Fermentation 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Fermenting Vegetables at Home

Everything you need to know to make your own sauerkraut, pickles, and more fermented favorites

As fermented foods metabolize their carbohydrates, they release beneficial nutrients such as B vitamins—making fermented foods often more nutritious than their fresh counterparts.Sentelia/Shutterstock

In the old days, before you could hop in a car and head to the supermarket, winter meant hunger. Everything you needed to survive the cold, dark days of winter when fields lay fallow had to be harvested in the fall and preserved. There was no takeout, no frozen food section, no meal kits delivered to your door, and no fresh berries trucked from thousands of miles away. You had a hand in making everything you ate, and preserving the harvest was essential, lest bellies go empty during hard times. Before canning, one of the best ways to preserve food was to ferment it.

Fermentation is the deliberate process of introducing beneficial bacteria into food to convert its naturally occurring sugars into various acids. These acids preserve the food and make it taste pleasantly sour. Grapes become wine, and then vinegar. Milk transforms into yogurt or cheese, and cabbage turns into sauerkraut.

Health Benefits

Historically, preserving food was the impetus for fermentation; nowadays, you’ll find much more interest in its health benefits. As it turns out, not only does fermentation preserve food, but it also transforms it into a nutritional powerhouse. Fermented foods are rich in beneficial bacteria. Those microorganisms responsible for turning sweet milk into tangy yogurt or cucumbers into sour pickles are also good for the gut. Moreover, as they metabolize all the carbohydrates in fruits, vegetables, and milk, they also release beneficial nutrients, such as B vitamins. That means fermented foods are often more nutritious than their fresh counterparts.