Fermentation has been used in Jewish food preparation for hundreds of years. Both challah and wine, two ritual items on our Shabbat dinner table, are fermented food! Grains have been fermented to make bread and alcohol. Grapes, to make wine and vinegar.
In the world of pickling, there are two main methods. First is a quick pickle, where vinegar and water are heated with sugar to create a brine, resulting in pickles that can be enjoyed that same or next day. The second is lacto-fermented pickling, where salt is used to create the brine for our veggies. This is a slower process, and requires at least a few days to a few weeks of fermenting before you get to enjoy your creation. Lacto-fermentation has been used to make pickled veggies and fruit, pickled fish and salami.
Fermented food staples of the Sephardi and Mizrahi Jewish culture include salt-cured lemons, pickled Persian cucumbers, pickled eggplant, sourdough flatbread, and yogurt. Ashkenazi Jews have been eating dill pickles, sauerkraut, olives, pickled green tomatoes, sourdough bread, kvass, and borsch for centuries. The Talmud even states that all dinners should have salt (fermented foods) or leaften (pickle or relish) at the place-setting before breaking bread, to foster digestion for the meal.
These digestion-helping properties hinted at in the Talmud are very much real and alive! Eating fermented foods boosts the overall digestive process by adding enzymes to help break down food, and it promotes growth of healthy bacteria in the intestine. This also helps our immune systems and makes us literally feel happier! And, in addition to the impact on our bodies, pickling foods is good for the earth because it helps us reduce food waste, by preserving our food for later on, so that we can enjoy seasonal foods all year round.