Did You Know That Large Stones Were Once So Rare in Slavonia They Were Given as Wedding Gifts?

Not as decoration. But because of cabbage. That stone had an important mission: to press the cabbage down in a large pot, so it would release its juice and ferment. Without the stone, there is no homemade fermented cabbage.

Every autumn, my grandmother would layer cabbage one layer at a time, then place the stone on top. She did not know what probiotics were, but she knew when the cabbage was alive.

Image 1. My grandmother Elizabeta, whom everyone called Liza, coming back from mass

And while one grandmother preserved autumn in a wooden barrel, the other preserved mornings at the market.

When I was little, my other grandmother sold cheese at the market. We had three cows. Milk was collected, everything had to be clean, everything had to be done properly. And then she would make cheese the way cheese is made when it is made with respect.

As a child, the piece of cheese was not the most important part to me. The best part… was the crust. That crust tasted like work, air, time. And that something you cannot explain, but you know it is real.

And when I talk today about fermentation, probiotics and the microbiome, to me it is never just a trend. It is the continuation of the same story: food that is alive, and a childhood that had magic.

Image 2. My grandmother Ana, whom, when I was little, I thought was called Bakana.

What Is Fermented Food, Without Overcomplicating It

Fermentation is a natural process in which good bacteria and yeasts turn sugars from food into beneficial compounds, most often acids. That is why fermented food:

-lasts longer, as it spoils less easily,
-is often easier to digest,

-and contains ‘live’ cultures.

And probiotics are those beneficial bacteria, and yeasts, that can have a positive effect on the body when consumed in sufficient amounts.

Scientifically Confirmed Benefits, Simply Explained

I will not sell you stories. But there are things that are truly well researched:

1) Fermented food can ‘feed’ a better microbiome

When you regularly eat fermented foods, new cultures and new compounds enter the gut, helping the microbiome become more diverse. And a diverse microbiome generally means a more resilient system.

In one well-known controlled study, people who increased their intake of fermented foods had greater gut microbiota diversity and lower levels of certain inflammatory markers.

In other words: when the gut has ‘more good bacteria’, the body often behaves more calmly.

2) Digestion: less bloating and a better feeling in the stomach

For some people, fermented food may help with symptoms such as bloating and discomfort, especially when introduced slowly.

For example, in one randomized study of people with IBS, consuming fermented sauerkraut was associated with improved digestive symptoms.

3) Fermented dairy and long-term health

Yogurt and similar products have been the subject of large studies for years. Meta-analyses of observational studies often find that yogurt consumption is associated with a lower risk of certain chronic outcomes, such as cardiovascular ones.

This does not mean ‘yogurt = protection from everything’, but rather: in real life, people who eat it regularly often have better long-term outcomes, especially when the rest of their diet makes sense.

4) Skin and mood: the connection exists, but it is not an instant trick

There is more and more talk about the gut-skin axis, the connection between the gut and the skin, and how inflammation and the microbiome can affect the condition of the skin.
Fermented cabbage will not transform your face overnight, but it can be part of the puzzle that helps calm the body from within.

For those who want to learn more, I am leaving this link.

Our Balkan Fermentation, Not Exotic, but Homegrown

When someone says fermented, kombucha and kimchi are often the first things mentioned. But we grew up on this:

-Sauerkraut, if it is unpasteurized and truly fermented
-Turšija without vinegar, and this is important: vinegar = pickled, not necessarily fermented
-Kefir and homemade yogurt, although they originate from the Caucasus, they have become part of our tradition
-Aged cheeses, my grandmother’s story

And somehow I find it beautiful that today we are discovering what our grandmothers did without words, without marketing, only with their hands and intuition.

How to Start with Fermented Food

-start with 1–2 tablespoons of sauerkraut with a meal
-or with half a glass of kefir
-or with kombucha

And see how it suits you. Fermented food is powerful, and that is why you should go slowly.

Image 3. Days in the village. I am the little one in red.

Conclusion: Everything Is Connected

When I think about it all today, about the stone on the cabbage, my grandmother’s cheese, the morning fog in the village, I realize that fermentation has followed me my whole life.

Food that is alive. Time doing its work. Nature that you do not disturb, but allow to do what it knows.

Fermentation taught me patience. It taught me that good things do not happen overnight. And that balance is not something you force, but something you nurture.

Today we know that the microbiome does not live only in the gut. The skin also has its own microbiological balance, its own little ecosystem. When that balance is disrupted, the skin reacts: with redness, sensitivity, imperfections and dryness.

And that is why, to me, fermentation has never been only a story about digestion.

If fermented food can support balance from within, why could fermented ingredients not support balance from the outside?

In fermented cosmetic ingredients, something similar happens as in a barrel of cabbage or during cheese aging: microorganisms break large molecules down into smaller forms that are more available to the skin. Such ingredients are often gentler, easier to absorb and can support the skin’s natural barrier.

That is the philosophy behind my fermented skincare. Not aggressive. We do not fix the skin. We do not attack it.

We work with it.

Just like my grandmothers worked with food. Much later, I found out that my grandfather also made beer, which is another form of fermentation.

No fuss. No marketing. Just an understanding that nature already knows what it is doing, if we give it a chance.

And maybe that is exactly why fermentation is more than a trend to me.

If you want to feel what fermentation means in skincare, explore this set.

Because sometimes the most modern solution actually has the oldest root.