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Fermented Food
This traditional practice of India is amazing in all aspects especially
in food culture. The general rule in healthy food habits is that food should be cooked fresh;
but, if food becomes excessive, maybe rice, then the cooked rice is soaked in water overnight for
fermentation. This fermented rice is eaten the next day for breakfast with
onions. Look at the wisdom here. Fermentation of rice is different
from fermentation of yogurt. In the latter, a starter culture of
microbes are added and so only that bacteria grows more.
Whereas, while fermenting left over rice, with the intention of not
wasting food, no starter microbial culture is added. Hence, all
varieties of bacteria grow; predominantly the ones that feed on
rice nutrients secreting especially vitamin B12. This is the reason in
traditional Indian vegetarians there was deficiency of vitamin B12, because
they ate fermented rice. Eating vitamin B12 rich
food prevents anemia and fatigue and tiredness. People who
require strenuous physical exercises benefit from the intake of Vitamin
B12 and several other micro-nutrients by eating fermented rice. please Click here
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read.
The wisdom of eating onions with fermented rice has another health
benefit. Since fermented rice, unlike yogurt, has a plethora of microbes,
their disease causing ability has to be curbed. This is taken care of by
eating fermented rice with small red onions or red pearl onions which
are
rich in sulfur-containing anti-bacterial compounds. Fermenting rice is
good wisdom of not wasting left over rice and at the same time
enhancing its nutritional and health qualities.
Each state of India has different types of fermented foods based on the
grains that are available to them. The most popular is a steamed
rice-bean food called "Idli". Rice and Black Urad gram (a type of black
bean) is soaked and ground to a paste-like consistency and allowed to
ferment. Due to microbial activity the batter rises; when this is steamed
it forms a very soft, fluffy 'cake'. Idli is a very balanced food
with the right amount of carbohydrates and proteins, fat and other
nutrients. It is the ideal food for all ages for both the healthy and sick. For more
information on general fermentation.
Main advantage of Fermentation:
Reduction in anti-nutritional and toxic components in plant foods by
fermentation was observed in a
research which showed " Cereals, legumes, and tubers that are used for
the production of fermented foods may contain significant amounts of
antinutritional or toxic components such as phytates, tannins,
cyanogenic glycosides, oxalates, saponins, lectins, and inhibitors of
enzymes such as alpha-amylase, trypsin, and chymotrypsin.
These
substances reduce the nutritional value of foods by interfering with the
mineral bioavailability and digestibility of proteins and carbohydrates.
In natural or pure mixed-culture fermentations of plant foods by yeasts,
molds, and bacteria, antinutritional components (e.g. phytate in whole
wheat breads) can be reduced by up to 50%; toxic components, such as
lectins in tempe and other fermented foods made from beans, can be
reduced up to 95%. These reductions in antinutritional and toxic
components in plant foods during fermentation are discussed.
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