My grandfather never finishes lunch without yoghurt. He spoons it onto his plate at the end of the meal, sprinkles it with black salt and eats with relish, exhorting me to have some as well. “It’s good for you,” he says, even as I shake my head. Yoghurt is not a favourite of mine. I’m sure most of you have a story about being cajoled to eat yoghurt or drink laban or doogh or majjige or lassi—whatever you called the yoghurt drink in your home.
Apart from the wisdom of ages, my and your granddads’ habit is being backed more by science. That in addition to nutrients for our body, we have to think about the trillions of lives inside us — the gut “microbiome”. Some people suggest that because these microorganisms vastly outnumber the cells of our body, our relationship is closer to symbiosis than a mere hosting. Keeping this microbiome in balance is said to be key to our good health. If you’ve ever taken antibiotics you’ll know what happens as your gut denizens die off, and the bloating and digestive difficulties you have to endure until the colony builds back up.
These days, keeping your gut flora happy is trendier than ever. Even though they’ve been part of food cultures for thousands of years, fermentation and fermented foods are all the rage. In addition to the kombucha section (a fermented tea), specialised US grocery stores now have pickled vegetable shelves (especially cabbage in the form of sauerkraut and kimchi) and kefir shelves. And of course, since being alive is the point, these are all unpasteurised.
Fermentation’s cold fire
Michael Pollan helped with his 2013 book Cooked, in which he ponders cooking through the lens of the four elements: fire (barbecue), water (braising), air (baking) and earth. The last deals with “fermentation’s cold fire” and the importance of these semi-rotted foods in our diets.
Though Pollan seems to get more ponderous with each book, I was inspired. (It’s interesting how I like to pretend I’m not trendy, but am so easily swayed by what’s in this season.) As a result, I was recently out buying a one gallon glass jar and chasing down a kombucha mother on Craigslist, the flesh-like culture of bacteria and yeast that ferments sweetened black tea into a tart, slightly fizzy drink. (Though the fermentation results in a miniscule amount of alcohol, it is not considered an alcoholic drink — it’s available even for minors in the US).
After many years of closely watching how what I eat affects my cycling performance, I’m a big believer in keeping the “microbiome” happy and balanced. There’s no faster way to feel terrible on the bike than to mess with your eating. In addition to low energy, there’s a deep-seated unease when things in the plumbing aren’t quite right — it quickly affects mood and outlook as well.
It’s funny to watch though, how something like this becomes all the rage, with whole industries growing around it, after which it just fizzles out — or rather, assumes more realistic proportions. And often, the market swings in completely the opposite direction. Witness how, even as barefoot running and minimal shoes fall from favour, something like the Hoka breaks into the mainstream — a shoe with a huge clown-like sole claiming that even more cushioning than normal is desirable.
After people binge on fermentation, some of them no doubt getting ill from their mistakes, the next, polar opposite, trend will probably be the ‘superfresh movement’ or ‘grazing’—where you grow plant food that you eat straight off the vine or stem, without even picking. Wait and see.
Gautam Raja is a journalist based in Los Angeles, USA.
