Fermented Drinks and Sourdough

Before there was refrigeration, or even canning, there was fermenting. Fermenting allows us to save food and drinks, while enhancing their nutrient content and (generally!) their flavor. Fermenting is enjoying a renaissance today, for a few reasons: (1) It enhances the nutrient content of food; (2) it allows food to stay edible for longer; and (3) it builds community and is fun. Fermenting is also an important puzzle piece in resilient, self-sufficient local food systems. In this class, we will start a variety of fermented beverages, and you will go home with several samples. We will also discuss sourdough, start it, and work with it. *Note: We will be working with gluten and dairy. There is no way for us to accommodate people with allergies to one or both of them.

Skills and Techniques: We will discuss and/or make some or all of the following (and perhaps other things):

• Brines and tonics (eg., beet kvass)
• Dairy ferments (kefir and yogurt)
• Fruit wines
• Kombucha
• Water kefir (aka tibicos, “Balm of Gilead”)
• “Ginger Bug”
• Tepache (pineapple wine)
• Sourdough starter, porridge, and perhaps crackers

Materials Fee: $20 – $30 paid directly to the instructor.

Special Tools or Equipment: An apron and a dishtowel, a cutting board and a chef’s knife, painter’s tape or masking tape and a Sharpie pen, (optional) copies of Alex Lewin’s books (also available for purchase at the workshop): “Real Food Fermentation, Revised and Expanded” and “Kombucha, Kefir, and Beyond”

Workshop Policies: Please be sure to read our policies before you register for a workshop which can be found here Workshop Policies