Forbidden food of the foxes
Behold! The taboo of raw fishy goodness.
Vegans, avert your eyes of the glory..
There are foods considered to be forbidden in our present culture. With the event of pasteurization, the idea of ingesting foods that have not been pasteurized is considered to be bizarre or taboo. There are very few exceptions to this that come to mind. Some examples we have are raw fruits, vegetables, and raw fish, such as sushi.
Cultured foods in Jars.
So what are these forbidden foods? Well, there are several.
There are fermented/cultured vegetables, drinks made from Kombucha and water Kefir, and milk products made from milk Kefir. These are all products that have to be made without pasteurization. For those that are unaware, pasteurization is a method of preserving foods by heating up foods and drinks until all the bacteria inside of them die off. While this is fantastic for shelf life, it is the proverbial “throw the baby out with the bath water” solution to food preservation. Just as a person can get sick by an overgrowth of certain bad bacteria, just like getting a food borne illness, there are bacteria that exist without negative effect in the body. These actually stand up like a firewall keeping the bad bacteria from multiplying enough to give you the ‘stomach bug.’ You might reason, “That’s not that weird. You can buy all the above from the store,” you might say. You ain’t getting this from no store! We're making our own at home. The reason being is that some producers of these products make the correct product at a very low potency then still pasteurize it before hitting shelves (killing almost the entire benefit people sought after from the product.) Then others still give you a living product, but it’s at a lower potency than homemade and often is extra vinegary or overly carbonated. This could be a plus for those that like the champaign cork experience, but you can get even more of that by learning to make your own at home.
Making your own unpasteurized and cultured foods in your own home is considered bizarre. There is some forbidden element to taking the processing of foods into your own hands. We have become accustomed to simply buying foods from a store or market, placing all our trust in whatever authority is supposed to guarantee food safety in your country (as if there still isn’t food and beverage recalls regardless of their best efforts). Another question you may ask, how is this linked to foxes?
I believe the kitsune at some point showed humanity how to ferment some foods to assist in living through long winters in the past. If you try reading up on the origins of these foods, there is no definite historical origin attributed to them. It does, however, fit the bill as something coming from benevolent, celestial hands. In addition, these foods create bacteria that are symbiotic to our human organism. They actually assist our bodies immune system by killing the kinds of bacteria that make you sick while giving the ability to break down foods more that simple digestion to absorb nutrients more readily. This means that you are not only more resistant to disease but you are getting more sustenance from the foods you are already eating. What’s more, these bacteria can even effect the ways we think. They make the harder to obtain feel good B vitamins that relax our nerves and even make us desire to eat more healthy foods (more likely because the bacteria in question want it) and desire to eat junk foods less. Don’t take it from me, though. I have no certified medical credentials, but there are plenty that do that have commented about the above effects. These medical type groups also like to say information is inconclusive, but tradition and people’s testimonials, a.k.a. eye witness accounts, shows the impacts on their lives to be substancial.
Sounds too good to be true? It's not! Sounds crazy? Crazy like a human! Doing this makes you as smart as the foxes, though they may not agree with this statement.. It will make you feel smart, though, once you radically change your eating habits for the better and don't get sick as often.
Kombucha Scoby in Jar
My Testimonial:
Want my testimonial? Sure. I had always felt a weakness in my legs with brain fog and knew within myself that there was something missing. I began a personal journey to find out what that ‘something’ was. I was studying about ancient home remedies and medicines, being a lot of Daniel Vitalis early work, and came across Kombucha as being one of these from another source. I normally sought out whatever had purported high benefits with very little money and effort involved, the more highly discredited by establishment, the better. Since this fit perfectly within it, as the general verdict being that it was generally regarded safe to drink with inconclusive health benefits; it would be worth trying. So I did, much to my parents skeptical minds. I followed the instructions given by Donna Schwenk from Cultured Food Life and made my first black tea Kombucha. I freaked out a bit over making sure there wasn’t any mold growing on it and that it was safe to drink, as just about everyone does when first making their own. After drinking it every few days based on the fermentation cycle, I noticed I felt a little better after drinking it. In the aspect of my mood generally improving. I’m guessing this is an effect of either pure B vitamins or whatever mind altering effects the bacteria themselves have on a person’s gut. I also noticed my sweat became more putrid for the first 2 weeks and I could only drink like a literal cup and a half of it at a time. It would force me to urinate more often and my kidneys would burn if I didn’t drink enough water and cut back on Kombucha intake. Then after my first month of it I could pretty well drink all I wanted of it. As I drank this I noticed my skin cleared up, I had more energy in general, and a little more strength back into my legs without the brain fox. This was a big deal to me, and I kept at it learning new ways to second ferment the drink. I even got to where I could make a substantial enough alcoholic version of Kombucha that I found to be almost like a cross between a beer and a daiquiri. My verdict? Bottoms up! After my parents noticed that it didn’t kill me and drank it so often, even they started drinking it with me.
Which of these do I believe were given by foxes? I think that Kombucha and Kimchi were inspired by foxes because they are sweet and spicy. Both things are considered to be favorable to the diet of the spiritual kitsune. Why wouldn't you teach humans to make your favorite recipes? Maybe they will offer it to you at a makeshift shrine to fuel you up as you hop dimensions. Fermentation is also believed to be linked to the 5 element teaching of metal which is related to kitsune in general.
When I was first learning how to make Kombucha I did it by purchasing this peson’s DVD and following the steps. If you would like to take the same journey I did, you can find this section of the DVD free on Youtube to view. All content is, of course, property of Donna Schwenk’s Cultured Food Life. See below.
What was my recipe for this Kombucha? Get a box of Lipton's cold brew black teabags and a bag of brown sugar. Boil 2 quarts spring water, turn off the heat, then add 1 cup of dark brown sugar. Stir until dissolved. Now take atleast 3 tea bags and leave in to steep until room temperature. Now take clean hands and ring out the bags through clenched fist twice and then add to a glass gallon jar with lid.
Leave on a table top for about 5 days, depending on temperature of the room you leave it. You must already have a Kombucha scoby floating in a gallon jar with starter culture. If you don’t have one you can purchase them online. If you are a fox that doesn't want to wait that long for your savory drink, use a chi generator to infuse chi into your brew. It will often finish in 3 days and be more bubbly. Later on I will post an article about the use of chi generators in fermentation and, well, magic!
Still not foxy enough for you? Take a flip top bottle and fill halfway with the fruit juice of your choice. You can even use an energy drink if you really want zip. Now pour in finished Kombucha for a second ferment. Now wait another 3 days while burping the bottle. Now you have a mildly alcoholic drink for foxes 21 and older to enjoy responsibly.
Want to learn even more recipes? Now you are just getting greedy! But I guess it's fine… check out Donna Schwenk's website www.culturedfoodlife.com there you can find tons of recipes. I recommend scrolling through the testimonials page to learn all about how these foods have changed people’s lives.
Stay foxy.