12 Steps to Whole Foods

Preserving Raw Foods with Natural Probiotics
REJUVELAC RECIPE
½ C wheat (any type), rye, quinoa, buckwheat, triticale, or other whole and unmilled grain
½ gal. filtered or distilled water
Soak grains for 6-8 hr. in a quart jar. Drain water, cover jar with a screened lid, and lay the jar on its side for the
grain to spread out and be exposed to air. Cover with tea towel to keep light (and fruit flies, in summer) out of
the aerating jar.
Rinse and drain the sprouting grain, twice a day, for 1-2 days. The grain does not need to grow a long tail to be
sprouted.
Put grain and half of the water in a high-powered blender and pulse for about 1 min. until grain is broken down.
Then pour the mixture into a half-gallon jar (or two quart jars) along with the remaining water. Cover the jar
with a mesh lid, then cover the lid with a tea towel.
Allow the mixture to culture in a dark place for 24 hours or more. The longer the mixture ferments, the more
tart it becomes. Do not be alarmed that the mixture does not smell particularly appealing! It should taste tart
and lemony, reminiscent of the grain you have sprouted. If you feel the need to smell it, just rest assured it does
not taste like it smells.
I have never had Rejuvelac mold. I have heard of it happening, though. If yours molds, throw it out and start
again. This is more likely to happen when the fermented grain is neglected for too long or when your
conditions are very hot and humid.
Cover the Rejuvelac and refrigerate it. It will last up to 1 week in the fridge. I use it with the sprouted grain as
the base of green smoothies. However, if I drink it as a beverage, I strain out the grain solids with a nut milk
bag or cheesecloth.
You can reuse the sprouted, fermented grain once more to make a second, weaker batch of Rejuvelac by adding
water to it again and leaving it on the counter for another 1-2 days.
I recommend rotating the grains you use for the widest possible nutritional variety.
RAW KOMBUCHA RECIPE
Kombucha is a fermented tea and one of the easiest and least expensive ways to get live probiotics in your diet
while increasing your fluids. It’s easy to make once you understand the process and when you get used to using
a “mother” and covering your product on the counter while it ferments.
My recipe calls for black or green tea, which contains caffeine, as well as agave, which is a natural sweetener.
However, both the caffeine and the sugars are metabolized or consumed by the “scoby,” or “mother” (the living
culture complex that begins the fermentation; also sometimes called a “mushroom” only because it is a solid
mass of yeasts and microorganisms that looks rather like a mushroom). Those beneficial cultures proliferate in
the tea and then in your stomach and bowels.
238 12 Steps to Whole Foods
© Copyright Robyn Openshaw