Lacto-fermented red cabbage

Our bodies contain more bacteria than human cells. We have billions of bacteria located mainly in our gut, known as the microbiome. These bacteria perform essential tasks to keep us healthy.

Among other things, they regulate our digestive transit, strengthen our immune system (70% of the immune system is housed in the gut), detoxify our body from toxins and heavy metals, prevent inflammation, affect our weight by influencing the way different foods are digested in our body, and even act on our thoughts and emotions.

In fact, 90% of serotonin — the wellbeing hormone — is produced in the gut. An imbalance in the gut microbiome can lead to psychological issues such as stress, depression, anxiety, and mood disorders.

During pregnancy, it is important to promote a healthy vaginal flora. Babies are born with a sterile digestive tract, and exposure to the mother's vaginal flora is their first exposure to the bacteria that will colonise their systems — a healthy vaginal flora helps the baby's immune system get off to a good start. Babies also receive beneficial bacteria through breast milk.

Introducing probiotic-rich foods into your diet, such as lacto-fermented vegetables, is an excellent way to promote a healthy digestive system with a wide variety of bacteria.

I love using red cabbage because it is very quick to prepare and it is a vegetable we do not eat nearly enough of. Yet it is delicious and excellent for health, as it has antioxidant and detoxifying properties. Fermentation also multiplies the vitamins present in red cabbage, making lacto-fermented cabbage a true superfood!

1 organic red cabbage of approximately 1 kg, rinsed briefly under water and cut into 4
Guérande salt or Himalayan pink salt (a non-iodised salt with no additives)

In a large bowl, finely shred the cabbage using a mandoline.

Weigh the grated cabbage and add 1g of salt per 100g of cabbage (for 1 kg of cabbage, add 10g of salt).

Mix by hand and massage the cabbage with the salt for 10 to 15 minutes to draw out the moisture. When you squeeze the cabbage between your hands and water runs out, it is ready to be packed into the jar.

In a large clean jar with a seal (no need to sterilise it), pack the cabbage tightly into its brine using the back of your hand or the back of a ladle (do not fill the jar to the top, as fermentation will cause the cabbage to expand — leave a 2 cm gap above the brine), then close the jar. The cabbage must be packed down firmly and no pieces should be caught on the sides of the jar.

Leave the jar for 1 week in the warmest room in the house, then at room temperature away from light for 2 to 3 weeks. Once opened, store it in the fridge. Always use a clean fork when dipping into the jar and press the cabbage back down firmly before returning it to the fridge.
 

You can enjoy lacto-fermented cabbage on savoury toast (with avocado, hummus, seaweed tartare, etc.), on a soft-boiled egg, in a salad, or as a side dish. The aim is to incorporate 1 to 2 tablespoons of lacto-fermented cabbage into your meals 3 to 4 times a week. Feel free to offer it to your children and/or add a few teaspoons of the brine to your babies' meals from 8 months onwards.
 

Variation: You can use this same technique — 1g of salt per 100g of vegetable — with grated carrots, fennel, or finely sliced white cabbage using a mandoline, and even make a mix of several vegetables.
 

Tip: Lacto-fermented vegetables can be consumed safely during pregnancy and breastfeeding, as the beneficial bacteria that develop during fermentation produce lactic acid, which acidifies the environment to a pH level so low that pathogenic bacteria (which make food unsafe to eat) cannot thrive. When you open the jar, the vegetables should have a bright colour, a pleasant acidic smell, and no trace of mould. During fermentation, the bacteria release CO2, which can produce small bubbles or foam that may spill out of the jar.

About Laila Bel

I am a health coach for busy mums. I trained at a nutrition school based in New York (IIN), where I studied more than 100 dietary theories with 85 of the world's leading experts in health, wellbeing, and coaching, including Deepak Chopra, Mark Hyman, Dan Buettner, Gabrielle Bernstein, David Wolfe, and Arianna Huffington. My role is to support mothers in taking care of themselves through nutrition, wellbeing, and personal development.

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