Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and The... (34 page)

1 small pineapple

1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon sea salt

¼ cup whey (
Whey and Cream Cheese
)

½ cup filtered water

Mix pineapple, cilantro and ginger and place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar. Press down lightly with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer. Mix lime juice, sea salt and whey with water and pour over pineapple, adding more water if necessary to cover the pineapple. The chutney should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for 2 days before transferring to refrigerator. This should be eaten within 2 months.

Variation: Hot Pineapple Chutney

Add
1 small red onion, 1 jalapeno pepper
and
½ red pepper,
all finely chopped.

The pineapple is a native of South America. It is an unusual fruit in that it forms when the fruits of a hundred or more separate flowers coalesce. It has a high sugar content and a delicious flavor. Pineapple is high in fiber and contains carotenoids, B-complex vitamins and vitamin C. Organically grown pineapple from selenium-rich soil also contains a unique enzyme called bromelain that helps digest protein—but the enzyme is absent in many commercially available varieties of the fruit. This enzyme works not only in the acid present in the stomach but also in the alkaline environment of the intestine and has been used to treat a number of diseases including heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, injuries, edema, pneumonia and scleroderma. It is claimed to shorten labor and reduce appetite.

According to Professor Francisco Villaroel of Bolivia, pineapple is a powerful remedy for chest ailments, jaundice, arteriosclerosis, anemia and cerebral problems, such as neurasthenia, melancholia and loss of memory.

Pineapple is rich in manganese, which is necessary for strong bones and a healthy nervous system. Recent studies have revealed that women with osteoporosis have about one-third less manganese in their blood than healthy women. The manganese in pineapple is in a particularly absorbable form.

The enzyme bromelain in pineapple is what makes other fruit become soggy when mixed with pineapple. Surprisingly, pineapple that has been lacto-fermented does not become soggy but retains its crispness. With its protein-digesting bromelain content, lacto-fermented pineapple chutney is the perfect accompaniment for meat dishes of all types. SWF

PAPAYA CHUTNEY

Makes 1 quart

3 cups ripe papaya, peeled and cubed

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 red pepper, seeded and cut into a julienne

1 small onion, chopped

1 jalapeno chile, seeded and chopped (optional)

½ cup fresh mint leaves, cut into pieces

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

¹
/
₈
cup Rapadura (see
Guide to Natural Sweeteners
)

½ cup lime juice

2 teaspoons sea salt

¼ cup whey (
Whey and Cream Cheese
)

½ cup filtered water

Mix papaya with ginger, peppers, onion, mint and cilantro and place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar. Press down lightly with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer. Mix remaining ingredients and pour into jar, adding more water if necessary to cover the fruit. The chutney should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for 2 days before transferring to refrigerator. This should be eaten within 2 months.

Variation: Mango Chutney

Use
3 cups firm mango, peeled and cubed
, instead of papaya.

The papaya hails from the American tropics. The papaya tree is fast growing and short lived; it looks like a palm tree with a tuft of large leaves at the top. Some papayas weigh as much as twenty pounds—perhaps this is why Columbus called the papaya tree the "melon tree." Most commercially available papayas in America come from Hawaii; but they are also grown in Florida, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Papayas picked green will ripen at room temperature. They are rich in carotenoids and vitamin C as well as potassium and phosphorus. They contain a unique protein digestion enzyme, which is used commercially as a meat tenderizer—hence the wisdom of taking papaya chutney with meats. Save the papaya seeds to make
Papaya Pepper
, which is also rich in enzymes and an excellent substitute for black pepper. SWF

RAISIN CHUTNEY

Makes 1 quart

3 cups raisins, soaked in warm water for 1 hour

4 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 bunch cilantro, stems removed

20 black peppercorns

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon anise seeds

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

2 teaspoons sea salt

¼ cup whey (
Whey and Cream Cheese
)

1 cup filtered water

Place garlic and cilantro in food processor and pulse a few times. Drain raisins and add to food processor along with peppercorns, red pepper flakes, seeds and ginger. Pulse a few times until the mixture becomes a coarse paste. Transfer to a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down lightly with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer. Mix salt and whey with water and pour into jar. You may need to poke a few holes in the chutney to allow liquid to percolate through. Add more water if necessary to cover the chutney. The top of the chutney should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 2 days before transferring to refrigerator. The chutney should be eaten within 2 months.

There is a large difference between the vitamins found in foods and many of the vitamins sold in pill form in our health food stores and drugstores. Vitamins in foods come with many cofactors—such as related vitamins, enzymes, and minerals—which act with the vitamin to ensure that it is absorbed and properly used. Most commercially produced supplements contain vitamins that are either crystalline or synthetic. Crystalline vitamins are those that have been separated from natural sources by chemical means; synthetic vitamins are produced "from scratch" in the laboratory. Both are purified or fractionated concentrates of the vitamin, which act more like drugs than nutrients in the body. They can actually disrupt the body chemistry and cause many imbalances. An additional danger with synthetic vitamins is that they can be the mirror image of what is found in nature, a form that may actually be patently harmful.

Natural vitamins obtained from whole foods, food concentrates and superfoods like yeast, spirulina, bee pollen and cod liver oil work in small quantities with almost magical effects. But crystalline or synthetic vitamins may not work at all. For example, synthetic B
₁
derived from coal tar did not cure beriberi in Korean prisoners-of-war but rice polishings with natural vitamin B complex did; synthetic vitamin C is not as effective in curing scurvy as fresh citrus juice; and synthetic betacarotene given to smokers actually increased their risk of cancer, while the natural forms found in fruits and vegetables are protective. SWF

PRESERVED LEMON

Makes 1 quart

5 organic lemons, preferably thin-skinned variety

3 tablespoons sea salt

3 cinnamon sticks, broken up

2 tablespoons whey (
Whey and Cream Cheese
)

juice of 2 lemons

Wash lemons well, slice thinly and cut slices into quarters. Toss in a bowl with salt and cinnamon sticks. Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down lightly with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer. Mix lemon juice with whey and add to jar, pressing down so that the liquid completely covers the lemons. Lemons should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, turning jar once a day, before transferring to cold storage. When adding to recipes, remove pulp and cut skin into a julienne.

Lemons are native to southeastern Asia. They were introduced to the Mediterranean about 1000 AD and thence taken to Europe and the United States. They are valued for their strongly flavored peel—used in many medicinal and cosmetic preparations—and above all for their juice, rich in vitamin C and citric acid. Lemon and lime juice have long been used to treat scurvy; lemon juice is also an effective diuretic. In tests of plant extracts, lemon extract was found to be effective in killing roundworms. The high acidity of lemon juice, and its disinfectant and antimicrobial properties, make it ideal for marinating raw fish. The Romans believed that lemon was an antidote for all poisons, including venomous snake bites.

Most commercial lemons and other citrus fruits are treated with neurotoxic cholinesterase inhibitors to prevent spoilage, so it pays to seek out organic lemons, oranges and grapefruit. SWF