Thursday, June 5, 2025

fermentation and smartphones

In the small southern town not far from where I live, a new market has recently opened that sells mainly local whole foods such as vegetables, ferments, dairy, breads, meats, and such.

As some of you might remember I enjoy the art of food fermentation. I regularly ferment cabbage, but during the summer months I usually have several ferments going on at one time.

I am no expert by any means, but I am always up to learning new things in regards to fermenting foods.

This little local store carries products from K Culture Ferments. Since the store offers free tastings I was gladly  enticed to bring home a couple of their ferments recently. Wow are they delicious! Of course, I checked  the ingredients list and today I decided I would try my hand at making a ferment using cabbage, carrots and beets. I will never be able to create the exact same ferment, but at the least I can experiment and learn to make a good one. 

While I was happily fermenting in my kitchen, I listened to this very interesting conversation at Thinking in Public between Al Mohler and Clare Morell about her book, The Tech Exit:A Practical Guide for Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones.  

It is extremely interesting to listen to her research  that clearly shows how the use of smartphones affects the development of kids and teens, in all aspects. Most of us would agree that society as a whole has dramatically changed especially due to the progressively insidious use of smartphones. I am aware of how many parents today struggle with this, even as my own children share with me how hard it is to say no to my grandchildren with any such devices. They are the wise ones, and I do pray for them.  When my boys were growing up, there were no smartphones, they did not even have cell phones. But with my girls iPods, cell phones, and even smart phones were beginning to take off. At sixteen, when my girls began to drive they were allowed a cellphone, and eventually a smartphone edged in, but still I did not trust anything called a "smartphone". I do not now either.





7 comments:

Andrea said...

Fermenting sounds very healthy and delicious. Luckily my kids grew up before the phone craze. And most of the internet for that matter. They did have a playstation and they were allowed to play that on Fridays after they got home from school. Boy did they run down to our rec room quickly ! lol. andrea

Joyful in His Presence said...

We also enjoy fermented foods, Cathy. We've done cabbage and then one time we tried Kimchi. I've not been very adventurous with trying new things...I did do pickled radishes, and we love those.

Thank you for the link to the interview on smart phones. I also think that another sad event that has taken place is what is referred to as "social" media. Basically, I see it as having taken away people's social skills and interacting with people in person.

Mari said...

I've never had fermented foods that I know of. I find this interesting!
You are right about smart phones and I agree with Pamela on Social Media. It has taken over and neither is healthy for kids or any of us.

Granny Marigold said...

I'm thankful that we raised our children before the era of every kid having a cell phone, let alone a smart phone. My grands seem to manage pretty well for which I am so thankful.

Cathy said...

Fermenting might be something you would like to do. If you look at my fermenting label you might get some idea of things I have fermented in the past. It is fun to try different foods and beverages. I do not do kombucha any longer, preferring to eat rather than drink my ferments...other than fermented ginger ale I make in the summer months.
Yes, If I did not have the age spans between my children I would not have seen the blaring differences. We had a playstation too!

Cathy said...

I eat my fermented cabbage (sauerkraut) regularly. Most of the others are seasonal since they must be kept in the refrigerator. Though I have some garlic I fermented a few months ago. Kimchi is excellent too.

Cathy said...

Yes, that is something to be very thankful about and I do hope your children are mindful of their children in regard to devices and social media. They need our prayers! It is not easy to raise children today.

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