Meet Our Friend Kirsten

This has happened more than once: Steve is trying to explain to me a new ferment he wants to try. He begins by listing main ingredients, and then possible other things we could do to enhance the flavor. Then he mentions "the way Kirsten does it..." This is like a shortcut. Because we trust this woman to make things that work consistently and taste amazing, her research means a lot. This is how we know something is going to be fun to make, great to eat, and maybe even something to share with our customers.

While we do not actually know this woman, the Kirsten we are talking about is Kirsten Shockey. You can hear her give you the basics on her efforts at this great podcast: the Ancestral Kitchen. She has heaps of books out and has lived a homesteading, fermenting life with her partner Christopher and her family.

While our mouths told us how tasty ferments were, Kirsten's books taught us about the health benefits:
-Fermenting preserves and enhances the B and C vitamins in cabbage and other fresh produce.
-Fermenting makes K vitamins more bioavailable, that is, more digestible and helpful to our bodies.
-Fermenting aids in digestion.
-Fermentation is a chemical-free preserving technique.
-Consuming ferments supports one's immune system.

One thing we love about learning from this woman is that she is not afraid to fail. And she shows photos of failures, which is quite a humanizing thing in a teacher. By sharing the successes and failures, Kirsten takes one along for a fermentation journey of skill-building and confidence-boosting that makes one feel a bit more adept at making these healthy things at home.

Speaking of teaching, you can follow this link to learn the basics of vegetable fermenting from her directly through a women-let online training platform called the Fermentation School, which is a fantastic resource.

Please let us know who is making you feel more brave in the kitchen, or any teacher that has meant a lot to you. We will tell you more about some of our other influences in future posts.