Yes, you can ferment herbs. You can ferment culinary herbs to extend the flavor season. And you can ferment medicinal herbs to maximize their effectiveness. And as those of you that work with herbs know the lines are often blurred.
Gut soothing herbs—fennel, turmeric, dandelion root and ginger
My first “garden plant” was a pitiful potted basil plant. I was in college. I brought it home watered it and waited for it to grow. I imagined a large bushy house plant that would last for years as I picked leaves to add to all the gourmet meals I would cook as soon as I moved on from my diet of daily quesadillas. Admittedly, I knew nothing about herbs, specifically annuals vs perennials, more specifically that unless picked the annual basil would simply do what nature intended for it—flower and seed—our goals were clearly misaligned. Fast forward a few years later we moved into our first house with yard. The first “big girl” thing I did was buy books on herb gardens, complete with designs, to transform the front lawn into herbs for everything—dying wool, health tonics, and flavor. I imagined mixing my own medicines, spinning and dying my own wool and weaving the family’s garments. (None of that happened.) I knew what to do with the culinary ones—watch them grow, snip them fresh and dry them for another day.
Those early aspirations played themselves out. I knit, other people’s beautifully hand-dyed wool. I am not an herbalist, but I know some awesome ones and understand more than I did. I found my work with herbs and spices did not take form as tinctures but as food. Over the years I have been inspired by our everyday food being our medicine. As the gardens grew bigger my connection with real food became stronger as did my relationship with flavor because tasty morsels are one of the joys in life. These foodstuffs needed preservation. Enter fermentation.
Again, this is a story of growth, journey and discovery but the upshot is a few years into fermenting all the vegetables from the garden, I was exasperated by the high cost of pine nuts and Parmesan cheese for all the pesto I would be making. (I’d clearly figured out how to grow basil.) On a whim I decided to ferment it. I fermented whole leaves and a “pesto” starter, which was a spreadable paste that I could add pine nuts, olive oil and Parmesan to as needed. This was a moment of discovery. Having always been disappointed in the flavor of dried basil and other delicate leaf herbs my mine was blown. This is because when dried the volatile flavor compounds don’t hold on, they dissipate easily. With fermentation you lock in those compounds. Using fermented basil leaves in cooking then is almost like using fresh basil, because in a sense you are keeping the food alive. Since fermentation frees many of the nutrients in our food making them more available to our bodies, I began to think of the possibility when fermenting with plants that heal. This opened up a whole new path of experimentation for culinary and health benefits thus blurring the line between food and medicine and making food medicine by bringing botanicals into our lives through delicious fermented beverages, condiments and herbal pastes.
When you ferment fresh herbs, culinary or medicinal, you are increasing the magic they have to offer. Let me explain. Beyond preserving the flavor, you are also getting the benefits of consuming fresh herbs and in a sense keeping the herb alive through the live probiotic microbes that are now on board. You might by thinking some herbs and spices can only be found dry. By the same token you can think of fermenting as a wonderful way to wake these dried compounds up—breathe microbial life and active enzymes back into them and spread the goodness they offer throughout the ferment.
The probiotics are an important part of fermented foods and get most of the attention, however I like to point out there are many more reasons to enjoy ferments regularly. As the microbes break down the foods, in this case the herbs, they become more bioavailable, in other words all the goodness is easier for your body to absorb. If we take this apart for a moment it is interesting to note that the microbes are consuming the starches that we cannot digest converting it to lactic acid (that pickly flavor) yet the fiber and inulin (called prebiotics), is not broken down making the combination perfect for long term digestion health. It has become increasingly clear the connection between a healthy gut and health mind. To learn more about fermenting foods you can head to school. The Fermentation School is where I and other amazing fermentation colleagues will teach you how.
But that is not all, at the same time the process increases the vitamins and the antioxidants of the raw ingredients, some of which are already present, like Vitamin C. Others, like vitamin B-12 or K2, are created in the process. Ferments also have a host of digestive enzymes on board. This means that these foods also help your body digest, not only said ferment, but anything else you are eating along with it. This powerful combination of works to boost your immune system. This is where you can take the power of functional herbs and spices and make it work for you.
This is why traditional fermented foods like kimchi, famously known and proven to keep colds and flu at bay, work this food is based on a time-honored combination of garlic, ginger, and capsaicin (hot pepper) that is fermented which has been proven to boost the immune system. And perhaps most importantly it tastes good. And that is key to functional foods, if we are going to be real here, do we really like eating stuff that doesn’t taste good? We can talk ourselves into it but usually if its mandatory it’s not the first thing we grab, and we should be eating these foods daily. A well-stocked delicious fermented larder of herbal pastes, rich condiments and fermented salads will keep you grabbing these foods for flavor without even thinking about it.
Fermented Fennel Dandelion Rood Chutney — delicious example of food as medicine
Here are some of my favorite herbs for fermentation:
Fennel is known for decreasing gas and ginger settling an upset stomach.
The combination of turmeric root and black pepper is an anti-flammatory powerhouse.
Dandlelion root and leaf are amazing for liver and kidneys
Lemon Verbena an all-around trusty herb, its lemony fragrance is pleasing and benefits range from digestion help, cold symptom relief, and alleviating aches and pains.
A good rule of thumb is to taste your herbal creation raw, as you are making it, if it tastes good raw, chances are it will taste amazing fermented. While most herbs mellow out during the fermentation time some herbs, lavender for example, can become harsh.
