Free Republic

Kombucha tea is a fermented, sweetened black tea drink that could help with fat loss according to expertsResearchers have claimed that one particular type of tea can help you lose weight without 'trying'. Kombucha tea can mimic the effects of fasting in the body, according to the new study. This means people may be able to lose fat without changing their diet. Researchers have discovered that the microbes in the fermented drink make changes to fat metabolism in the intestines that are similar to the effects of fasting. But what exactly is Kombucha? It is a sweetened, fermented tea that...

A Florida man spent years wondering why colleagues and coworkers questioned his alcohol consumption. He said he hadn't been drinking — especially with him working as a teacher and basketball coach — but was called into the principal's office on and off for several years. Mark Mongiardo, 40, told TODAY he worked more than 12 hours a day and credited his exhaustion and behavior changes to that. "I thought that there was something wrong with me. I wasn’t exactly sure what," Mongiardo, 40, of Florida, told TODAY.com. "I just thought I was tired all the time. My wife has on...

If you’ve ever put away a serving of house-fermented vegetables at a fancy restaurant or had a roommate taking up your counter space with a crock of slowly bubbling sauerkraut, it’s likely you have Sandor Katz to thank. The self-styled “fermentation revivalist” has become a globe-trotting mascot for the power of bacteria and yeast to create delicious food, a kind of modern-day Johnny Appleseed of tangy, savory flavors. Katz discovered fermented foods in the early 1990s when, after receiving an H.I.V. diagnosis, he moved from his hometown of New York City to a queer community in rural Tennessee, where preserving...

HIRSCHFELD, GERMANY - Scientists in Germany have come up with a method for extracting the precious element germanium from plants. The element is a semi-conductor and was used to develop the first transistor because it is able to transport electrical charges extremely quickly. Nowadays, silicon-germanium alloy is indispensable to modern life, crucial in making computers, smartphones and fiber-optic cables. Transparent in infra-red light, germanium is also used in intelligent steering systems and parking sensors for vehicles. Yet although germanium is present in soil all over the world, it is difficult to extract, and most supplies currently come from China. Now...

It's salty. It's sour. And it's often spicy. But kimchi is also an indispensable element of both Korean cuisine and culture. "The word kimchi simply means 'salted vegetable,'" says Saehee Chang, owner of Korea Konnect and Kosari Kimchi, a local product line based on Chang's mother's kimchi recipe. "And for Koreans, it's part of who we are. It's a constant seen at almost every meal. And it's a very strange thing to run into someone who is Korean who doesn't like kimchi." For many, including Chang, kimchi is also about making connections. "To me, kimchi represents community and coming together,"...

The Columbia Gorge is now home to an estimated 45 wineries, 14 breweries, 13 cideries and two distilleries — not counting dozens, probably hundreds, of home brewers. #All those brewers represent different applications of “fermentation science,” the topic of a six-part instructional series starting next month through Columbia Gorge Community College. #Local industry leaders in such disparate fields as beer, cider, wine, spirits, baking and fermented foods will describe the commonalities uniting their work, facilitated by Dr. Kevin McCabe, lab supervisor at Full Sail Brewing Co. and former microbiology professor at the college. Students will learn the principles of fermentation...

The homemade preserve blew up in the fridge, ripping the door off of its hinges and rocking Margaret Goodwin’s flat as she lay asleep at 7am in the morning. When she went to see what the "bomb" was she found that her family photographs has been smashed by the fridge door as it was flung across the kitchen, knocking a chunk from the wall. The explosion had also temporarily lifted the ceiling, leaving cracks in the top of the wall, living room and porch, and blew the casing off an extractor fan. The rhubarb chutney, a gift from a friend,...

George Washington’s rye whiskey going on sale Rye whiskey using George Washington’s own recipe will soon go on sale at the first president’s Mount Vernon estate in Virginia. The presidential home reconstructed Washington’s distillery and will make more than 1,100 bottles of unaged whiskey available beginning April 4. The bottles sell for $95 each. Mount Vernon says the rye is the most authentic version of Washington’s whiskey available. Washington was a detailed record keeper, and distillers used the same grain recipe and fermentation process as it was done 250 years ago. No word on whether it’ll be available online or...

Just like a comic book super hero, you could say that the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD1) has a secret identity. Since its discovery in 1969, scientists believed SOD1's only role was to protect living cells against damage from free radicals. Now, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have discovered that SOD1 protects cells by regulating cell energy and metabolism. The results of their research were published January 17, 2013, in the journal Cell. Transforming oxygen to energy for growth is key to life for all living cells, which happens either through respiration or fermentation. When oxygen...

A little more than three weeks ago I chopped a pile of garden cabbages and embarked upon another potentially dangerous kitchen experiment. I was determined to make sauerkraut. The recipe called for a pail (or crock), shredded cabbage and Kosher salt. It's easy. Simply layer the cabbage in the pail, sprinkle with salt and repeat. And allow the thoroughly natural process of decomposition to commence. As an aside - I would remind my 46 readers that you can do this yourself at home with little risk of injury. Other than chopping with a big, sharp chef's knife you will run...

Talk to local gardeners, and they’re going to talk about the late spring and the unusually cool summer growing season. In that monologue, you’re going to hear about the so-so onions and slow tomatoes, but also about the stupendous production of cabbages, broccoli and cauliflower. Charles Szakacs reaped the benefits of a cool growing season when his Copenhagen cabbages more than doubled their weight and size. These select giant cabbages weighed around 19 pounds, but more came in at 15 and 16 pounds a head. “I picked one batch of 14 cabbages that weighed 183 pounds,” he said. On the...

German police called to clear a road of a dead badger found the animal in question had in fact gorged itself on over-ripe, fermented cherries and, blind drunk, staggered out into the middle of the road. "The animal's stomach had turned the fruit to alcohol and the badger was, to put it crudely, drunk as a skunk," said a police statement on Wednesday. "In addition, the badger was suffering from diarrhoea studded with cherry stones." Prodding the reluctant beast with a stick, officers managed to persuade it to leave the road near the town of Goslar in northwestern Germany and...

Philip Sweet crossed over to the other side while volunteering at the Pickle Pavilion at last year's Slow Food Nation in San Francisco. He became fascinated with fermentation and the variety of ways people pickle around the globe. "People are pickling everything," he says. "It opened up a whole new world to me." As Sweet's work as an event planner slowed in recent months, he and a friend created Urban Peasant SF, an organization devoted to traditional food-preservation methods. Last month, they organized a class on fermented beverages; during the same period, Bay Area aficionados flocked to an all-day fermentation...

Several years in the making, the inaugural Freestone Fermentation Festival, founded by Michael Stusser of Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary in downtown Freestone, takes place from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday at Salmon Creek School (1935 Bohemian Highway, Freestone). From noon to 4:30 p.m., there will be lectures, demonstrations, workshops and exhibits that cover such topics as how to make sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha and compost tea (for your garden, silly). Vintner and fermentation master Lou Preston has promised a cabbage stomp. Clover Stornetta is among the exhibitors and we suspect their delicious new kefir will be on display. If you love...

There has been a lot of talk in recent health news on the power of fermented foods. Items like sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, kefir and kimchee receive nutritional gold stars for their ability to boost the healthy flora in our digestive tract and in our immune system. While all fermented foods contain health benefits, sauerkraut stands out as the grandfather of them all. This fermented cabbage dish dates back to the first century A.D. and its roster of health attributes makes it nothing less than a fermented powerhouse. Sauerkraut contains an abundance of lactobacilli, a kind of healthy probiotic, in addition...

Everyone seems to think that ethanol is a good way to make cars greener. Everyone is wrong SOMETIMES you do things simply because you know how to. People have known how to make ethanol since the dawn of civilisation, if not before. Take some sugary liquid. Add yeast. Wait. They have also known for a thousand years how to get that ethanol out of the formerly sugary liquid and into a more or less pure form. You heat it up, catch the vapour that emanates, and cool that vapour down until it liquefies. The result burns. And when Henry Ford...

Public release date: 27-Jul-2004 Contact: Greg Borzo gborzo@fieldmuseum.org 312-665-7106 Field Museum Ancient brewery discovered on mountain top in Peru Field Museum online expedition still in progress describes discovery of 'Beer of Kings' Archaeologists discover a 1,000-year-old brewery from the Wari Empire's occupation of Cerro Baúl, a mountaintop city in the Andes. Remains of the brewery were well preserved because a fire set when the brewery was closed made the walls collapse over the materials. Photo by Patrick Ryan Williams, courtesy of The Field Museum CHICAGO--Archaeologists working in southern Peru found an ancient brewery more than 1,000 years old. Remains of...

MOROYAMA, Saitama -- A junior high school teacher who threw stones at the roof of a rice shop here, breaking a tile, was arrested after a police officer caught him in the act, law enforcers said.The 49-year-old teacher, Wataru Shimizu, was arrested for damaging property. Police said six similar stone-throwing incidents had left the rice shop damaged, and they were investigating Shimizu’s involvement.Shimizu said he threw the stones after becoming infuriated that a car belonging to the rice shop had been parked on neighboring land that he owned. “The rice-shop car was parked on my field without permission, and I...