Put Some Life in Your Drink

This week I'm writing about something close to my heart although it is an unlikely love affair for most people: fermented foods. Much has been said about this, but it still remains a mystery to most people. Many are even repulsed by the idea, but I rarely see them reject common fermented foods. The food industry has done a good job of making sure the public doesn't think of these foods in that way: beer, wine, vinegar, sauerkraut, dill pickles, sour cream, buttermilk, cottage cheese, cheese, soy sauce, miso, sourdough bread, chocolate, and yogurt. There are, in fact, whole recipe sections dedicated to fermented foods in ethnic cookbooks as this is a common food in many cuisines.

Besides adding a layer of flavor to our diet, fermented foods are very important to our digestion. According to Sandor Katz in his book Wild Fermentation:

Fermentation is everywhere, always. It is an everyday miracle, the path of least resistance. Microscopic bacteria and fungi (encompassing yeasts and molds) are in every breath we take and every bite we eat. Try--as many do--to eradicate them with antibacterial soaps, antifungal creams, and antibiotic drugs, there is no escaping them. They are ubiquitous agents of transformation, feasting upon decaying matter, constantly shifting dynamic life forces from one miraculous and horrible creation to the next.

Microbial cultures are essential to life's processes, such as digestion and immunity. We humans are in symbiotic relationship with these single-cell life-forms. Microflora, as they are often called, digest food into nutrients our bodies can absorb, protect us from potentially dangerous organisms, and teach our immune systems how to function. Not only are we dependent upon microorganisms, we are their descendents: According to the fossil record, all forms of life on Earth spring from bacterial origins. Microorganisms are our ancestors and our allies. They keep the soil fertile and comprise an indispensable part of the cycle of life. Without them, there could be no other life.

(As an aside, an anti-evolutionist might be tempted to ignore the part about being descended from microorganisms until we remember that the Bible clearly states our origin as being from the ground.)

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7)

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return Genesis 3:19)

Anyway...if we accept that fermentation is an important part of life (and death as it were), we have to wonder why it is not a more prevalent part of our western culture (no pun intended). I would like to suggest it is another of the lost arts in our society, and indeed, we are less because of it.

I first became acquainted with fermentation when I learned that bread could be made without purchasing yeast. Grains could be fermented and the living organisms would multiply and cause the bread to rise. When the bread had reached its pinacle, it would be baked to halt the growth. A sour taste would result for which San Francisco bread makers are famous.

I learned that vegetables could be preserved by fermentation, and my first dill pickles and sauerkraut were born. I learned to take this a step farther when I began gardening and learned that soil is formed the same way: microorganisms break down organic matter to make it. I've been saving my vegetable scraps and making "compost" ever since. I even save other people's garbage hating to see that wonderful "black gold" going to waste in the garbage dump instead of being reconstructed in its rightful place in the garden.

Since learning about the living foods diet, fermentation and composting make even more sense and are even a more integral part of my daily diet and life. I do this with fermented vegetables, but mostly with a substance called rejuvelac. We fondly call it "Juvie" because of its renegade nature.


Rejuvelac is made from sprouted grain. Once sprouted, the grain is placed in a glass or ceramic vessel and mixed with water and allowed to ferment for a couple of days. Once fermented sufficiently, it is strained and the berries can be composted. The liquid is refrigerated and will last quite a while in the fridge (but I recommend you use it up!). I start a new batch sprouting when one batch is added to water and keep the cycle going that way. It is easy to remember it if you do something with it every day. I actually always have grain either soaking or sprouting, and sprouted grains fermenting, and a batch of rejuvelac at all times. Those are the three stages.

What to do with it? First of all, it is a nutritious beverage in its own right. It tastes like an unsweetened lemonade. Dr. Ann Wigmore who is said to have invented rejuvelac says this about it:

Rejuvelac is a slightly fermented wheatberry drink that is one of the most important items in the living foods lifestyle....[It] plays a vital role in restoring health....Rejuvelac contains all the nutritional nourishment of wheat and is more easily digested. It contains the friendly bacteria that are necessary for a healthy colon and to remove toxins. It is also filled with B complex vitamins and vitamins C and E.

In her book Hippocrates Live Food Program, Dr. Ann quotes food chemist Harvey Lisle, who did extensive research on Rejuvelac's contents,

Rejuvelac is rich in proteins, carbohydrates, dextrines, phosphates, saccharins, lactobacilli and aspergillis oryzae. Amylases are enzymes derived from aspergillis oryzae which have the faculty of breaking down large molecules of glucose, starch and glycogens.

(Actually Dr. Wigmore didn't invent rejuvelac; it has been around for centuries. She certainly is responsible for rediscovering it and giving it to the living foods movement.)

We also make what we call "hard lemonade" from it. We mix 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1/2 cup of agave nectar (or sweetener of your choice) in a quart jar. Then we add rejuvelac as part or all of the liquid to fill the jar. The amount of rejuvelac you add depends on how "hard" you want your lemonade to be. I enjoy it full strength, but the wimps at my house perfer to cut it some with regular water.

I use rejuvelac mostly as a fermentation for nuts and seeds. Once combined with rejuvelac, the proteins and carbohydrates break down and become much more digestible. They also happen to make a delightful and useful living foods cheese.

Hopefully I've inspired someone to make this wonderful concoction. First you'll need some grain, any grain that is still sproutable will do. I use the same organic hard red wheat used to grow our wheatgrass, but many like rye or soft wheat better. Place one cup of it in a jar large enough to allow expansion and fill it with water. It must soak for 10 - 12 hours (overnight). Drain and rinse well. Grains are known to have molds on their seedcoats, so it would behoove us to rinse them well. Once rinsed and drained, sprout as you would any other sprout. Some use sprout bags, others a mason jar with cheesecloth on the lid to allow for drainage. I have a "sprouting cup" that has holes in the bottom and sits atop its sister cup to allow for drainage.

I really can't keep track of how long it sprouts (maybe 2 days?). I spray it a couple of times a day, and when the tails are about 3/16 of an inch long, I dump it into a gallon jar. This is filled with water, and I stir the sprouts well to distribute them. Each day I shake the jar. When the water becomes slightly cloudy (2 - 4 days), we check it to see if it's "done" meaning it has a nice lemony flavor. It smells stinky, but tastes like unsweetened lemonade. I then pour it into another gallon jar lined with a nut milk bag to catch the finished sprouts. These can then be composted; some say you can use them again, but I don't like to do that. I worry about other unwelcome organisms being introduced. The finished rejuvelac is then refrigerated where it will rest comfortably before being placed in your nice warm belly where it will work its magic.

Once you start keeping rejuvelac on hand, you'll love having it. You won't want to be without it. It is quite the fad nowadays to take enzymes and probiotics in an expensive pill form, but I believe this is a viable alternative that is a useful food to boot. Viva la verde!