Dehydrated Sauerkraut Juice: The Taste Boosting Baking Super Power
If you’re looking for a new way to give your food a health kick, dehydrated sauerkraut juice (DSJ) might be the solution. This super ingredient, packed full of bioactive compounds like vitamins and minerals, can give everyday food a beneficial twist. This article will consider how it can be used in baking. However, our body’s ability to absorb these compounds, particularly total phenol content (TPC), from dehydrated sauerkraut juice is limited. The uptake of these compounds relies on various factors, such as their interaction with other substances and how they behave in our digestive system.
We have reviewed the latest scientific research conducted on the topic to provide you with this article. This specific article was published in March 2023 in the Journal of Applied Sciences.
If you want the full article, you can access it here.
Unleashing the Flavour
Dehydrated sauerkraut juice not only enhances the nutritional profile of food but also brings its unique aroma and taste. It’s filled with volatile compounds responsible for its distinctive scent, contributing to a range of health benefits.
The most noticeable aroma of dehydrated sauerkraut juice is carvone, which smells like spearmint, and ethanol. A similar aroma is present in benzoic acid, another major volatile compound found in DSJ.
Interestingly, these volatile compounds weren’t identified in the bread and meat samples used in the study. Despite this, the addition of dehydrated sauerkraut juice noticeably enriched these foods with TPC and antioxidant activity.
How Well Does our Body Absorb these Goodies?
It can be hard for our bodies to break down some foods and take in all the nutrients. This is what’s happening with the total phenol content (TPC) in dehydrated sauerkraut juice.
These TPCs are a bit like a locked treasure chest of health benefits. But our body needs the right key to unlock it, and sometimes, it’s a bit tricky to find the right one. Why? Well, there are a few reasons:
- Food buddies: The TPCs in our food hang out with other bits in the food, like proteins or fibre. Sometimes they get really attached to these food buddies and don’t want to leave them during digestion. This makes it harder for our body to get at them.
- Belly bugs: You have a whole bunch of tiny creatures living in your belly that help you digest food, known as gut microbiota. They can sometimes help us access the TPCs, but it’s a tricky job and doesn’t always work perfectly.
- Food type: Different foods can make it easier or harder for our body to unlock the TPC treasure chest. For example, it might be easier to get TPCs from a slice of bread than from a piece of meat.
So, while dehydrated sauerkraut juice is packed with these awesome TPCs, our bodies might struggle a bit to fully unlock all their goodness.
So although our body may not get all of these beneficial goodies, you may still want to consider trying this because of the impact it has on the taste and aroma of the food.
Dehydrated Kraut Juice and Bread – A Perfect Combo
When dehydrated sauerkraut juice was added to wheat bread, it significantly increased the bread’s TPC and antioxidant activity. This outcome aligns with the findings of previous studies, showing that vegetables high in phenols can increase bread’s overall phenol content.
The wheat flour’s natural structure and the choice of wall material play a key role in the absorption of TPC. By using a starch solution as a wall material for the dehydrated sauerkraut juice, the valuable compounds can be better released during digestion.
The scent of the bread was slightly altered by the DSJ addition, gaining a caraway-like aroma, often used in the sauerkraut production process. But rest assured, the taste, structure, and overall liking were not significantly affected, meaning DSJ could be a new secret ingredient for your homemade bread!
Where Can I Buy Dehydrated Sauerkraut Juice?
Dehydrated sauerkraut juice (DSJ) is a niche product and may not be readily available at every local grocery store. However, you have several options to consider:
- Health Food Stores: Some health food stores might carry DSJ, especially those that offer a range of unique and specialised health supplements.
- Online Retailers: Online shopping platforms like specialised health food websites may carry DSJ. Be sure to read product reviews and choose a reputable seller.
- Local Farmers Markets or Organic Stores: Sometimes local farmers or organic stores carry unique and unusual health food products like DSJ.
- Make Your Own: If you can’t find DSJ for sale, you could consider making it yourself. You’d need to juice some sauerkraut and then use a dehydrator or an oven on a low setting to remove the water content. Keep in mind, this can be a time-consuming process and may require some experimentation to get right.
Remember to consult with a healthcare professional or nutritionist before adding any new supplements to your diet, especially if you have any underlying health conditions or are currently on any medication.
Alternatively, you could simply use fresh sauerkraut juice in baking
However, there are a few things you should consider:
- Liquid Balance: If you’re using sauerkraut juice as a substitute for another liquid in a recipe, you’ll need to make sure you maintain the correct liquid-to-dry ingredient ratio. You might need to adjust other ingredients to ensure your dough or batter has the right consistency.
- Rising Agents: Sauerkraut juice is acidic, which means it can react with baking soda (a base) to produce carbon dioxide. This can help dough rise, making it potentially useful in certain types of baked goods. But if your recipe also uses baking powder (which contains its own acid), adding more acid from sauerkraut juice might interfere with the leavening process.
- Nutrition: Sauerkraut juice is high in Vitamin C and probiotics, which could potentially add some nutritional benefits to your baked goods.
Remember to start with a small amount and gradually increase as per your taste preference and the requirements of your recipe.
Putting DSJ Into Practice
In conclusion, dehydrated sauerkraut juice can be a valuable addition to our daily meals, enriching them with bioactive compounds and offering a unique taste. More research into DSJ’s benefits and potential applications is recommended.
So why not experiment at home? Try adding some dehydrated sauerkraut juice into your next loaf of homemade bread. Alternatively, if you’re struggling to buy it, you could try using fresh juice.
It could be a game-changer in both taste and nutrition!