13 Tips You Need When Cooking With Fermented Ingredients

When you were little, anything "funky" was to be avoided at all costs. But as we get older, that starts to mean something different — something good. Fermented foods often have a bit of funkiness, but in a good way. A very good way.

Caused by the activities of beneficial bacteria, mold, and yeast, fermentation is a powerful tool used to make all kinds of food products. Kimchi, pickles, soy sauce, miso, vinegar, tempeh, and more are all products of fermentation. Fermented foods aren't just delicious, they're also good for you. A lot of recent research has focused on the importance of gut health, and eating fermented foods is one of the best ways to promote a healthy digestive tract. 

Many fermented foods are used as a garnish or flavoring, and some are used as part of a cooking process. As with any ingredient, it behooves you to use fermented food products correctly. You should understand the differences between different types of soy sauce and how to use each one, for example. You should also understand that fermented foods are living products and should be treated accordingly. Doing so will help you get the most flavor out of a fermented ingredient and the most health benefits. With that out of the way, let's get funky.

Fermented and pickled foods have a lot in common: They both have a long shelf life and a tangy flavor. However, they are quite different. Say the word "pickle" to someone and they will likely imagine a sour, dill-flavored variety of cucumber. While the word pickle is most strongly associated with this specific food item, you can pickle all kinds of things, including vegetables, fruits, eggs, and fish. The pickling process involves preserving food by submerging it in an acid, usually some type of vinegar. This acidic environment prevents pathogenic bacteria from growing both inside the food and on its exterior. These pathogens not only make us sick, but they also produce enzymes that break down food. Thus, pickling a food prolongs its shelf life.

The process of fermentation also involves preserving food by submerging it in acid. However, that acid comes from the activity of beneficial lactobacillus bacteria, not vinegar. When food is submerged in a brine, it creates an environment that allows lactobacillus to thrive, by feeding on the sugars in the food. The bacteria convert those sugars into acid, carbon dioxide, and alcohol, all of which help to preserve the food by creating an environment that is hostile to pathogenic bacteria.

Miso is made through the fermenting action of a beneficial mold called koji. In addition to converting soybeans into miso, koji is also a probiotic that promotes gut health. But in order to get the most health benefit out of this amazing mold, you need to consume it in an alive and active state.

Because koji degrades at high temperatures, one of the biggest mistakes you could make with miso soup is having your miso in a pot of boiling liquid. It might be a bit counterintuitive, but you should think of miso as a finishing ingredient in your miso soup recipe, rather than a foundational ingredient. Start by simmering your stock with mushrooms, onions, soy sauce, and other ingredients. While it's simmering, remove a ladle full of stock, place it in a small bowl, and allow the stock to cool. Add miso to the cooled and whisk to create a slurry. After your stock is fully flavored and the ingredients are cooked, remove the stock pot from the heat and allow it to cool slightly before adding your miso slurry.

Tofu is another ingredient that needs to be added at the end of your miso soup recipe. Boiling tofu makes it tough, so adding it at the end of the recipe keeps your tofu silky and tender. Both tofu and miso should be treated as delicate ingredients if you want to get the most out of these amazing fermented foods.

Conventional marinades contains some kind of acid — vinegar or citrus juice — that tenderizes meat by breaking down tough connective fibers in the muscle. Standard marinades also include seasonings for flavor and sugar, which adds flavor by caramelizing when it's cooked. Being acidic, sweet, and slightly savory, kombucha has all the essential qualities of a conventional marinade.

Kombucha can produce a tender steak thanks to something that conventional marinades do not have: microbial activity. Kombucha is made with a SCOBY, which stands for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. These beneficial microbes convert sweetened black or green tea into kombucha by breaking down the sugar to produce acid, carbon dioxide, and a little bit of alcohol. It's the microbial activity of beneficial yeast and bacteria that translates into the gut health benefits of drinking kombucha.

This microbial activity in kombucha also helps to break down tough connective fibers in a steak, along with kombucha's acidity and alcohol. Marinating a steak in kombucha also infuses it with the fermented drink's specific flavors, which you can add to if you like. For example, if you're using lemon kombucha as a marinade, you could also add other ingredients that go with lemon, like parsley or soy sauce. Just be sure you don't over-marinate your steak when using kombucha. About 20 minutes should be long enough. Any longer and you run the risk of kombucha breaking down the meat, giving the steak a mealy quality.

Black vinegar is somewhat similar to balsamic vinegar in that both are less acidic compared to other vinegars, and both have highly complex flavors. However, that's where the comparisons end. While balsamic vinegar can have sweet and fruity qualities, deep earthy flavors make black vinegar quite unique.

Black vinegar traditionally comes from China, and each region of the Asian country produces a distinct variety of black vinegar. For example, Sichuan black vinegar is heavily spiced and incorporates the region's signature spicy peppercorns, while black vinegar from Fujian province incorporates a fungus that gives it a reddish color. There are also black vinegars from Japan and Korea that have their own unique flavor profiles. Black vinegar from Taiwan is typically infused with onions, mushrooms, carrots, and other vegetables for at least one year.

Because the flavors of black vinegar can vary so much from region to region and country to country, it's important to check the label of a bottle before trying it for the first time. For example, Taiwanese black vinegar has a strong flavor and should be used sparingly, while milder black vinegars are often mixed with soy sauce and used as a condiment.

Containing acid and active cultures, yogurt is a highly effective marinade for meat. In fact, mildly-acidic yogurt is an ideal marinade for chicken, which can become tough and rubbery in highly-acidic marinades.

In addition to tenderizing and adding flavor, yogurt marinades also create a uniquely flavorful crust when cooked. When meat soaked in standard barbecue marinade hits the grill, sugar in the marinade is caramelized to create a golden brown crust. When meat marinated in yogurt hits the grill, the lactose in yogurt quickly caramelizes, but the fat and other milk solids create a softer, juicier exterior.

If you are looking to make a yogurt marinade, the go-to option is plain, unstrained yogurt. However, many people use Greek yogurt because it's high in protein and low in fat, making it a healthier choice than fattier yogurts. Because there isn't a lot of moisture in Greek yogurt, you'll have to loosen it up a bit with lemon juice if you're using it for a marinade. Many people use Mediterranean or Middle Eastern spices when flavoring a yogurt marinade, but don't be afraid to experiment with different flavors.

Declared "The Best Restaurant in the World," Noma is known for using fermented ingredients in many of its dishes. In fact, the Danish restaurant has an entire section of its kitchen dedicated to creating new, and unique fermented foods.

In "The Noma Guide to Fermentation" book, there's an entire chapter dedicated to making your own ferments using lactobacillus bacteria. The book describes how using salt and time can allow latent lactobacillus bacteria to thrive, teasing out unique flavors from things like mushrooms, blueberries, and tomatoes. While the book is full of cool food science experiments, it also goes the extra step of explaining how the results of your experiments can actually be used in your kitchen.

In the lacto-fermentation chapter, chefs David Zilber and René Redzepi describe how fermented blueberries can be used as a spread on fresh-roasted corn and how fermented tomato water can be used to flavor raw seafood. While there are one or two exceptions, the overarching theme of these applications is using lacto-ferments as a finishing tool. These fermented foods have complex flavor qualities that will get lost if they are tossed into a hot oven or boiling pot of water. Therefore, you should think of using these fermented foods when all your cooking is done.