Remember the stories told by your grandmother about chasing her kids around the house with the spoon of cod liver oil? There's a reason that the kids would scatter. The taste, the smell or even the mere thought of consuming something from both a fish and a liver was more than most children could handle. Grandmother certainly knew best however, in her attempt to provide high vitamin cod liver oil to her loved ones.
Fermented Cod Liver Oil Flavoring - Perfuming a Pig?
Nature determines how a product tastes and smells, its color, its consistency, its texture and all its other unique characteristics. If we want to keep a product in its natural form retaining all of its naturally occurring vitamins, essential fatty acids and other nutrients, we must accept the fact that the product needs to remain in its original state. Once we start interfering with nature and try to control the process through standardization and industrialization, we have created a new product that is no longer reflective of an all-natural food. Certainly, there are natural flavorings which are added to Green Pasture Blue Ice Fermented Cod Liver Oil and Butter Oil Cod Liver Oil Blend. These include cinnamon, orange, and chocolate for those who want this option. However, no matter how you flavor it, at the end of the day it's still cod liver oil! Yes, a high vitamin cod liver oil with lots of great benefits, but a great culinary experience is not necessarily the goal.
Fermented Cod Liver Oil... Know this before you buy!
1. Fermented cod liver oil will indeed taste and smell different than processed cod liver oil or fish oils commonly available in stores. Processed cod liver oils are deodorized whereas fermented cod liver oil gives off a natural odor from a naturally occurring substance known as tyramine. This amine is related to the diet of the fish and is the same amine that gives expensive, aromatic cheese its unique qualities.
2. The qualities of fermented cod liver oil may change from bottle to bottle and from batch to batch. Fermentation is not a precise science particularly given:
- the uniqueness of the various cod fish species
- the mix of these different livers from different species
- the diet of the fish
Occasionally, we'll find some cod liver oil developing fat crystals which are in fact phyto sterols derived from phyto plankton eaten by the fish. Similarly, some lots are more saturated or solid than others while others may display an acidic feel that can be a result of the enzymatic fermentation. There are simply too many variables to expect the exact same product. Again, this is not a processed supplement but an all natural food source.
Cod liver oil capsules to the rescue!
If you struggle with the variability of this all natural fermented cod liver oil in terms of taste, smell and appearance from jar to jar, we suggest another option beyond the liquid. Fortunately, there is an easier way for most of us to take our medicine! Cod liver oil capsules provide an easy and convenient way to take our daily dose. Capsules are available for fermented cod liver oil and for the butter oil cod liver oil blend.
See which cod liver oil product is right for you!
Available in liquids, gels and capsules.