March 20, 2009, Newsletter Issue #159: How to de-carb a recipe

Tip of the Week

De-fatting recipes for low fat diets were based on substitutions. For example, you could use a cup of apple sauce instead of a cup of butter, or take low fat varieties of just about any product - sour cream, butter, etc.



Reducing carbohydrates in recipes is possible first of all by using artificial sweeteners, nut flours instead of white flours, or, again, buying ready low carb products.



But how can one reduce carbohydrates in dairy, fruits or carb-rich vegetables like red beets? It is possible to do by fermenting the foods. For example, milk can have 11 carb grams in 1/2 cup but being turned into yogurt, same milk has only 4 carb grams.



Less known is the technique of fermenting fruits and vegetables though sour kraut is an example of a common food. Historically, the Russians fermented foods a lot in order to preserve them for long, cold winters. They fermented cabbage, red beets, mushrooms, apples, watermelons - you name it, they did it. In the process of fermentation, the friendly bacteria eat carbohydrates and release specific acids preserving the food and giving it a very special flavor, different for different products, temperatures, even the wood type used for barrels where the fermentation took place.

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