Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ (Revised Edition)

by Giulia Enders

  YOU MAY SOMETIMES see little bubbles of gas rising through the liquid as the fermentation process progresses. This is why people in ancient cultures, who had no knowledge of the microbial world, would sometimes dance around the fermentation vats, as they thought this would encourage the vegetables to bubble. Others, by contrast, would afford the barrels calm so as not to disturb the gods in their work. Once fermentation is complete and everything is ready, the result should taste sour, and should not be slimy in consistency or taste too strongly of alcohol. From this stage, it can be kept in the fridge.

  Incidentally, it is at this stage that the sauerkraut you buy from the supermarket is boiled to pasteurize it. This not only kills off the bacteria, but it also destroys some of the vitamin C they have produced. Manufacturers therefore often add vitamin C powder after pasteurization. The acid it relies on means that fermentation is the safest way to preserve food—canned or bottled foods have been known to cause illness due to temperature-resistant bacteria, but no case of illness caused by fermented foods has ever been reported.

  You can now add a spoon or two of your homemade sauerkraut or sour carrots to just about any meal: in salad instead of vinegar, on a burger instead of gherkin pickled in vinegar, in soups and stews (add just before serving), with vegetable or rice dishes, or, for those feeling particularly adventurous, with some honey in your breakfast porridge. Then just wait and see if you start craving this special “sourness” more and more. When your appetite decides it likes something after trying it once or twice—you might as well go with it.

  Acknowledgments

  THIS BOOK WOULD not exist if it weren’t for my sister, Jill. Without your free, rational, and inquisitive mind, I would have been stuck many times in a world where obedience and conformity are easier than courage and the will to make necessary mistakes. Although you lead a busy life yourself, you were always there, ready to go through my texts with me and inspire me with new ideas. You taught me how to work creatively. Whenever I feel bad, I remember we are made of the same stuff and each of us uses her talents differently. I would like to thank Ambrosius, who shielded me from too much work with a protective arm. I would also like to thank my family and my godfather for surrounding me like a forest surrounds a tree, keeping me rooted even when strong winds are blowing. I also thank Ji-Won for keeping me nourished so often during the writing of this book—with food and her wonderful nature. My thanks go to Anne-Claire and Anne for their help with even the trickiest of questions!

  I thank Michaela and Bettina, without whose sharp minds the writing of this book would never have come about. If it weren’t for my medical studies I would never have had the knowledge necessary to write this book, so I thank all my good teachers and professors, as well as the German state, which pays for my university studies. To everyone who has contributed their hard work to the realization of this book—from press officers, publishers, manufacturers, printers, marketers, proofreaders, booksellers, postal workers, to those of you reading this now: Thank you!

  References

  THIS LIST MAINLY contains references to sources dealing with content not normally covered in the standard text books.

  Part One

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  Part Two

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  Part Three

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