Could one pot of stew last for decades—or even a century? Cooks in several traditions say yes. The idea behind a perpetual stew is simple: a pot of broth or stew is served, replenished, and carefully maintained so that its base is never completely replaced. In Chinese kitchens, a related practice is the master stock used to braise meats; some restaurants claim to have maintained the same stock—continuously refreshed—for generations. The value isn’t mystical; it’s about disciplined food safety and the remarkable flavors that develop when a broth is nurtured over time.

Long-lived stews and master stocks depend on strict routines. The liquid is brought to a full rolling boil at least once every 24 hours, then strained to remove perishables that could spoil, topped up with fresh water or stock, and rapidly cooled. In modern kitchens the pot is refrigerated between boils. If the liquid is neglected, turns sour, or shows off odors, it must be discarded. When the cycle is respected, the result is a stable, intensely flavored broth that can be maintained for years.

Why this tradition is sustainable?

Perpetual stews minimize waste by turning bones, trimmings, and leftovers into nourishment instead of landfill. Energy use can also be efficient when the stock is heated alongside other cooking. The method encourages seasonal, local eating: whatever is fresh—greens, grains, legumes, or scraps from the day’s prep—can go in, keeping the pot aligned with what’s available and affordable.

Perpetual stews sit comfortably in the wider world of fermentation—another time-tested way to coax nutrition and flavor from simple ingredients. For deeper context, see our conversation with fermentation pioneer Sandor Katz, “a conversation about fermentation for the future”, and our early review of his classic, Wild Fermentation. Fermentation know-how pervades everyday foods: from homemade kombucha and the rise of hard kombucha to naturally leavened breads like the sourdough starter you can culture on your counter and the pragmatic schedule that keeps it alive.

In our region, bread and ferments are living heritage. Explore Levant and Persian traditions in Middle Eastern bread, meet bakers reviving landraces in ancient wheat sourdough, and geek out with archaeology in Egyptian yeast revived after 5,000 years. For the health angle, see how fermented foods can support your gut and how certain probiotics may even influence sleep. Curious about culture and faith? We’ve covered questions like whether kombucha is halal, and you can browse many more stories in our fermentation archive and the broader Food section.

Perpetual stew vs. fermented foods

But, perpetual stew isn’t fermentation; it’s a cooked, frequently reboiled system designed to remain safe through heat, hygiene, and refreshment. Fermentation relies on beneficial microbes to transform raw ingredients at cool temperatures. Both methods extend shelf life, reduce waste, and build flavor, but they operate on different principles. In a sustainable kitchen they complement each other: fermented vegetables, breads, and drinks provide live cultures and bright acidity, while a master stock adds savory depth and turns scraps into meals.

If you want to try this at home for a week or more, keep the process simple and consistent. Start with a clean pot and a base of bones or vegetable trimmings, simmer gently to extract flavor, strain, and cool. Each day, bring the stock to a rolling boil for several minutes, skim, add fresh aromatics and water to restore volume, strain if needed, and refrigerate promptly. Use the broth to poach beans and grains, braise vegetables, or fortify stews; return the remaining liquid to the pot and repeat. If anything smells off, don’t take chances—compost it and start over.

Century-old master stocks are best thought of as a continuous practice rather than a single unchanged liquid. The flavor “memory” persists because yesterday’s molecules mingle with today’s additions, but safety depends on today’s boil, today’s strain, and today’s cooling. The concept echoes fermentation’s long arc through food and even technology—think of early bioprocess breakthroughs like Chaim Weizmann’s acetone-butanol fermentation—reminding us that microbes and time are powerful allies when we work with them responsibly.

The post Would you eat a 100 year-old perpetual stew? appeared first on Green Prophet.

At the crossroads of flavour science and sustainable brewing, a fascinating discovery has emerged: beer drinkers don’t just vary in taste—they cluster into two distinct camps. A recent study, presented at the American Chemical Society meeting on 18 August 2025 in Washington, DC, reveals that when sampling lagers with comparable bitterness and alcohol levels, beer enthusiasts diverge sharply in their preferences. Some gravitate toward bold, vibrant flavour chemicals—think strawberry-like notes—while others lean into softer, more mellow compounds reminiscent of pineapple.

The Experiment: Tasting, Testing, Splitting

Dr. Devin Peterson and his team at Ohio State University set out to go beyond the realm of trained sensory panels. Instead, they gathered around 135 self-proclaimed beer lovers and invited them to rate 18 lagers over three separate tasting sessions. Despite all beers being matched for bitterness and alcohol, tasters responded in strikingly opposite ways. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed differences in aroma-chemical profiles between the beers. The result?

One faction favored beers high in strong, expressive flavour compounds—brands like Samuel Adams and Brooklyn ranked highly—while the other group flipped the rankings entirely. “Polar opposites in how they’re responding to the product,” Peterson told Nature.

He also noted that these insights unlock new opportunities: brewers can now “tailor these products better for these different cohorts.”

What This Means for Craft Brewers—and for Sustainability

For the independent brewer—driven not just by flavour but by values—the implications go beyond market segmentation. Understanding these two flavor-preference camps means you can direct your innovations with precision rather than experimentation by trial and error.

• Precision reduces waste: Instead of broad-spectrum small-batch trials that may fail to connect with any particular group, brewers can develop two focused lines—one punch-packed, one mellow. This avoids unnecessary ingredients, energy, and wasted product when a new flavor misses its mark.
• Optimize raw-ingredient use: By choosing hops, yeasts, and adjuncts aligned with the desired strong or gentle aroma profiles, brewers can minimize overuse of materials that won’t resonate with their audience.
• Lower carbon footprint: Fewer experimental brews means less energy used in trial runs, fermentation, packaging, and potential disposal. A streamlined, cohort-aware production system is leaner and greener.
• Elevated customer loyalty: Meeting your drinkers where their taste buds are fosters connection. When drinkers feel their preferences are acknowledged and catered to, they’re likelier to return—reducing overproduction of unsold kegs.

In short, this isn’t just flavour science—it’s sustainability in action. By embracing a more discerning approach to flavour and audience, craft brewers can stay inventive while cutting waste, preserving resources, and engaging consumers more meaningfully.

Digging Deeper: Related Green Prophet Beer Coverage

Hungry for more insights into sustainable brewing and beer culture? Here are some past Green Prophet stories that speak directly to the roots and evolution of mindful beer practices:

• All About Ancient Mesopotamian Beer – tracing the origins of beer in early sustainable agricultural systems, and how ancient brewers exercised remarkable resourcefulness.
• Visiting local breweries in The Netherlands: a guide – exploring sustainable beer tourism, including eco-friendly tours by bicycle through Amsterdam’s craft-beer scene.
• Make Tej – beer from honey
• Make White House honey beer

Israel and Palestinian beer? Which is better?

At its core, this study rewrites a long-standing assumption: that beer drinkers form a homogeneous crowd. Far from it—your audience may fall into flavor extremes. As craft brewers, you now have the tools to tailor your offerings, sharpen your sustainability goals, and deepen consumer engagement.

Imagine launching two flagship series: one designed around the energetic, bold strawberry-esque flavours, the other around the serene, pineapple-like calm. Each batch could be scaled according to real demand, reducing overproduction and cooling the carbon footprint of your brew house.

Related: why Muslims don’t drink beer

Innovation meets responsibility. When flavour science aligns with purpose and sustainability, the future of craft brewing shines bright—and green.

Karin Kloosterman is Founder & Editor of Green Prophet, covering sustainable culture and innovation across the Middle East.

The post The Two Types of Beer Lovers and What It Means for Sustainable Craft Brewing appeared first on Green Prophet.

Losing weight is a struggle and a reason to stay alive. Being obese comes with all sorts of health consequences and if you can’t manage it with diet and exercise you may be taking an anti-obesity drug. To gain the best effects, researchers suggest extra meals of protein to help keep your body healthy and whole.

Women and older adults taking the anti-obesity drug semaglutide may be at higher risk for muscle loss, scientists say, but higher protein intake may help prevent muscle loss in these patients, according to a new, small study being presented Saturday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

Losing muscle (or lean mass) is a common side effect of weight loss in adults with obesity and may negatively affect metabolism and bone health. This is because muscle helps control blood sugar after meals and plays an important role in keeping bones strong, according to study lead researcher Melanie Haines, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass.

Related: do weigh loss supplements burn fat?

Approximately 40% of the weight lost from taking semaglutide—a type of weight-loss medication known as a GLP-1—comes from lean mass, including muscle. It is not yet known who is at highest risk for muscle loss or how it affects blood sugar levels, Haines said.

The researchers studied 40 adults with obesity for three months. Of these patients, 23 were prescribed semaglutide, while 17 followed a diet and lifestyle program for weight loss called Healthy Habits for Life (HHL). The researchers evaluated how their muscle mass changed.

Study participants who were prescribed semaglutide lost more weight than those who participated in the diet and lifestyle program, but the percent of weight loss that was lean mass was similar between the two groups.

Related: be careful with cannabis flowers – they aren’t being dosed correctly in medical cannabis dispensaries 

After accounting for weight loss, the researchers found that in the semaglutide group, being older, female or eating less protein was linked to greater muscle loss. Also in this group, losing more muscle was linked to less improvement in blood sugar (HbA1c levels).

Will protein and peptide supplements help?

“Older adults and women may be more likely to lose muscle on semaglutide, but eating more protein may help protect against this,” Haines said. “Losing too much muscle may reduce the benefits of semaglutide on blood sugar control. This means preserving muscle during weight loss with semaglutide may be important to reduce insulin resistance and prevent frailty in people with obesity.”

Haines said that more studies are needed to find the best way to lose fat but keep muscle when using GLP-1 medications.

The post Eat more steak if you are taking anti-fat drugs appeared first on Green Prophet.

Our ancestors had wisdom we are quick to ignore when we eat industrialized, dead food. People from the not so distant past used to eat fermented foods with every meal, and they are called probiotics. Fermented foods are often sour, but are not pickled with vinegar, rather they ferment and age with the help of yeast and organisms in the air. A new Chinese study finds that fermented foods and eating them, can probably help you get a better night sleep.

Famous ferments from China

Other globally recognized probiotic-rich foods include kefir, tempeh, natto, kombucha, miso, kimchi, and sauerkraut, all of which support gut health through natural fermentation.

The post Probiotics from fermented foods can help you sleep appeared first on Green Prophet.

These days it’s about your gut microbiome and what you eat: In a breakthrough study published April 30 in Nature Immunology, researchers have uncovered how certain “good” gut microbes can trigger immune cell transformations that contribute to rheumatoid arthritis—and possibly other autoimmune diseases.

The study, led by scientists at The Ohio State University, traces the journey of an unusual immune cell known as a T follicular helper 17 (TFH17) cell. These hybrid cells originate in the gut but go on to drive inflammation and autoimmunity throughout the body.

Having a strong microbiome science research overview takes into account the complex interactions between microbial populations and cellular behavior throughout the body. Detailed microbiome science research provides a foundation for developing targeted therapies that address systemic health issues at their biological source. These advancements allow for a more precise understanding of how microscopic changes influence overall physical well-being.

Related: heal your gut microbiome after antibiotics

“This is really the first time it’s been shown that T cell plasticity, which typically occurs in the gut, can have this dramatic impact outside the gut with systemic impact on autoimmune disease,” said senior study author Hsin-Jung Joyce Wu, professor of internal medicine in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology.

Back in 2016, Wu and her team first discovered that commensal bacteria—harmless microbes that usually benefit human health—could provoke the immune system into producing aggressive T cells that promote autoimmune responses. Since then, they’ve been unraveling how this process unfolds.

In the new study, the researchers show that gut-resident T helper 17 (TH17) cells can transform—or “reprogram”—into TFH cells within Peyer’s patches, a type of lymphoid tissue in the small intestine. The twist: these new TFH cells retain key inflammatory traits from their TH17 origin, making them more dangerous.

“These reprogrammed T helper cells adopt characteristics of a new T helper cell type while preserving some of their original traits, making them ‘super powerful and potent’—and if you are dealing with autoimmune disease, that’s bad news,” Wu said.

The team used fate-mapping mouse models to trace how the transformation unfolds. They found that segmented filamentous bacteria—a known gut microbe—accelerated this cell reprogramming. Fluorescent tagging techniques then revealed the cells’ migration from the gut into other parts of the body.

“That’s how we knew they were really traveling,” Wu said. Unlike conventional TFH cells, which typically stay in B cell follicles, these TFH17 cells move around and retain the ability to produce inflammatory proteins like IL-17. They’re also more effective at helping B cells, another immune cell central to rheumatoid arthritis.

“That’s what makes them ultra-pathogenic TFH cells in RA, a systemic disease, because they are very mobile and can potently help B cells,” Wu explained.

To test their pathogenic power, researchers introduced a mix of conventional TFH cells and just 20% TFH17 cells into mice genetically predisposed to develop arthritis. Mice that received the mixed group developed nearly five times more severe joint inflammation than those given only conventional TFH cells.

The implications extend beyond mice. Gene sequencing revealed that the aberrant TFH cells in these models shared significant similarities with TFH cells circulating in the blood of humans with rheumatoid arthritis—including the same gut-derived signature.

“That, to me, was exciting, to find this cross-species signature, which suggests the translational potential of this research,” said Wu.

An estimated 18 million people globally suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic autoimmune disorder marked by painful inflammation in the joints. While its causes are not fully understood, both genetics and environmental factors—including microbial imbalances in the gut—have been linked to disease risk.

Wu believes the findings may have wider relevance: “We are hoping to improve patients’ health and life. For the future, as TFH17 cells can be found in other types of autoimmune patients, such as lupus patients, if we can determine that these abnormal TFH cells are a potential target not just for RA, but across autoimmune diseases, that would be very useful.”

The post Gut Microbes and Rogue Immune Cells May Drive Rheumatoid Arthritis, Study Finds appeared first on Green Prophet.

People who consume more ultra-processed foods—such as packaged snacks, sugary cereals, and hot dogs—may be more likely to show early warning signs of Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study published May 7, 2025, in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The research doesn’t prove that ultra-processed foods cause Parkinson’s, but it does suggest a strong association.

Related: Parkinson’s in Arab communities connected to pesticides

Researchers focused on prodromal Parkinson’s disease—the earliest phase of the condition, when neurodegeneration has begun but hallmark symptoms like tremors or slowed movement haven’t yet appeared. These subtle warning signs can develop years or even decades before a formal diagnosis.

“Eating a healthy diet is crucial as it has been associated with a lower risk of neurodegenerative diseases, and the dietary choices we make today can significantly influence our brain health in the future,” said lead author Xiang Gao, MD, PhD, of the Institute of Nutrition at Fudan University in Shanghai, China.

“There’s growing evidence that diet might influence the development of Parkinson’s disease. Our research shows that eating too much processed food, like sugary sodas and packaged snacks, might be speeding up early signs of Parkinson’s disease.”

The study followed 42,853 people with an average age of 48 for up to 26 years. None had Parkinson’s disease at the start. Over time, participants underwent medical exams and completed detailed health questionnaires. Researchers assessed for early signs of Parkinson’s, such as rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, loss of smell, depression, daytime sleepiness, and impaired color vision.

Participants also kept food diaries every two to four years, noting their consumption of ultra-processed foods. These included items like soda, chips, condiments, packaged desserts, and processed meats. One serving equaled a standard portion, such as one soda can or one hot dog.

After adjusting for lifestyle factors like age, smoking, and exercise, researchers found that people who ate 11 or more servings of ultra-processed food per day were 2.5 times more likely to show at least three early signs of Parkinson’s, compared to those who consumed fewer than three servings daily.

The trend held across most individual symptoms—except constipation. “Choosing to eat fewer processed foods and more whole, nutritious foods could be a good strategy for maintaining brain health,” said Gao. “More studies are needed to confirm our finding that eating less processed food may slow down the earliest signs of Parkinson’s disease.”

Fermentation expert Sandor Katz who has helped maintain his health and living with HIV using fermented foods says there is no silver bullet solution: While fermented foods can help, that’s only part of the solution: “I share your perspective that people would be healthier if they moved away from ultra-processed foods. I also believe that fermented foods can improve digestion, immune function, and even mental health. However, it is misleading to suggest that fermented foods cure HIV, Parkinsons, cancer, or any other particular disease,” he warns.

One limitation: participants self-reported their dietary habits, which may have introduced inaccuracies in measuring how much processed food they truly ate.

The post Too Much Processed Food Linked to Early Signs of Parkinson’s, New Study Finds appeared first on Green Prophet.

Why are more young people under 50 being diagnosed with colorectal cancer? That’s the question researchers across the world are racing to answer. Now, a major international study published in Nature offers a new lead: a DNA-damaging toxin called colibactin, produced by certain gut bacteria, may play a key role — and our diets could be fueling it.

Colorectal cancer is historically a disease of aging. But in recent decades, cases have been rising sharply in people under 50 — even in their 30s or younger. The Nature study, led by researchers at UC San Diego and the University of Cambridge, analyzed the DNA of 981 colorectal tumors from patients across 11 countries. They found a distinctive fingerprint of damage left by colibactin, a toxin produced by certain strains of E. coli and related bacteria.

Read related: Fast Food causing colon cancer in Cairo

Crucially, the study showed that patients under 40 were 3.3 times more likely to have tumors with this colibactin-associated mutation signature than those over 70.

“This mutational footprint is like a historical record — it tells us these patients were exposed to colibactin, likely early in life,” said Professor Ludmil Alexandrov, senior author of the study and researcher at UC San Diego. “This could be the smoking gun behind the rise in early-onset colorectal cancer.”

Alexandrov believes many of these mutations were acquired during childhood. “The development of colorectal cancer in individuals with colibactin-associated tumors may begin as early as age 10,” he said in a press release, “and manifest as cancer by the time the individual is in their 40s.”

What Role Does Diet Play?

While the study didn’t examine diet directly, scientists widely agree that food plays a critical role in shaping the gut microbiome — the community of trillions of bacteria in our digestive tract. Some of these bacteria are protective. Others, like colibactin-producing E. coli, can be harmful.

According to Dr. David Scott, Director of Cancer Grand Challenges at Cancer Research UK, “It’s unclear how the exposure originates, but we suspect that a combination of factors — including diet — may intersect during a crucial phase in the development of the gut microbiome.”

A Western-style diet, high in saturated fats, processed foods, and red meat, and low in fiber, has been shown to promote inflammation and support the growth of harmful bacteria — while displacing beneficial species. Fiber, by contrast, helps fuel microbes that produce short-chain fatty acids, which protect the colon lining and reduce cancer risk.

In a 2015 study comparing diets in rural Africa and the U.S., researchers led by Dr. Stephen O’Keefe found that a high-fiber, plant-based diet drastically reduced cancer biomarkers — within just two weeks. The rural African diet shifted the microbiome in ways that suppressed inflammation and DNA damage.

Colibactin and the “Unseen Exposure” in Childhood

What makes colibactin so dangerous is that it doesn’t just irritate the gut — it directly alters DNA. This is significant because it means the carcinogenic process may begin decades before diagnosis.

“We’ve identified that a subset of early-onset colorectal cancer patients have had their cancer caused, at least in part, by past exposure to bacteria that produce colibactin,” said Professor Serena Nik-Zainal, co-lead author from the University of Cambridge.

Importantly, these colibactin mutations were more common in countries with higher rates of early-onset colorectal cancer — including the U.S. and U.K. — than in nations with more traditional diets.

The findings raise the possibility of new screening tools — including stool tests to detect high-risk bacterial strains, or even microbial risk profiling in children and adolescents. But prevention may start with something more accessible: what we feed ourselves, and our children.

“In the future, we might be able to identify children carrying colibactin-producing bacteria and take steps early to reduce their cancer risk,” Alexandrov said.

Until then, experts suggest a return to the basics: more plants, less processed meat, and nurturing a diverse, healthy gut microbiome. In an age where chronic disease often begins unseen, diet remains one of our most powerful — and modifiable — tools.

Want to start today? How fermented foods can heal your gut

The post Is our diet feeding a cancer-causing bacteria? Scientists link early-onset colorectal cancer to gut microbes and what we eat appeared first on Green Prophet.

Maybe you’ve gone on a diving trip to Sharm el Sheik. Or maybe you are one of the tourists who sit with the Bedouins at a housha for weeks at a time enjoying the slow life close on the Red Sea close to Nuweiba. I’ve been to Sinai about 10 times and when I go to a hotel there is one thing that makes me very happy at the breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet: preserved lemons.

The lemons in Egypt are small, not much bigger than a walnut, and when preserved upgrade their status by a mile. You can eat them with hummous and tehina on bread, or take a little bite with every savory dish you fancy. Sometimes I just eat them whole, picking the seeds out with my teeth. We have a recipe for preserved lemons already on Green Prophet but this one is a bit different. You cut the lemons differently, keeping them whole.

In the video below I walk you through the set by step process. Get yourself some Egyptian lemons and you can do it with me step by step.

Fermented lemons are a treat when you are traveling to Egypt. Stay at a hotel in Sinai and enjoy the fermented Egyptians lemon offered at most meals. It’s a staple pickle when you travel to Sinai or Egypt. We’ve even found them in Jordan.

This recipe works with any kind of lemon, but if you can get your hands on walnut-sized lemons from Egypt, even better. If you are using other lemons cut them so the width is no bigger than a centimeter or half an inch.

The smaller you cut them the better the flavor as they will ferment better. Add salt. We added about 5 tablespoons to 4 cups/ one liter of water. You can add garlic. Better to place it on the bottom as if it floats to the surface it will go moldy.

Add some weights to keep the lemons from floating.

Leave for about 5 to 10 days according to your taste. Do not tighten the lid or it might explode.

Eat alone with bread or add to sauces and soups and any dish you can imagine. Preserved lemon is a wonderful spice that adds a layer of flavor to anything savory. It will bring you back to your driving trip at Sharm el Sheikh in no time.

How do you cook with fermented lemons?

The flavor of lemon and salt is very intense. Rinse the piece before cooking with it. The best part is the peel – some cooks scoop the pulp out and discard it.

Consider these ideas for pickled lemons:

• Chop a little piece fine and mash it into a vinaigrette dressing.
• Gently mix a few fine slices into steamed broccoli; drizzle some olive oil over everything.
• Add a teaspoon of chopped preserved lemon to pea soup.
• Put a little bowl of those bright yellow lemon quarters on the table to accompany lamb chops.
• Prepare a fillet of fish with a drizzle of olive oil, some chopped basil or green onion, and a few thin slices of preserved lemon. Bake or pan-fry.

More Middle East recipes:
A Classic Recipe for Muhamarra Red Pepper Spread From Aleppo, Syria
Taking On A Middle East Classic: Baba Ganoush
Cooking the Classic Middle East Kibbeh

The post Make preserved, fermented Egyptian lemons for a taste of Sinai VIDEO appeared first on Green Prophet.

Nomads of the Caucasus Mountains attribute their long, vigorous lives to a natural diet, plenty of outdoor exercise – and kefir. Kefir is fermented milk, something like yogurt. Its taste ranges from mildly sour to cheeselike, depending on how long the milk ferments. It has lots of probiotics and proven anti-bacterial power.

As Kombucha tea does, kefir helps the body to metabolize foods, and also raises immunities. Studies show that drinking kefir every day regulates blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

And like Kombucha, the origins of the “mother” substance are lost in ancient history.  Legend has it that Mohammed himself gifted the nomad community with the yellowish-white kefir culture “grains,”  and taught them how to ferment milk with them. We posted about black cumin, another legendary gift from Mohammed, here.

Science says, according to Wikipedia, that kefir is a combination of  ” lactic acid bacteria and yeasts in a matrix of proteins, lipids, and sugars, and this symbiotic matrix, or (SCOBY) forms “grains” that resemble cauliflower. For this reason, a complex and highly variable community of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts can be found in these grains.”

The nomads jealously guarded kefir’s secret for centuries, but eventually the fame of the magic milk reached Russian society.

Small quantities of kefir became available, made cottage-industry fashion in a few people’s homes. Doctors prescribed it for digestive troubles and tuberculosis. In the late 19th century, Moscow physicians published studies  attesting to kefir’s medicinal properties. Convinced, the All Russian Physician’s Society determined to produce kefir on a large scale.

But “mother” grains were scarce, and the people of the Caucasus wouldn’t yield the secret.

In 1908, the Physician’s Society approached the Blandov brothers, owners of a big Moscow dairy, and asked for help in obtaining kefir grains. The Blandovs agreed to send an emissary to the Caucasus, on condition of receiving exclusive rights to manufacturing kefir. The agent was an employee of their dairy, a beautiful young woman named Irina Sakharov.

Irina traveled north and met with the ruling prince of the region. He wouldn’t give her kefir grains. Instead, he kidnapped her on her return journey home, and demanded that she marry him. But all ended well for Irina, for the men who had accompanied her from Moscow rescued her and brought the case before the prince’s father.

To avert conflict with the powers in Moscow, the king granted Irina enough grains to start large-scale manufacture of kefir. Some say it was a cup of grains, some say it was a sheepskin-full. What’s known is that the grains Irina brought home from her adventures are the mothers of just about all the kefir that’s drunk in Russia, Eastern and Western Europe, Australia and the USA today.

In 1973, Irina received official recognition and thanks for having brought kefir to Russia.

Today, commercial kefir drinks are even sold in supermarkets. But you won’t know if you’re getting just a pleasantly yogurt-like drink without real health benefits. It’s worth fermenting your own kefir at home. And it’s ridiculously easy.

How to make kefir using kefir grains

In spite of the huge mystique made around kefir, all you have to do is place a mother grain or two in the bottom of a clean glass jar and fill the jar with milk. Stir gently, with a wooden or plastic spoon, and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Leave out overnight.

By morning, you’ll have thick, white kefir. It may have a little fizz, which is fine.

Pour off a glass and enjoy, or make a smoothie from it. Just don’t drink down the mother, or you’ll have to get another one! The longer you leave the milk to ferment, the thicker and more sour the kefir. The mother grains will continue growing if left in milk.

Eventually “baby” buds will break off that will continuing growing and become mothers in turn. You may find your jar crowded with grains after a while.Then you might want to distribute some among your friends. Or you may join the international kefir lovers who mail out grains, enclosed with a little milk in zip-locked bags, only for the price of shipping.

I wrote about kefir several years ago, and ever since then, have had to fend off strangers asking me for grains. I usually reply, grumpily, that I had bought my original mother via eBay for about $4 and that they can do the same.

My own kefir grains don’t reproduce much. They make one or two new mothers over a year’s time. I don’t know why. Apparently kefir grains respond individually to their particular environment: the  type of milk used, and how or where they’re stored. In someone elses’ kitchen, maybe they would make many more babies. But I’m fine with what I have. I don’t like being regarded as a source for kefir grains.

This week, a different sort of request for kefir grains appeared in my Inbox. It’s for a little girl, I read.

Something in me gave way. Alright, for a child, I’ll go through the bother of receiving a stranger into my home, explaining about kefir and how to store it in between fermentations (covered with fresh milk, in the refrigerator), and how it has to be kept cool. Kefir has its conditions for optimal life, just like any other fresh, living thing. I sighed.

Okay, I wrote back, Come over.

The little girl’s mother knocked on my door that evening. “Why does your daughter need kefir?” I asked, showing her in.

The lady turned haunted eyes to me. “Her name is Noa. She’s only a year and four months old. She has cancer. They’ve already removed her ovaries. We’re hoping to avoid chemotherapy and manage it with surgery. But she needs everything she can get to stay strong.”

I swallowed, and tears came to my eyes. An innocent little girl, with such a terrible thing. God willing, she’ll survive, but she’ll never bear children.

And I was humbled. You just never know what might come of things you do, say, or write. Maybe my post, written four years before Noa was even born, came out of my computer for no other reason than to help her in the end.

I explained the health benefits of kefir and advised how to feed Noa with it. I told her mother that while my mothers never reproduce much, hers may very well make lots of baby grains. Her face brightened.

“If I see that it really helps, and it makes more mothers, I’ll give kefir grains out to everyone in the oncology ward,” she exclaimed. “I’ll get so many mitzvas that way!”

I hope so. I hope that many little zip-locked bags containing new kefir grains will go out of Noa’s house to help other sick children.  May Noa bat Revital will have a complete healing of body and spirit. May she go on to a good life.

There’s lots of online information about kefir. Just google it and you’ll get full instructions on here to obtain grains, how to make it, and recipe.

More alternative health practices on Green Prophet:

• Bee Stings Are Sweet In Israel
• Reap Your Wild Oats
• Moroccan Love Potion

The post Kefir, legendary health milk traced back to Mohammad’s gift appeared first on Green Prophet.

We’ve started making our own simple cheeses at home. Ones that use natural fermentation to take shape and flavor. An easy way to start is by making labane, a sour and tangy cheese perfected by the Bedouins, from a yoghurt base. But even if you don’t have yoghurt or access to kefir or a kefir starter, you can make labane and then shanklish cheese, a Levant favorite with the help of a little lemon. Fermentation and cheese is a world of its own. And you can do it in your fridge over the course of a month.

How to make shanklish

Shanklish, also known as chancliche, shinklish, shankleesh, sorke, or sürke, is a type of cow or sheep milk cheese found in Levantine cuisine. Shanklish is a Lebanese cheese made by curdling yogurt, straining it, and fermenting it. But if you have access to labane, you can start at that point too.

Ingredients for shanklish

500 grams labane cheese (click here to make your own easily with salt and milk)

Cup of zaatar

Take a ball of labane the size of a ping pong and roll it into zaatar. Put it in the fridge uncovered for a month, turning occasionally and voila you have a beautiful slow cheese from the Levant area of the Middle East. It can be grated over meals for an extra zing. Some variations inlcude rolling it in hot chilli peppers or anise seed.

While the Levant is known for simple, raw cheeses that don’t take long to ferment, we need to look to Europe for inspiration on how to make and eat the best cheeses in the world. The Slow Food organization has its annual awards, and like good olive oil and wine, cheese has its world of winners.

This year marks the 14th edition of Cheese, the largest international event dedicated to raw milk, natural cheeses and artisanal dairy products organized by the Slow Food movement and Città di Bra. The event brings together herders, cheesemakers and enthusiasts, united under the claim The Taste of the Meadows, emphasizing how raw milk from pasture-raised animals is crucial to sustainable food systems.

The Slow Cheese Awards pay tribute to the herders and artisan cheesemakers who work with respect for naturalness, tradition and animal welfare. These are small-scale producers who, despite all the hard work, risks and isolation involved, continue to resist. The winners were selected on the basis of their commitment not only to making natural raw-milk cheeses, but especially to fair and animal-friendly farming.

The winners of this year’s Slow Cheese Awards are:

David Nedelkovski, Kozi Mleko Planina, North Macedonia

David is just over 30, but already ten years ago left Skopje and moved to the small village of Rastak, at the foot of the Karadak mountains, where he created the Kozi Mleko Planina farm together with his family. Here David raises alpine and domestic Balkan goats, calling himself a “Cossack,” or “free man”.

David produces several types of fresh or aged cheese, all hard or semi-hard. Together with his neighbors, they started some important projects to restore biodiversity and the mountains they live in. When they decided to move to the mountains, the project was to produce milk and cheese and go back to town, but the life in nature captured their hearts: “I go more and more infrequently to Skopje, I love living here surrounded by family and my animals,” Nedelkovski says. Looking at the future he would like to raise awareness on the importance of raw milk products and animal welfare, or on the relationship between farmers and veterinarians.

But his main priority is that his“goats are happy”.

Tetyana Stramnova from the Amalthea Goat Farm, Ukraine

Tetyana Stramnova started as interior designer in Donetsk and opened her first farm when she got her first child, starting to raise quails. When Russians arrived in the region, she and her family had to leave, finally arriving in Muzikyvka, in the Kherson region. There, they tried to restore the poultry farming but the business failed. “Actually my children chose Muzikyvka as our place to be as they felt it was home at first sight,” she says.

In the end, Tatiana decided to do something new: she raised goats, learned how to make cheese, created the Amalthea Goat farm, on the name of her first goat, and started conducting excursions for children with disabilities, such as autism, at the same time working to protect the local Ukrainian short-eared goats breed.

On the eve of the full-scale invasion, the village council allocated her a plot of land for the construction of a cheese factory. The woman would have to find money for premises and equipment. Instead, all these months she tried to protect from the Russians what she managed to create. And after the de-occupation of Muzikyvka, everything starts again almost anew: “My main motivation is children. I have to leave something for them, that’s why I started again and again. We want to get it all back on track. We have to move on with our life”.

Giampaolo Gaiarin, Italy

Teaching food technology, Giampaolo born in Switzerland and now in Italy, makes his skills available to young people and advances a precise idea of cheese. According to him, cheese made with raw milk without the addition of selected ferments is the most respectful and authentic form of cheesemaking: the only one capable of restoring the aromas and specificities of each milk, each barn, each pasture.

And he doesn’t just explain it in the classroom, but makes daily efforts to demonstrate in the field that it is possible to produce natural cheese, doing cheesemaking trials together with producers, helping interested cheesemakers to switch from purchased ferments to grafted milk, even inventing a small home fermenter to facilitate their work. In his life, he has put his experience and expertise at the service of the cause of natural cheese: made from raw milk and without the addition of selected ferments, working alongside small-scale producers, in Italy and around the world, training generations of cheesemakers through teaching.

Marco Villa, Italy

A veterinarian, he has been able to create a supportive community of breeders, motivated young people and given an opportunity for redemption to a difficult Ligurian mountain area at risk of depopulation as young people move to the cities.

Thanks to his passion and great ability to share, he has helped save and protect the Cabannina breed of cows, an ancient breed, seemingly unsuitable for modern animal husbandry because it is less productive than commercial breeds. But the Cabannina is actually a key element in guaranteeing new opportunities for the highlands and a hope for those who want to breed with respect and in harmony with nature.

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