently posted..But I Thought It Was Anaerobic As Long As It Was Under The Brine?!?
Yes I know about your post about the anaerobic under the brine- I did not however send it to Caroline directly at the time of our conversation (she currently has a family crisis – I’ll wait to discuss this further with her another time)
I’m glad you mentioned whey – I recently read an old book called; ‘Acidophilus and colon health’ Whey is a great food source to help the colon maintain proper pH which helps the bacteria to thrive and populate, as the large intestine is where we actually house most of our bodies good microbes. I know there were some posts going around recently trying to disspell the need to use whey in veggie ferments – of the cuff it could seem like a good argument until you really dig deeper and understand how the bacteria. I’ll be writing some posts soon about whey – as I believe it’s a powerful tonic like food to help with gut healing as well, even aside from ferments.
lydia recently posted..How To Make Ghee
ack my brain is not working…….I also meant to note that if your colon pH is not correct, it needs to be slightly acidic, otherwise acidophilus is unable to grow in an alkaline colon. (I say acidophilus because at the time the book was written that was the strain of bacteria he had studied) Thankfully, pathogenic harmful bacteria are unable to take hold in this slightly acid environment and are expelled from the body. However, since digestion starts from north to south, if our stomach acid levels are off the rest of our digestive system is likely to not have the appropriate pH levels they each require, which means that our colon will not be at the right pH most likely. Soooo, all this to say, that we need to know first and foremost that we need to correct our stomach acid too even with the addition of appropriate ferementation. Thankfully the enzymes available in fermented foods can help immensely with the break down of the food regardless of our stomach acid levels, but I just thought I’d throw that piece of information out there. I think there are many pieces to the puzzle of our gut health and I am glad you are tackling this one about the science of fermented foods. Just know I’m over in my own little world getting ready to clarify probiotics, whey and proper digestion from north to south! 😀
lydia recently posted..How To Make Ghee
Yes, I believe the whey is critical to prevent a number of problems, even though it creates others. The bottom line is that I believe that if you’re going to do anything other than an anaerobic ferment, you need whey to give the artificial pH drop and inoculate the ferment with lactic acid bacteria. Those two together prevent the nasties that breathe oxygen from taking over before the lactic acid bacteria can get going, preventing early failure and giving the lactic acid bacteria a true chance to outcompete the aerobic bacteria. WIsh people who are dairy intolerant, anaerobic is the only way to go in my opinion.
KerryAnn Foster recently posted..But I Thought It Was Anaerobic As Long As It Was Under The Brine?!?
Also, I forgot to mention that when the colon pH is correct candida cannot thrive.
lydia recently posted..How To Make Ghee
I discovered Pickl-It a couple of years ago and even though it doubles the cost to get these to Canada, I have ordered a few and recommend them anyone who wants to ferment anything. These are the best investment in food preparation I have made in a very long time. No mold ever in them! Once people try them the old crocks will end up with flowers planted in them. :0)
Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to break this down. That was incredibly helpful!!!
I’m really interested in the picklit jars but live in the Uk, does any one know if they are available here? Have had trouble with mold on sauerkraut before and would like to use safer method.
Carol Ann, e-mail them. They ship conversion kits overseas where you can put it on a locally purchased Fido jar.
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Thanks so much!
Thank you sooooooo much for continuing to share your research with us–in spite of the flack. You have given us much food for thought and I eagerly look forward to your next article.
Seems like the composition of kefir grains grown anaerobically would be quite different from those grown in a mason jar with a cloth/filter cover. True? If so would it be better to get them from someone who has been using a Picklit, or do you think they’d adapt easily?
Connie, I believe the grains would adapt no matter where they came from. It is better to put them in an oxygen-less environment. I will eventually write a post about kefir, once I’m back on my feet and I have the time to research it.
Hi KerryAnn,
After reading this post and doing more research I decided to go ahead and order some of these jars… thanks to Kitsa 🙂 they arrived in the mail yesterday.
I just jumped on here to try and find a simple, sauerkraut recipe for my 3L jar (I think I’m reacting to the histamines, so want to avoid, which is the main reason for purchasing these). In the past I’ve followed the Nourishing Traditions method – but do you have one specifically for the Pickl-It??
Thank you, Sadie 🙂
Sadie, I sure do. Here’s the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqpx2IdFSmg&list=UUe1C36p7a60ty1y3Wi0vwVg&index=2&feature=plcp
Also, I was about to order the Garden of Life Probiotics – did you omit all other probiotics when consuming fermented foods from the Pickl-Its??? Just trying to save some cash 🙂
I did stop probiotics once I was on properly fermented foods. Digestive enzymes, too.
Thanks KerryAnn, I think I’ve timed it perfectly… I have some SBO’s to see me thru until my Pickl-Its are ready (after new year) – I can’t wait… but will 🙂