Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and The... (28 page)

CREME FRAICHE

(European Style Sour Cream)
Makes 2 cups

1 pint good quality cream

1 tablespoon commerical or whole-milk buttermilk, commercial creme fraiche, or creme fraiche from previous batch

European-style sour cream, called
creme fraiche,
(and pronounced "crem fresh") is a key ingredient in French cooking. It has a delicious flavor and is wonderful in creamed soups and sauces. In larger cities,
creme fraiche
is available at gourmet and health food stores.

To make
creme fraiche
at home, start with the best quality cream you can find. Raw cream is best but pasteurized will do. Do not use ultrapasteurized cream. Place in a clean glass container. Add buttermilk or
creme fraiche
, stir well, cover tightly and place in a warm spot for 20 to 24 hours. Chill well.

Note: If you can find neither good quality cream nor
creme fraiche
, use the best quality American-style, additive-free sour cream you can find in all recipes that call for
creme fraiche
or
piima
cream.

In isolated Swiss villages, a limited amount of garden stuff is grown, chiefly green foods for summer use. While the cows spend the warm summer on the verdant knolls and wooded slopes near the glaciers and fields of perpetual snow, they have a period of high and rich productivity of milk. The milk constitutes an important part of the summer's harvesting. While the men and boys gather in the hay and rye, the women and children go in large numbers with the cattle to collect the milk and make and store cheese for the following winter's use This [raw] cheese contains the natural butter fat and minerals of the splendid milk and is a virtual storehouse of life for the coming winter.

These people. . .recognize the presence of Divinity in the life-giving qualities of the butter made in June when the cows have arrived for pasturage near the glaciers. [The priest] gathers the people together to thank the kind Father for the evidence of His Being in the life-giving qualities of butter and cheese made when the cows eat the grass near the snow line. This worshipful program includes the lighting of a wick in a bowl of the first butter made after the cows have reached the luscious summer pasturage. This wick is permitted to burn in a special sanctuary built for that purpose. The natives of the valley are able to recognize the superior quality of their June butter, and, without knowing exactly why, pay it due homage. Weston Price, DDS
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration

PIIMA CREAM

Makes 2 cups

1 pint good quality cream

1 tablespoon starter culture (
Piima Starter Culture
)

Cream cultured with the piima culture is similar to European-style
creme fraiche
. Use the best quality cream you can find. Raw cream is best but pasteurized will do. Do not use ultrapasteurized cream. Place cream in a clean glass container. Add the starter, cover tightly and place in a spot where the temperature is a stable 72-75 degrees for 20 to 24 hours. It will have thickened slightly. Chill well. When cool the cream becomes quite firm. Piima cream will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. It may develop a thin yellowish or pinkish crust—simply remove this with a spoon.

WHOLE-MILK BUTTERMILK

Makes 1 quart

1 quart whole milk, preferably raw but not ultrapasteurized

about ¼ cup buttermilk culture (See
Sources
)

This is the easiest of all the cultured milks. Place milk in a glass container, add the buttermilk culture, stir well and cover. Keep at room temperature (but not higher than 80 degrees) until the milk thickens and curdles slightly. Chill well. Reserve ¼-½ cup in a separate jar in the refrigerator for the next culture. Note: A similar culture from Sweden is called
fil mjolk
.

Metchnikoff attributed the relatively long life span and freedom from disease of Bulgarian peasants to their consumption of sour milk containing a lactic acid bacillus. . .. However, his assumption took no account of a far better explanation. Dairy products form a large proportion of the diet in certain countries. Before the era of pasteurization, dairy products were utilized in the raw condition, since their palatability does not improve by heat-treatment, as is the case with many food materials. When a large share of the calorie requirement was supplied by raw milk, raw butter and raw cheese, not only did the organism receive a daily quota of enzymes, but the enzyme content of the tissues was not so heavily drawn upon as in those countries where the preponderance of the diet consisted of heat-treated foods. Therefore, the Bulgarian peasants, many of whom Metchnikoff found to live to the century mark in their mountainous abode, might be expected to have a long life span because their enzyme reserve is more slowly used up during the course of living. Edward Howell, MD
Food Enzymes for Health and Longevity

YOGHURT

Makes 1 quart

½ cup good quality commercial plain yoghurt, or ½ cup yoghurt from previous batch

1 quart pasteurized whole milk, nonhomogenized

a candy thermometer

Yoghurt is easy to make—neither a yoghurt-maker nor a special culture is necessary. The final product may be thinner in consistency than commercial yoghurt.

Gently heat the milk to 180 degrees and allow to cool to about 110 degrees. Stir in yoghurt and place in a shallow glass, enamel or stainless steel container. Cover the container and place in a warm oven (a gas oven with a pilot light or electric oven pre-heated to warm and then turned off) overnight. In the morning transfer to the refrigerator. (Throughout the day, use paper towels to mop up any whey that exudes from the yoghurt.)

Variation: Raw Milk Yoghurt

Place
1 quart raw milk
in a double boiler and heat to 110 degrees. Remove
2 tablespoons of the warm milk
and add
1 tablespoon yoghurt
(commercial or from previous batch). Stir well and pour into a quart-sized wide-mouth mason jar. Add a further
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons yoghurt
to the jar and stir well. Cover tightly and place in a dehydrator set at 95 degrees for 8 hours. Transfer to the refrigerator.

Various researchers have learned that children and certain adults can beat allergies by taking the supplement
lactobacillus acidophilus
, the friendly bacteria found in yoghurt [and other fermented foods]. One published study revealed that every allergic child who volunteered to be tested was deficient in
lactobacillus acidophilus
, a condition corrected, in most instances, by taking this supplement. John Shelly
Health Freedom News

KEFIR

Makes 2 cups

2 cups fresh whole milk, nonhomogenized and preferably raw

½ cup good quality cream (optional)

1 tablespoon kefir grains or 1 package kefir powder (See
Sources
)

Kefir is thicker than piima milk or buttermilk and has a wonderful tart flavor.

If using kefir grains, place them in a fine strainer and rinse with filtered water. Place milk and optional cream in a clean wide-mouth, quart-size mason jar. If milk is cold, place jar in a pan of simmering water until milk reaches room temperature. Add kefir grains or powder to milk, stir well and cover loosely with a cloth. Place in a warm place (65 to 76 degrees) for 12 hours to 2 days.

If using the powder, kefir is ready when it thickens, usually within 24 hours.

If using grains, stir vigorously occasionally to redistribute the grains. Every time you stir, taste the kefir. When it achieves a tartness to your liking, the kefir is ready. The kefir may also become thick and effervescent, depending on the temperature, incubation time and the amount of curds you use. Pour the kefir through a strainer into another jar to remove the grains. Store in refrigerator. Use the grains to make another batch of kefir, or prepare them for storage by rinsing them well with water and placing in a small jar with about ½ cup filtered water. They may be stored in the refrigerator several weeks or in the freezer for several months. If they are left too long in storage, they will lose their culturing power.

Kefir is a cultured and microbial-rich food that helps restore the inner ecology. It contains strains of beneficial yeast and beneficial bacteria (in a symbiotic relationship) that give kefir antibiotic properties. A natural antibiotic—and it is made from milk! The finished product is not unlike that of a drink-style yogurt, but kefir has a more tart, refreshing taste and contains completely different microorganisms. . .kefir does not feed yeast, and it usually doesn't even bother people who are lactose intolerant. That's because the friendly bacteria and the beneficial yeast growing in the kefir consume most of the lactose and provide very efficient enzymes (lactase) for consuming whatever lactose is still left after the culturing process. . .kefir is mucous-forming, but. . .the slightly mucus-forming quality is exactly what makes kefir work for us. The mucus has a "clean" quality to it that coats the lining of the digestive tract, creating a sort of nest where beneficial bacteria can settle and colonize. . ..

Kefir is made from gelatinous white or yellow particles called "grains." The grains contain the bacteria/yeast mixture clumped together with casein (milk proteins) and polysaccharides (complex sugars). They look like pieces of coral or small clumps of cauliflower and range from the size of a grain of wheat to that of a hazelnut. Some grains have been known to grow in large flat sheets that can be big enough to cover your hand. No other milk culture forms grains. . .making kefir truly unique. Once the grains ferment the milk by incorporating their friendly organisms into the final product, you remove these grains with a strainer before drinking the kefir. The grains are then added to a new batch of milk, and the process continues indefinitely. Donna Gates
The Body Ecology Diet

WHEY AND CREAM CHEESE

Makes 5 cups whey and 2 cups cream cheese

2 quarts
piima milk
,
whole-milk buttermilk
,
yoghurt
or raw milk

We call for the use of whey in many recipes throughout this book—as a starter culture for lacto-fermented vegetables and fruits, for soaking grains and as a starter for many beverages. The cream cheese, which is a by-product, is far superior to the commercial variety, which is produced by putting milk under high pressure and not by the beneficial action of lactic-acid-producing bacteria.

If you are using piima milk or whole-milk buttermilk, let stand at room temperature 1-2 days until the milk visibly separates into white curds and yellowish whey. If you are using yoghurt, no advance preparation is required. You may use homemade yoghurt or good quality commercial plain yoghurt. If you are using raw milk, place the milk in a clean glass container and allow it to stand at room temperature1-4 days until it separates.

Line a large strainer set over a bowl with a clean dish towel. Pour in the yoghurt or separated milk, cover and let stand at room temperature for several hours (longer for yoghurt). The whey will run into the bowl and the milk solids will stay in the strainer. Tie up the towel with the milk solids inside, being careful not to squeeze. Tie this little sack to a wooden spoon placed across the top of a container so that more whey can drip out. When the bag stops dripping, the cheese is ready. Store whey in a mason jar and cream cheese in a covered glass container. Refrigerated, the cream cheese keeps for about 1 month and the whey for about 6 months.

Whey is such a good helper in your kitchen. It has a lot of minerals. One tablespoon of whey in a little water will help digestion. It is a remedy that will keep your muscles young. It will keep your joints movable and ligaments elastic. When age wants to bend your back, take whey. . .. With stomach ailments, take one tablespoon whey three times daily, this will feed the stomach glands and they will work well again. Hanna Kroeger
Ageless Remedies from Mother's Kitchen

Old Par, [an English peasant] who lived to the age of 152 years and 9 months, existed and even thrived on a diet of "subrancid cheese and milk in every form, coarse and hard bread and small drink, generally sour whey," as William Harvey wrote. . .. "On this sorry fare, but living in his home, free from care, did this poor man attain to such length of days." Terence McLaughlin
A Diet of Tripe