Fermentation for the Nation
Aged cheeses, cured meats, chocolate, soy sauce, beer, wine, miso paste, vinegar...so many of our favourite foods are fermented in some way. And when you look into how these products are made, it’s pretty simple stuff - basic ingredients, time and temperature - done with precision, expertise and often centuries of knowledge.
While we can’t quite claim centuries of knowledge, we’ve worked hard on our processes and recipes to create the unique flavours that ...here’s a little about how the magic happens.
Process
Although fermentation is a bacteria-filled process, you must start with fresh produce as you want the right sorts of bacteria to work their magic.
Many of our products begin life in the same way: vegetables, fruits and chillies are salted and then fermented at cool room temperature for up to six months - readiness is decided based on taste and acidity.
Our ferments are then moved into cold storage to slow down the fermentation process while keeping the good bacteria - responsible for a lot of the finished depth and nuance in flavour - well and truly alive.
Living Preservation
Lacto-fermentation is one of the most natural ways of preserving
ingredients at their best, creating live products that evolve and
change as they mature.
'Lacto' refers to lactic acid bacteria, the many bacteria species that convert the natural starches and sugars within vegetables into lactic acid. Rather than adding acid in the form of vinegar (as in pickling), lactic bacteria produce their own acid, achieving a lesser degree of preservation than vinegar pickles, but far surpassing them in flavour and health.
Flavour
Fermentation creates complex and intense flavours, and possesses a unique capacity for rounding out strong flavours such as garlic, ground spices and chilli without losing their precision or
satisfying kick.
Our kimchi develops a rich, savoury depth and pungency yet is also extremely refreshing; palate cleansing but full of flavour. This ability to combine, evolve, round and mellow flavours is what got us hooked in the first place, with the health benefits and added bonus.