What we are learning at the Lexington Farmers Market
We first started bringing our kraut and kimchi to the Lexington Farmers Market in 2020, in a parking lot by Rupp Arena, with a lot of masking and hand sanitizing going on, where we began to meet customers face to face for the first time. And we have been learning ever since.
Seth Godin writes about what it means for a maker to take a thing to market. It's as if the creative person has been working on a craft quietly, wondering if it's good, wondering if it's as good as they suspect it is. At the market, one goes out into a public place and says, Look: I made this. Hopefully, they find some folks who get excited about the product or the craft and a conversation ensues. This has largely been our experience at the Lexington Farmers Market. We show up with 70 jars of fermented vegetables and try to engage people who are out enjoying their morning.
Some of them are excited, clearly sharing our joy about the taste or the health benefits of fermented foods. Some people are not so excited. Godin mentions this as well, and it has been an important lesson for me to remember as I stand in a parking lot, trying to sell these jars, the air temperature slowly rising. I once had a friend come by our table on a summer day and say something like, “What, are you selling? sauerkraut? Gross!” And I got to practice Godin’s next line: It’s not for everybody. What we make is simply not for everybody, and we do not apologize for that. If it was for everybody it would be pizza, or hot dogs. (Dang: now I am thinking about how good pizza or hot dogs taste with kimchi on top of them and I’m getting hungry!)
Since 2020 we have learned a lot in our conversations with customers. We showed up with Jalapeño Kimchi and Signature Kraut and a few others, and we met some folks who just were not into spicy things, or ginger, or garlic. We heard folks describing “gramma’s kraut,” and with some research, we determined that gramma probably had access to cabbage and salt. So we made that, and it was good. We developed a label, and it is selling. The people have spoken! We decided to call this ferment “Naked” after “Naked Gramma” got voted down. But it's what’s inside that counts, and what’s inside is a ferment that is the result of an interaction with our customers.
Steve and I highly value the craft of making ferments. We get a lot of joy out of what is coming out of our buckets and going into the jars that we bring to market. And we love selling pints to our supporters. But more importantly, we are deeply glad and grateful to be hearing from you about what is tasting great, what we could improve, ideas for other ferments, and notes on the small batches we have been selling at market lately.
Please send us an email with your feedback, if you have tasted our fermented ketchup, giardiniera, pickled eggs, or any of the krauts and kimchis this spring. At the Lexington Farmers Market, we have a chance to hear directly from you, a chance to convene a conversation that includes your voice, our craft, the cabbage, the salt, and billions of lactobacillus who are ready to get to work.