Hello and welcome to Zoe Recap, where each week we find the best bits from one of our podcast episodes to help you improve your health.

Today we're diving into fermentation. If you're a regular Zoe listener, you've probably heard that fermented foods are some of the best things you can eat for your gut health.

Packed with beneficial microbes, they've been shown to boost everything from digestion to immune function. Still, the idea of at-home fermentation,

cultivating bacteria and microorganisms in your very fridge, can feel a little daunting,

more like a science experiment than a culinary adventure. That's where Sando Katz comes in.

He's a fermentation revivalist, best-selling author,

and the driving force behind a global fermentation movement.

So if you're a total beginner or just kimchi curious,

this episode will give you the tools, the confidence,

and maybe even the craving to get fermenting at home.

Fermentation has been an integral part of how people in every part of the world make effective use of whatever food resources are available to them.

It's part of our cultural legacy everywhere, and yet over the past several generations, fewer and fewer people have been practicing

fermentation.

And so when I talk about myself as a fermentation revivalist is really trying to revive interest

in these ancient practices and basically help people feel confident to bring them into their home

kitchens.

The easiest way to ferment vegetables of all is what I would describe as the sourcrow

method, dry salting the vegetables.

All you do is you shred vegetables, create surface area, lightly salt them. There's no magic number

about how much salt. You've salted lightly, mix it up, taste it, add more salt if desired,

add seasonings, if you like, caraway seeds or garlic or chili peppers or anything. Squeeze the vegetables for a few minutes, and that helps get them juicy.

Once they're juicy and you like the balance of flavors, pack them into a vessel,

...