Fennel salad with apples and oranges (fruity)

Oranges and apples give the fresh fennel salad, which is suitable as a starter or main course, a pleasant fruity aroma.

Store fennel correctly: You can recognize fresh fennel by its firm, white to light green bulb. The green leaves should not have any wilted leaves. It is best to store fennel in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. Handle it carefully, then no brown bruises will appear. Make sure to wash the bulb very thoroughly. Sand is often found in the spaces between the leaves.

Bee honey: We use real bee honey in this recipe. This is still raw if it was produced by cold spinning. During storage and processing, temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius cause a reduction in important, temperature-sensitive ingredients. The quality of the honey itself also depends on processing and storage, with the fructose-glucose ratio playing a decisive role here. Since a vegan diet is free of animal products and products for which animals are exploited, honey is strictly speaking not vegan. You can find more information under the ingredient honey.

We do not consider soy sauce to be a raw food . During the manufacturing process, the soybeans are usually heated because green beans of all kinds contain the glycoprotein phasin, which is toxic to humans. Phasin impairs the absorption of nutrients in the intestine, has a hemagglutinating effect (causes red blood cells to clump together) and can also destroy the intestinal villi in high doses. Heating processes (cooking, roasting, etc.) destroy phasin and thus make soybeans and products made from them such as tofu, miso or tempeh edible for humans. This means that even unpasteurized soy products are no longer actually raw food, but merely cooked food that has been "revived" through fermentation.

Dosage of nutmeg: The taste of nutmeg is delicately tart, fiery and slightly bitter. The nutmeg should only be added at the end as the aroma quickly evaporates. You only need a small pinch of freshly grated nutmeg to season food. Larger quantities should not be consumed as an adult can experience symptoms of poisoning if they consume just four grams of nutmeg. These can include headaches, nausea, loss of balance and sweating. Larger quantities of nutmeg can even lead to life-threatening symptoms of poisoning (severe delirium) in small children.

Use Ceylon cinnamon: It is recommended that you use Ceylon cinnamon when cooking, which you can buy in Asian shops, health food stores, pharmacies and drugstores. Although both Cassia cinnamon and Chinese cinnamon are cheaper, they contain coumarin, which is harmful to health in high doses.

Using orange peels: Leftover orange peels are great for decoration. If you use organic oranges, you can also use the peels directly as a tea infusion. The grated orange peel can also be used to refine desserts, sauces, soups and drinks.

Eat the apple peel: Apples are sometimes available in stores that have wax, pesticides or preservatives added to them. Fear of harmful substances causes many consumers to peel the apple before eating it. However, many vitamins and minerals are found directly in or under the peel. In addition, the fiber they contain stimulates digestion. This is why you should not peel apples, but only wash them thoroughly or rub them with a cloth. If you want to be on the safe side, you should choose organic products, as no pesticides are used in their production.

Make your own mustard paste: Mustard paste is easy to make yourself. The ingredients for 300 ml of mustard paste are: 75 g mustard seeds, 80-100 ml water (start with 80 ml and add more if the consistency is insufficient), 80 ml wine vinegar and salt. Now put the mustard seeds, vinegar and water in a container and mix everything with a hand blender until it forms a smooth paste. Add a little salt (1-2 pinches) and continue to blend until you get the desired consistency. Other variations include crushing/grinding the mustard seeds. You can also add a little honey (1-2 tsp).

Refine with herbs: You can refine the fennel salad with oranges and apples with various herbs as you like. Savory, thyme, tarragon and coriander are very suitable for this.

Alternative to fine yeast: Fine yeast (yeast flakes) is yeast (single-celled fungi) that has been inactivated by heat. It is first dried and then processed into small flakes. Fine yeast is used in the kitchen to season and thicken soups, sauces and salads with low sodium. It is also used to make vegetarian spreads and pies. Brewer's yeast can also be used as an alternative to fine yeast. The latter is also suitable as a raising agent, among other things. In contrast to brewer's yeast, however, the spicy taste of fine yeast is milder. Unlike baker's yeast, fine yeast is not suitable for fermenting beer, wine and vinegar.

Alternative to honey: As an alternative to honey, you can use agave syrup. This is a purely plant-based sweetener made from various types of agave. The taste is very similar to that of acacia honey, making it a good vegan substitute for honey.