- Does cooking eggs harm them/oxidize the cholesterol?
- Sucanat vs. Rapadura
- Baking soda and minerals
- Need for salt
- Claybed salt
- Purpose of salt in crispy nut recipes
- Fermented foods for beginners
- How long do fermented veggies last
- Raw honey instead of Sucanat or Rapadura when fermenting beverages
- Kefir whey for lacto-fermentation
- Raw foods and enzymes
- Carrot juice
- Frozen liver
- No access to pasture-fed products?
- How much fish should I eat?
- Botulism in lacto-fermented vegetables
- Redmond’s salt
- Slow cooking
- Making whey
- Mercury in fish stock
- Mung beans
- Coconut juice and coconut flour
- Pima culture
- Agave
- Chocolate
- Chicken liver
- Pork broth
- Pork
- Liverwurst
- Recommendations for increasing vitamin D to a normal level
- Mercury in fish
- Minerals in read meat
- Stock bone scrapings
- free glutamates in stock
- Yacon Syrup
- quality organ meats
- making stock with pork bones
- proper way to salt and marinate pork
- cultured raw fish
- marinating pork in vinegar
- alfalfa sprouts
- menu planning for a backpacker
- Preparing Porridge
- What should I use in place of yeast in a homemade bread recipe?
- Acrylamides
- can you eat chicken liver raw?
- consuming their livers, organs, meats and fats
- What’s the substitute for whey in beet kvass?
- citric acid
- vegan diet for diabetes reversal
- jet stream oven
- Zija products
- tyramine
- Deep Nutrition
- impact of the microwave on the nutrition of food
- raw liquid whey
- eating non organic meat and poultry
- Gerson diet
- glycerin in toothpaste
- raw honey
- rat experimentation with cereal
- healing multiple sclerosis with food and muscle stimulation
- vaccinations affect the humoral immune system
- smoking
- safety of oysters and other seafood since the radiation?
- side-effects of amalgam fillings
- what you mean by “flame proof pan”?
- magnesium and copper
- pork organ meats
- credit for discovering Vit K
- Do shrimp-shells contain just as much calcium, cartilage and gelatin as bones do?
- remineralising teeth
- ketogenic diets appear to cause urticaria
- C-sections
- gumbi gumbi leaves and bark
- caffeine free drink
- gluten intolerance
- plaque build-up in the arteries
- scoliosis
- pressure cooker verses slow cooking bone broth
- coconut sugar
- pressure cookers
- allergy to eggs
- cooking frittata
- hemp milk
- quitting caffeine
- Kimchi
- lead and cadmium in azomite
- raw cacao
- wheatgrass juice
- cooking with honey
- raw food for dogs
- do dogs & cats need salt
- pet milk
- rheumatoid arthritis
- caffeinated drinks
- liver toxins
Miscellaneous Food Questions
Q. Does it harm raw eggs to scramble them or cook them? Does it oxidize the cholesterol?
A. Not at all. The whites should mostly be eaten cooked, as raw egg whites contain enzyme inhibitors that can cause digestive problems. Oxidation only occurs during commercial processing when the eggs are forced out of a tiny hole at high temperatures and pressure.
Q. I’m confused as to which type of sugar is better, Sucanat or Rapadura?
A. Both are fine; both are made by dehydrating cane sugar juice. For a while Sucanat changed the way they made it and were using white sugar, so we stopped recommending the product. But they are now making Sucanat the old fashioned way, so we can recommend it again.
Q. I have read that baking soda in baking destroys minerals. Can you respond to this?
A. There was a theory that baking soda destroys B vitamins (not minerals) but research indicates that this is not the case.
Q. Do we need salt in our diet, so many say we do not?
A. Mary and I discuss the subject of salt in our book Nourishing Traditions. Salt is essential to life, that is why we have salt taste buds. Without salt, we die. We need salt for protein digestion, carbohydrate digestion, adrenal function, cellular metabolism and brain development. Unrefined salt provides us with many trace minerals.
Q. I wonder whether salt collected from clay beds of coastal areas would actually be pure or not. There is a lot of pollution in the ocean especially around the coasts of industrial nations, I would think. I looked on the WAP site to find info on salt and couldn’t find any. What do you know about possible pollution in this type of salt? Also, a friend of mine who is a nutritionist did her own research on salt and found Himalayan mountain salt. She says it is purer than sea salt because it is mined deep in the ground. It seems even more expensive than the Celtic salt, but she is convinced it is purer. Can you shed some light on this for me?
A. I think both products are fine; the ocean near Brittany is quite pure. But the Himalayan salt is also wonderful.
Q. When soaking nuts, why is the salt needed?
A. The salt helps activate enzymes that de-activate the enzyme inhibitors. For grains, we soak in an acidic solution to get rid of phytic acid. Nuts do not contain much phytic acid but do contain high levels of enzyme inhibitors. The method imitates the way the native peoples in Central America treated their nuts and seeds–by soaking them in seawater and then dehydrating them.
Q. Do you have a brand or type of fermented beverage or condiment that would be good for the first time user – one that would be a little subtler to the taste buds?
A. Try sauerkraut. The recipe in Nourishing Traditions is really great. Beet kvass is a wonderful beverage, really nourishing. But some of the fruit beverages or fruit chutneys might be better for first timers.
Q: How long do fermented veggies last?
A: It varies. The cabbage will keep up to a year and I have found that some of the fruit chutneys will keep almost that long (although to be cautious I say to consume within 2 months). Pickles have a relative short life- about 3 months, and the ginger carrots are the shortest; they sometimes start to go bad after about a month.
Q. A recent article states that fermented pickles allowed to sit on the counter to ferment might contribute to esophogial cancer. The say there are more rates of this in Asian contries where they use alot of fermented food.
A. The most likely cause of esophogial and stomach cancer in Asian countries is talc powder added to the rice. There is an association with Asian pickles because Asians get a lot of these kinds of cancers and Asians eat lacto-fermented pickles.
Q: Can raw honey be used instead of Sucanat or Rapadura in fermenting beverages?
A: Yes.
Q: Can whey from kefir be used in lacto-fermentation?
A: Yes.
Q. Should I consume only raw foods so I don’t kill the enzymes? A. What the enzymes do is help digestion in the upper stomach, where there are no digestive fluids. But most foods are not good sources of enzymes. You need to lacto-ferment the foods to get a lot of enzymes. So the lacto-fermented foods eaten with cooked foods more than compensate for the loss of any enzymes in the food you cooked. Lacto-fermented foods are ‘super-raw’ foods. Lacto-fermented foods also provide lactic acid and good bacteria, which do survive the digestive process.
Q: What do you think of the many fruit concentrate drinks like Mona Vie that are being sold?
A: They are often sold as panaceas for everything from heart disease to ingrown toenails. They will be high in fructose, without the fiber. Read labels carefully, often they contain citric acid, which can contain MSG. In general, these are not part of our dietary principles.
Q. Is popcorn, whether air-popped or oil-popped, healthy to eat? Is there any way to remove or reduce phytic acid from popcorn?
A. Corn is fairly low in phytic acid so popcorn in moderation is probably fine. Also, when it is eaten with melted butter, the saturated fats help mitigate the effects of phytic acid.
Q: If the proteins in milk and in grains become toxic when subjected to high heat such as when milk is pasteurized and when cereals are extruded, then why wouldn’t the proteins in meat react the same way when cooked? And why is wheatena an exception to the extruded cereals as they are also subjected to high heat? Wouldn’t all the grains even whole grains like oats also be damaged when cooked?
A: The proteins in meat are much stronger than the proteins in milk and grains and in fact might be more available after cooking. But even for meat, it should not be cooked at temperatures that are too high, or for too long. By the way, I understand that some brands of cornflakes are not made by extrusion–I think they are instead roller dried, so this would definitely be better. Regarding the cooking of grains, this is not a damaging process as extrusion is. In fact, grains need to be cooked for humans to digest them.
Q: My sauerkraut develops a moldy-looking substance on the top if I leave it in the refrigerator too long. Can I freeze it, will that kill the enzymes in sauerkraut?
A: The enzymes will survive, but I am not sure about all the bacteria, and I am not sure how the texture would be after freezing. You can just lift that mold off carefully. Sauerkraut should really last about a year.
Q: Is hemp appropriate for human consumption?
A: Hemp was not traditionally used as a food except during periods of starvation as seen in the book, The Year 1000: What Life was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium — An Englishman’s World, by Robert Lacey. In a chapter called “July: The Hungry Gap,” he writes about the period of near starvation that would occur every summer for poor people before the August harvest was ready. You’ve probably heard of the LSD-like mold that grew on rye. But he also writes, “This hallucinogenic lift was accentuated by the herbs and grains with which the dwindling stocks of conventional flour were amplified as the summer wore on. Poppies, hemp and darnel were scavenged, dried and ground up to produce a medieval hash brownie known as ‘crazy bread.’ So even as the poor endured hunger, it is possible that their diet provided them with some exotic and artificial paradises. ‘It was as if a spell had been placed on entire communities,’ according to one modern historian.” (p.102)
Q. In “Nourishing Traditions” it is not recommended to drink juice. However, in the “tonics” section, one of the beverages is carrot juice with cream, made with a juicer. How do you recommend using tonics? If the author is recommending them for medicinal use, isn’t this akin to a promotion of juicing?
A. The carrot juice is one exception, and that is because it has added cream–I consider it more like a smoothie.
Q. How long can you freeze liver and what is considered ‘fresh’ liver?
A. I’m not sure about how long you can freeze it, maybe one year. Fresh means uncooked.
Q. I have NO access to pasture fed animal products, cows, lamb or chickens, do you still recommend we follow the advice of consuming their livers, organs, meats and fats along with using them for bone broths. I do have access to raw milk.
A. I would purchase calves liver but not beef or chicken liver from the grocery store, along with regular fresh meat and eggs, especially beef and lamb. Most calves (not raised for veal) in the U.S. spend the first part of their life on pasture.The raw milk will go a long way to protect you.
Q. I had a question about how many servings of fish the indigenous populations usually eat per day. Also, how many servings would the Weston Price foundation recommend per day?
A. We don’t have any specific recommendation–some groups had seafood every day, some had none. But a good recommendation is 2-3 times per week. Shellfish and fish eggs are the most nutrient-dense seafoods. Of course we recommend cod liver oil every day.
Q. Have there been any reported cases of botulism that have come from consuming the lacto-fermented vegetables or fruits? The book said that if they were spoiled that it would be obvious. Isn’t botulism odorless?
A. A USDA scientist was recently quoted as saying that lacto-fermentation was the safest way of preserving food there is (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/07/FDS617UQKF.DTL). I have only heard of one person getting sick (just a tummy ache) from some lacto-fermented vegetables and that was using a recipe that had no salt. Botulism does not occur in anything that is sufficiently acidic. If you are unsure, you can get a pH meter and test the pickles. If the liquid is under a 4.0, you can be assured that they are safe.
Q. I have recently read in an article on your website that underground mined salt may contain radioactive elements because of leaching from radioactive/nuclear sites underground. I have tried in vain to find out whether Real Salt is included in this concern. Do you have any comments on this?
A. I am afraid I do not know the answer to your question. The only way to resolve it is to test the salt with a Geiger counter. However, there is another concern about Redmond’s and that is the high iron content. It should not be used by those with iron accumulation problems, or for livestock in areas where there is a high iron content in the soils.
Q. If one slow cooks meat and vegetables in a crock pot or slow cooker for an extended amount of time (ie more than 10 hrs), will that still effect the levels of amines? Dr Mercola’s website site suggests to slow cook food by using these methods but does not discuss the duration of slow cooking.
A. This is a good question and I am not sure of the answer. I know that glutamic acid is freed up by the long slow cooking and some people are sensitive to this. However, long slow cooking was the way almost all food got cooked in the past, so I am sure that it is fine for a healthy person.
Q. I attempted to make whey, but after 5 days the separation has not occurred. Can you give me advice?
A. Yes, it is more difficult to make the whey from fresh milk. You really have to leave it a long time, until you see definite separation into curds and whey. I would start with milk that is a little old to begin with, and keep it at room temperature. You could add a few drops of lemon juice or a spoonful of yoghurt to make it separate more quickly.
Q. Is there a danger of mercury in fish stock?
A. Not unless you are using carcasses from tuna or swordfish.
Q. How do I soak mung beans? A. The soaking technique for mung beans will be similar to other legumes. The simple idea to remember is that a very warm water temperature plus time will allow for the greatest reduction in phytates. Aim for about 140 degrees F for your soaking water (this maximizes the activity of the endogenous enzymes) and keep the covered beans in a warm place in your house at least overnight and 12 or so hours is even better. I pour water over the beans in a pot, add enough boiling water from the tea kettle to make it very warm to the touch and then set them on the heat vent overnight (in the winter, of course). Remember to drain this water off and thoroughly rinse the beans before you cook them the next day. For a longer period of soaking (more than 12 hours) you will want to change the water somewhere in the middle of the soaking period.
Q. Should the mung beans be in slightly acidic water for soaking?
A. Sources debate this, some say the beans are less permeable to flavorings and are harder later in cooking when whey is used, but more important is the close-to-hot water and the length of soaking time. Sprouted mung beans actually retain more phytates than beans soaked in very warm water for approximately 12 hours.
Q. Is coconut juice (or water) okay? What about coconut flour?
A. Coconut water is an excellent beverage. It is very healthy – good for the kidneys and a good sports drink. Coconut flour is fine to use unless you are sensitive to salicylates. Coconut is fairly high in salicylates and can cause problems in some people.
Q. What is a source for pima cultures?
A. Piima: GEM Cultures (called Fil Mjolk) (253) 588-2922 http://www.gemcultures.com/dairy_cultures.htm or Moonwise Herbs (920) 452-4372 http://www.moonwiseherbs.com/piima_culture.htm These are listed in our Shopping Guide.
Q. In a recent article, WAPF stated that agave is not a good sweetener. I think agave is okay as it has a low glycemic index.
A. Our article does not argue that agave and HFCS have a lower glycemic index; but these highly processed products are detrimental for other reasons, mainly the very high levels of free fructose, and an isomer of fructose that is not found in nature. Those selling agave “nectar” tend to change their stories frequently. The product is not natural and does not have GRAS status.
Q. Please tell me why cocoa (chocolate) is or is not a good food.
A. Chocolate is a tough one. I do not want to tell you that you should never eat chocolate, nor will I say that I have never eaten chocolate myself. But it should not be consumed habitually. It is somewhat addictive, enhances the sensitivity of endorphin receptors (thus can cause a let down afterwards), contains a caffeine-like substance and also needs to be sweetened. So try not to make a habit of it. We do not allow products with chocolate at our conference or in our shopping guide.
Q. If the liver is an organ where most toxins build up, why is the chicken liver so good for us?
A. Chicken livers from pastured animals are rich in vitamins A, D, K, E and B12; also a wonderful source of iron. Baby needs all these nutrients for optimal growth and adults benefit too. Of course the livers should be from organic and, preferably, pasture-raised animals. The liver is not the most toxic organ in the body. It is not a storage organ and would not contain any more toxins than any other part of the animal.
Q. Can you make stock/broth from pork bones and is it nutritious?
A. Yes pork neck bones, etc make good stock. You can even add bacon and ham rind. If you can include some skin from a ham or bacon–this provides wonderful material for our own skin.
Q. Why is pork not included in Nourishing Traditions?
A. It was left out in deference to co-author Mary Enig, who is Jewish. But she agreed to include some pork recipes in Eat Fat Lose Fat. I think pork needs to be carefully prepared by soaking in something acidic–usually vinegar–this is how it is done in China–or curing in some way, tantamount to fermentation.
Q. Do you have a recipe for liverwurst?
A. There are many online. Here is one that looks good, but leave out the nonfat milk powder. http://homecooking.about.com/od/porkrecipes/r/blpork27.htm
Q. My wife has many food and chemical sensitivities. She can consume raw milk and pure foods. She cannot take cod liver oil. Her vitamin D levels are below average. Do you have any recommendations for increasing her vitamin D to a normal level?
A. You will need to stress vitamin-D rich foods, such as fish eggs, shrimp, egg yolks from pastured hens, chicken and pork liver. Also, spend plenty of time in the sunlight during the warmer months.
Q. I am concerned about mercury, is it still safe to eat wild caught fish from the ocean, or fresh waters such as in Alaska?
A. I think we should still eat fish. Studies show that women who eat fish while pregnant have smarter offspring, in spite of the mercury. And in general, only the very large fish have mercury accumulation. PLUS, if you have good gut flora, they bind with mercury and prevent its absorption. A much bigger threat than mercury in fish is mercury from amalgam fillings
Q. Are the calcium, phosphorus, vanadium and silica actually biologically available in red meat, or do you have to get those from dairy, bone, grain, legume and veggie products?
A. I don’t think there is a lot of calcium and silica in red meat, but what’s there should be available. Meat is a good source of available phosphorus, and I imagine that vanadium would be there if it is in the soil.
Q.Last week I accidentally simmered my stock bones for a total of 36 hours. When scooping out the marrow I noticed the bones were much softer than usual and as an experiment I scraped and shaved off as much of the bone as I could. I have about a cup of shaved bone dust now. Does this bone dust contain nutritionally useful minerals and, if so, should I consume it in the broths?
A. These bone scrapings sound just great–I would add them to soups or stews. The minerals are in the bone until the bone disappears–the longer they are cooked, the more minerals will come out. But some people are sensitive to long-cooked broth because glutamates are also released with the long cooking.
Q. Hello! I read somewhere in your site that cocoa is bad to eat. What about raw cacao? What information do you have on that?
A. We don’t really have anything on our website, but we need to do an article on this. Cacoa/chocolate, whether raw or cooked, contains mood-altering alkaloids that can be addictive and lead to withdrawal symptoms.
Q. I have been trying to research the benefits of wheatgrass juice and whether or not it aligns with traditional diets, following Weston A. Price. I can’t seem to find any information about wheatgrass on the website, do you have any resources for me?
A. No culture that Price visited consumed wheat grass juice. Possibly (only possibly) it might be useful in a short fast, but not as a nourishing food.
Q. I am curious as to a note in the “Sugar Alert!” trifold that under ‘Other Sweeteners to Avoid’ on the last page is: heated honey. Does this mean that we shouldn’t cook with honey? Or that it is not recommended to purchase pasteurized honey?
A. The best is raw honey, with all its enzymes. Be careful of most commercial honey, as it often has high fructose corn syrup added. It’s ok to eat a little cooked food that has honey added, but best is really raw unfiltered honey.
Q. What does Weston Price recommend regarding feeding raw food to dogs?
A. Raw meat, raw liver, raw bones–this is what Weston Price recommends for carnivorous animals like cats and dogs.
Q. Do cats and dogs need sea salt?
A. Cats and dogs get salt through the blood of the animals they eat. So if they are not getting this in their diet, I think they would need a little added salt.
Q. I was thinking of giving my land lady’s dog some milk but she said all dogs are lactose intolerant. Is it any different if the milk is raw milk? I am confused because on a podcast Sally Fallon said that some farms sell “pet milk” which sounds like it’s really just raw milk. Is that “pet milk” only for cats?
A. The label may say that it is raw milk for dogs and cats, but not all dogs will drink raw milk–however all cats will.
Q. My eldest daughter who is 28 has contracted Rheumatoid Arthritis in her wrists, hips and starting in her shoulders. l was wondering what your take is on Rheumatoid Arthritis and whether it is curable from a nutrition stand point?
A. The main thing is to do Dr. Price’s remedy, which is high vitamin (fermented) cod liver oil and high-vitamin butter oil–every day. And then our nutrient-dense diet, lots of butter, egg yolks, raw milk if you can get it, bone broth, etc., and stay off processed foods.
Q. Dr Cowan discusses the intermittent fast in Spring 2017. He mentions that any kind of caffeinated beverage, like coffee or black tea with pure fat in it will not interfere with the hormonal situation. I have read about other intermittent fasting and coffee is okay. But there was no mention of having to include fat with the coffee or tea. I am a green tea drinker, is that okay (instead of black tea)?
A. Personally, I don’t think that caffeinated beverages are good at any time. Better to nourish the body with bone broth and raw milk rather than hammer the adrenals with coffee and tea. Green tea is not as bad as black tea, but make sure it is organic.
Q. After reading the article “The Liver Files” I see it states that toxins are not stored in the liver but in the adipose tissue and the nervous system. Could you corroborate evidence of this for me as I’m in debate with my holistic nutritionist course instructor about this. I do believe liver to be a super food but they are somewhat demonizing it at the beginning of this course ironically the course load uses the Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care later on.
A. Can your instructor supply information that the liver does store toxins? The liver is not a storage organ, I think it is pretty well accepted that toxins are largely stored in the fat. See http://drbenkim.com/toxins-cleansing-detoxing.htm. However, in this day and age, it is a pretty safe assumption that all conventional food contains toxins, so best to choose organic fruits and vegetables and pasture-fed animal foods.
Mr.
I don’t understand the question regarding “rapadura” and “sucanat” sugars and which one is “better…” aren’t all sugars bad for you as they are easily digestible carbohydrate and therefore cause obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, etc..? Same with honey? Why are these being recommended by the Weston A Price Foundation?
I think they say in moderation… since living a life completely devoid of sweets would leave an emptiness for humans, who were raised on the sweet flavor of mothers milk.
Baking soda and B vitamins
“There was a theory that baking soda destroys B vitamins (not minerals) but research indicates that this is not the case.”
What are these researches?
I have the same question. I’ve taught that baking soda does destroy B vitamins and shouldn’t be used in bean cooking or in foods. I could be wrong but I would like to see the research.
Reuse pickle brine/juice for another batch?
Can I reuse my bread & butter pickle juice to ferment another batch of pickles? I know you can reuse a batch of beet kvass by filling it back up with water and sitting out for a couple days. I wonder if this would apply to pickles too?
fermented foods
Are Lacto-Fermented foods considered an excitotonin. Dr. Russell Blaylock speaks on excitotoxins specifically MSG. He states that anytime you break down a protein into its free amino acid form, you get excitotoxins. Are we getting these in our lacto fermented foods?
lacto fermented foods
Have you watched to video on googlevideo.com Excitotoxins? Dr. Russell Blaylock talks about MSG particularly glutamate. Are lacto fermented foods bad for us? I know they have a specific type of glutamate when broken down. Is this a form that is harmful to our brain?
Regarding the comment about sucanat: Which brands are made the old-fashioned way and not made with white sugar?
Kim Lantz’s question re. presence of excitotoxins in lacto-fermented foods
Hi Kim,
In my search to come to a conclusion about the potential neurotoxicity of fermented foods, I came across your post. I wanted to share a link I found with WAPF Chapter Leaders discussing this very question: http://onibasu.com/archives/cl/11187.html
The take-home point seems to be that all fermented foods potentially contain glutamic acid (MSG) in different amounts, and that for some individuals (mostly those on the standard American diet), eating large quantities of fermented foods may cause a toxic overload. Hope this helps!
To Matthew, on the question of whether sucanat or rapadura is better…Sally Fallon has never said natural sugars are good for you but she knows that people will still eat sugars. So if you choose to eat sweetners, she recommends using them in moderation, and use “good” sugars, i.e., sucanat, honey, maple syrup, rapadura, etc.
omelet shelf life?
is it unhealthy to eat well-cooked omelets[w/goodchedder,romano,onion,basil] stored in fridge for 3, 5,7 days?
Oxalic Acid
Hi,
Do you still have to worry about oxalic acid if you consume raw leafy green vegetables that have been blended in a high powered blender to make raw smoothies. I read that the mixing breaks down the oxalic acid so that it’s not a problem.
FAQ-Miscellaneous Food Questions
Regarding the question “Do we need salt in our diet?” in the answer it was stated “Salt is essential to life, that is why we have salt taste buds.” Wouldn’t that same reasoning apply to sugar (as long as it is a natural sweetener)? i.e Sugar is essential to life, that is why we have sweet taste buds.
Shalom – our sweet taste buds are there to help us determine which foods are nutritionally dense and provide energy. Our bodies evolved so that the brain releases opioids that give us feelings of pleasure at the sight and taste of sugar, so that our cravemen ancestors would not forget to eat those foods (e.g. fruits) the next time they found them. Unfortunately, now most people are getting sugar in things like cookies and doughnuts rather than fruit. Also, if we followed your line of thinking, we also sense bitter tastes, so we need to eat bitter foods. But poisonous foods are often bitter, so we have evolved to have a low threshold for bitter things as a protective mechanism.
Does it reduce the nutrition of nuts to freeze them?
how long to freeze grass fed pastured meat?
I have gone through much effort to source and order grass fed beef and pastured chickens and pork. These products arrived frozen from the farmer. Will extended freezing affect the meat?
The meat is wrapped in butcher’s freezer paper. Do you have a recommendation for the maximum freezer time for these meats?
I need a guideline to follow so that i will not order more meat than i can use in a specified time period.
I find that i need to pre-order these products from the farmer due to demand and limited availability.
so how long to freeze meat? 😀
We raise grass-fed beef, pork, turkeys, and chickens. The pork’s the only one that seems to keep less well. 2 year old beef isn’t as perfect as month-old beef, but nearly identical. Pork will taste stronger, and we don’t really like it after 9-12 months. A single layer of freezer paper should do fine for 12 months, if it’s wrapped tightly.
Could someone recommend what features to look for in a dehydrator? What brands are good?
Thanks, Cindy
dehydrator
@Cindy: We have and love the excalibur. It’s been in our home for years. We crisp nuts, make yoghurt, and just about everything else. It’s great. I’ve even seen it mentioned in emergency preparedness sites.
Thanks for the info on cooking eggs!
Thank you clarifying that it is fine to eat eggs cooked. I love eggs, but the thought of eating them raw absolutely repulses me. I will feel all the more confident next time I decide to make another fritatta.
🙂
Confusing research on soaking grains in a calcium based medium, this article claims that the calcium inhibits iron absorption and phytic acid breakdown, this is the opposite of the Weston price foundation is teaching, what is your take on this is the research correct?
this article was taken from http://www.traditional-foods.com/soaking-grains/
The Devil In The Soaking
There is over 80 years of research now in university libraries on the topic of reducing phytic acid in grains. The literature is voluminous. One problem with scientific literature this big and non-experts (like me) taking a peek into them is that we do not always have the bigger picture while we are peeking.
It is true that an acid medium will break down phytic acid — the acidity of the soaking medium is one of the key factors in reducing phytic acid.
What we have not appreciated is that not all acidic soaking media are equal. In fact, I did not really discover this issue until I started delving more deeply into the issue of iron for the iron rich foods website. Iron interacts with calcium and so I became interested in how calcium in bread dough affects iron absorption.
It turns out that calcium in dough does affect iron absorption but it also impacts the break down of phytic acid. If you add a calcium food (such as milk, yogurt. kefir, whey, or buttermilk) to your dough or your soaking breakfast cereal, you may actually be inhibiting the breakdown of phytic acid or at least not encouraging the breakdown. (Check out one study.)
(If you have made your children eat soggy soaked bread or sour oatmeal I want you to walk into your kitchen right now and get a beer. Go on.)
Soaking flour does work and soaking in an acidic medium is optimal for the break down of phytic acid. However, adding yogurt, kefir, or whey to your soaked flour is actually worse than soaking the flour in plain warm water because of the calcium content of those foods.
My point in telling you this is to set you free from recipes you do not like that you are trying to make work in your kitchen.
There are many ways to skin the proverbial phytic acid cat and those ways are easier and taste better. This is really great news for our kitchens.
I have been soaking my grains as a follower of the Weston Price teachings, if this is true i should just be soaking in water, and in your research do you have the testing on grains soaked in milk acid to comparison in water?
thanks
Donna
“Received 7 May 1991; Available online 27 July 2009.
Bread was made using whole wheat flour and flour of 60% extraction, and inositol hexaphosphate and its hydrolysis products were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in both doughs and breads. Addition of a phytase preparation from A. niger to the doughs resulted in an increased degradation of phytate. When milk was included in the dough formulation, phytate degradation was inhibited almost completely, but fermented milk had no effect. Lactic acid, whether in the presence or absence of calcium chloride, inhibited phytate degradation, although when phytase was added phytate hydrolysis was complete.”
Just read the abstract the author to that site linked too.
Reading this i think the author just made a boo boo. If anything this is telling me without phytase acid (the stuff that bonds with phytic acid) the phytic hydrosis (hydrosis = seperation) wont be as complete.
So if im right and please correct me if otherwise. This would mean soaking grains such as high-phosphate fertilized commercial processed rolled oats that have been heat treated to improve shelf life thereby destroying the little phytase acid it has would need a lot longer than a days soak. All the more reason to buy organic groats or hulled grains!
high-phosphate fertilizers = high phytic acid
Phytic acid = heavy metal and mineral bonding = bad for mineral absorbtion
Phytase = Good stuff, bonds with phytic acid spares minerals.
Phytase acid
Found in grains or the production of lactic acid producing Lactobacillus acidophilus i..e kefir, yogurt, whey or a really good intestinal flora. Pinapple or papain might be alternative/addition to fermenting grains.
reply to hemp seed consumption
Hemp seed contains all the essential amino acids and a perfect fatty acid balance for human consumption. Hemp seed foods are made from the male plant,which contains less than 1% thc,the canabinoid that gets you “high”. Your claim that this wonderful food source will cause failed drug tests is laughable! Correlation does’nt equal causation. If someone failed a drug test and was eating hemp,they were probably smoking the female plant as well. All said,I agree with the rest of the information on this website. Keep up the good work!
People have also failed their drug tests after eating poppy-seed muffins, but that doesn’t mean that they got high. What WAPF has failed to do is actually answer the question and they’ve brought in their personal prejudices regarding all things “marijuana.” To back up your statement: hemp seeds don’t contain enough THC to produce a high. That’s just a fact.
This is well noted and agreed to Elisabeth, many of us within the WAPF family do use CBD oil for a variety of purposes, with much success. However, where drug testing is a factor, this is an important consideration. The answer, of course, is education. We have been fed much propaganda for generations now which prejudices the public against the use of any form of cannibis. More research and accurate information is needed, along with open minds to the truths this may reveal, pro or con.
Storing Stock
How long can stock be safely stored in the fridge before going off? Do storage times vary according to the type of stock?
long-dimmered stocks
You mentioned some people are sensitive to long-cooked stocks. What types of side effects do some folks have?
I am convinced that I have given myself and upset stomach with carrot kvass, saurekraut and kimichi. I understand that consuming large quantities of live lactobacillus can bring about an immune response and gut irritation.
If lacto-fermentation is truly the preserving method of old, before canning and freezing, how did people keep their food until the next growing season? I have a large garden and am wondering how to preserve all my cucumbers and other veggies to last until next summer if they are only good for a few months when lacto-fermented? I have already made 20 or more quarts of pickles. Should I freeze them now? Should I have frozen them first and lacto-ferment them later as needed?
We didn’t have a fridge for two years. Our lactofermented veggies did just fine in the root cellar. Those foods last a long time. Don’t try to preserve everything- just eat the fresh stuff a LOT when it’s ripe, then gradually move towards winter vegetables and lacto-fermented veggies during winter, and by spring you’ll be alivating for the first spring greens, and on you’ll go.
Eat in season, like a king, and change foods with the seasons! Even sweet peaches are too much after a month of straight consumption!
Did I kill the enzymes and probiotics in my fermenting veggies?
Hi. When veggies I was fermenting in pint jars had been setting out for 2 days, I decided to speed up the process a little, since I knew my house temperature would be below 65 that night. I sat the jars in a large pot, with warm water coming up to about 2/3 the height of the jars and left the pan sit on top of another 6-inch deep pan with a little water, and that pan was sitting on my stovetop with the flame turned all the way down to the “warming” level. I really thought it would just keep the water nice and warm 95 degrees or so and would not cook the enzymes. Alas, the next morning, the water was much hotter than I expected..not simmering, but warmer than I could keep my hand immersed in. SO many veggies I had chopped and prepared. When I opened some of the jars (the contents had risen to the top), I mashed the veggies down to bring the water to the top, and in the last 12 or so hours, there has been no expansion at all of the contents. The levels seem to be back down to where they were when I filled the jars…now three days ago. Should I just now refrigerate all of them and enjoy the slightly tart, somewhat salty veggies, knowing they have no raw-veggie enzymes, much less probiotice? Is there any way to “revitalize” the enzymes and/or probiotics?? Is it safe to consume the veggies if they’re kept refrigerated? What a lesson! I was just concerned originally because I thought the house temperature would not be warm enough for the probiotics to develop and now I fear I’ve ruined the whole batch!!
You killed the batch. Too hot to touch is the temperature that kills most enzymes.
You can restart them using any kind of ferment starter – anything alive with enzymes. I like to use lemon-lime with light gray Celtic Sea (good ferments & acid buffer) salt and a little sweet to feed it, like coconut palm sugar, molasses or raw honey. Too much of any concentrated sugar, especially honey, will slow or stop the working of the ferments. But even raw honey will ferment itself (yes it has its own ferments) if you only use a very little, then you can add more when the ferment is well underway.
I’ve been successful reviving a ferment that has gone to vinegar (sour) using lemon & honey. This works as long as the resulting vinegar is not too strong. Reviving it makes a sweet-sour effervescent drink.
Follow your taster & experiment.
Ratios for different types of salt when fermenting
I have used 1 tbs of Himalayan sea salt to ferment veggies, and it is way, way too salty. The vegetables are, for me, inedible. Why is this salt saltier than any other, including Celtic sea salt. How much (or little) can I use when fermenting and still prevent the growth of bad organisms?
I have weighed the Himalayan sea salt and other types of salt (including Morton’s) and they all weigh the same: 20 g per TBS. So they density is invariable between salt types.
These fermented veggies are not so much for eating by themselves as for use in flavoring your foods, such as adding a bit of a very salty fermented vegetable or fruit to a dish of unsalted food to essentially salt it. As you work with these kind of things, sour & salty, your taste will change.
Fermented fruit soda- does it have alcohol?
I recently purchased your new Nourishing traditions book of baby and child care. I made a batch of the fermented berry soda listed in the recipes and my 5yo son and I have been enjoying it (husband too!) However my husband has doubts about whether it contains alcohol or not. I’m 3mo. pregnant so he’s very concerned about it, as well as my son drinking it. I’m assuming it wouldn’t be listed in the book at all if it was detrimental to either of us; so that’s what I’ve told him.
Also, it’s mentioned that beet kvass is great for detoxing but this should be done far before pregnancy. I was drinking this months before my pregnancy…but is it also still safe to drink during pregnancy? Can the detoxifying effect have any negative outcome for the fetus if there are toxins being flushed into and out my bloodstream?
Remember that toxins AND good minerals, etc, are drawn out by kombucha. My naturopath often sees depleted patients after a lot of kombucha, beet kvass consumption over time. Moderation. Those drinks are for intestinal health, not for drinking for thirst.
The alcohol content of lactofermented foods will never be much as long as you don’t use a lot of sweetener & drink it while it’s still somewhat sweet.
Our own metabolism makes both alcohols & acids from the starches & sugars we eat or drink. Moderation.
Green & black teas are loaded with fluorides. Search on this site for ‘Fluoride, Worse Than We Thought’.
Regarding the question on mercury in fish. I used to eat fish as my main source of animal non-plant protein. I mostly ate salmon (wild caught) shrimp and cod. I had a hair analysis done and found out I had a lot of mercury and also aluminum. For the next year I worked with a chiropractor who did muscle testing and used standard process whole food supplements. After the end of the year I has my hair tested again and the mercury was still there. So then I started working with Lawrence wilson and nutritional balancing and he instructed me to stop eating fish. So I did. About 6 months later I tested again and it was gone. I have a mouthful if amalgam fillings as well. Eating fish was what caused the mercury in my system not the fillings. However I also had a low thyroid and depleted adrenal glands. Inlays to have a hair analysis because some people worth a heallrhy system probably could have detoxed that mercury. I was not aware that I had thyroid and adrenal issues until the hair analysis. I now do hair analysis for people and am a consultant with dr wilson.
I have been frustrated for awhile that the kefir sold in stores does not have a good fat profile. There are a few companies that use full fat milk, but they’re more expensive, often just not available and they are pasteurized. I called a couple of companies, including Organic Pastures, to ask why they do not use whole milk and they say they use the fat for other full fat products and butter. Ironically, what Lifeways calls whole milk kefir really isn’t because they add reduced fat milk to it, but their original kefir, if you can get it, really is made with whole milk!! Go figure. It’s strange that they don’t want to advertise this, but judging from the sheer number of low-fat and no-fat kefirs they offer, they seem to be very much into the low-fat mentality.
What I started doing, is getting low-fat kefir and adding 2 T. of cream to a quart. So this is an option if you don’t have access to raw milk, or don’t have time to make your own kefir. Do try to get a good quality milk, though, if you must get pasteurized milk. The question I end up with concerning this issue is, is it better to have raw milk kefir with a really poor fat profile or kefir with a good fat profile but made with pasteurized milk or a mixture of raw and pasteurized milk?
I would further add to Shalom’s comment by saying that sugar in any form – refined white, sucanat, maple syrup, honey, any kind of sugar, sweet carb is sweet carb – is not automatically bad for all people all of the time. For certain people of certain constitutions, some sugar provides balance to a meal containing animal protein.
Indeed, some people experience cravings from eating animal foods and I am one of them. A small amount of sugar, say, 1/2 T. of honey in tea, does the trick. Good question, Shalom, in any case.
Also, while I’m here – a strong desire for the sweet taste may indicate some medical problem, possibly something not diagnosable by standard orthodox medical methods but rather a syndrome type situation that Chinese Medicine or naturopathic medicine can spot. Just telling people “don’t eat sugar in any form” or if you do take only 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar once a month, this is not practical or doable for many, many people. Many folks have cravings for sugar they will kill for.
I’m looking for information and/or thoughts on organic and GMO vs non GMO food. Is there an area I have missed?
Redmond Salt:
Yes, it has higher iron. You can avoid that by using it as a “solay” (grammatic spelling), a super-saturated brine. Put a LOT of salt into a glass jar of water. The water brine you can pour off will be free of heavy metals and works fine in recipes. Water all gone? Just add more fresh water to the jar until there’s only the dark red heavy minerals left over. That red sludge does have heavy metals in it, so don’t pour it on the garden. Choose a spot where you’ll accumulate that sludge over time, and keep it contained.
We use that same brine for our livestock. The cattle love licking the salty water, and their fur slicks up with health from the good minerals- trace and major.
Iowa Grey Salt doesn’t have the iron of Redmond, or Celtic Sea Salt is also an option.
One benefit of the Redmond ‘Real” Salt is that it was laid down millions of years before the advent of human pollution. Fresh Sea Salt comes from an ocean that’s quite affected by human additions, at this point.
No you do NOT need to add sugar to chocolate. Why do people keep saying this. One of the best chocolate experiences i have ever had was in Rome, an artisan boutique, made on the premise, where many of their creations were WITHOUT sugar, nor a sugar substitute. One of my favourites was chocolate bar with chilli flakes. Heaven.
Please, would you tell me what you think about maca powder?
Thanks
Maca is a Peruvian mountain radish. A crucifer-brassica. Moderation. Respect. Good for high altitude living-work.
Yes I find this works as long as I replenish salt & herbs-spices.
Great article! Very informative and helpful. Thanks clarifying that it is fine to eat eggs cooked. I love eggs, but the thought of eating them raw absolutely repulses me. I will feel all the more confident next time I decide to make another fritatta.
https://orthoseatinghq.com/
I’m curious to know what you think about the research on this.
One 2018 study found that there was no difference between soaked and un-soaked almond nuts. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28956139)
Taylor H, Webster K, Gray AR, et al. “The effects of ‘activating’ almonds on consumer acceptance and gastrointestinal tolerance.” _European Journal of Nutrition_. 2018; 57 (8): 2771-2783.
I read that in the case of food allergies, those foods should be avoided for some time while the gut heals. What other foods can replace the high vitamin and nutrient content of raw milk, especially in relation to bones/teeth?
I saw on the 2023 shopping guide to avoid ascorbic acid. I am confused by this. There are many studies on the benefits of taking high doses of ascorbic acid (aka vit c). Can someone explain why it is listed to avoid please? Thank you.