Introduction to Fermentation at Organic Growers School
Please note: We do not have a rescheduled date for this workshop due to the impacts of Hurricane Helene. As soon as we have a new date we will post updated information.
In the meantime, consider supporting Organic Growers’ School’s efforts to help farmers impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Fermentation is practiced worldwide to preserve food, make food delicious and nutritious, and create compelling flavors and textures. We will explore various vegetable fermentation techniques, including dry salting, brining, perpetual brines, pastes, and using scraps, brines, lees, and other bounties to minimize waste. Learn what makes fermented foods safe and how to incorporate fermented foods into your life. This workshop is hands-on! Local cabbages (and other local bounties) are provided to make sauerkraut to take home and ferment! Fermented snacks—including a fresh batch of kimchi that we will make together. Please bring a bowl, cutting board, knife, and quart jar!
Introduction to Cheesemaking at Organic Growers School
Please note: We do not have a rescheduled date for this workshop due to the impacts of Hurricane Helene. As soon as we have a new date we will post updated information.
In the meantime, consider supporting Organic Growers’ School’s efforts to help farmers impacted by Hurricane Helene.
The art, process, and culture of home-scale cheesemaking. We will use cow’s milk to make feta cheese and learn about making cream cheese and sour cream using the same simple ingredients and methods. We will explore the tools and equipment for home-scale cheesemaking, selecting and preparing milk for cheesemaking, using commercial and natural cultures and coagulants, and aging homemade cheeses without a cheese cave. We will discuss how time, temperature, and curd treatment influence the final cheese. We will enjoy homemade cheese and rosemary flatbread during the snack break. You will take home a small feta cheese to finish and enjoy!
Beyond Sauerkraut and Kimchi: Vegetable Fermentation Immersion at the Midsouth Women's Herbal Conference
Registration via Midsouth Women's Herbal Conference
We will explore a variety of vegetable fermentation techniques including: dry salting, brining, perpetual brines and pastes, plus using scraps, brines, lees, and other bounties minimize waste. Learn what makes fermented foods safe and how to incorporate fermented foods into your lifestyle and diet. And we enjoy some fermented snacks!
Join herbalists and teachers from near and far including Robin Rose Bennett, Byron Ballard, Soirée-Leone, Phyllis D. Light, and Earcine Evans for a weekend of immersive workshops, plant walks, herbal education, and fun!
Settle into Autumn with grounding rituals, yoga among the trees, seasonal ceremonies, and hundreds of acres of forest to roam and explore. Make new friends and connections at our Herbal Marketplace, drum circle (featuring The Conundrums), Tea Party, and other special events. Oh, and did we mention we are having a Witches' Costume Ball?!?
Our venue, Camp McDowell, spans 1140 acres and shares land with Bankhead National Forest. Comfortable lodging, delicious food, beautiful surroundings, and special features such as a nature labyrinth, lake, and hiking trails make it a perfect place for us!
Harvest to Jar: Fermenting with the Seasons at Kojicon x San-J
If you are interested in fermentation, San-J’s Annual Open House is for you!
We are a tamari soy sauce manufacturer, established in 1804 in Japan. We came to the United States in 1978 and have been brewing soy sauce at our factory here in Richmond, Virginia.
This is a very unique event where you can learn about fermentation, experience fermentation, and enjoy delicious foods flavored with tamari and shio koji. It’s all about fermentation!
New this year, Kojicon, America’s hottest online conference on fermentation, will be hosting its first in-person program here at our Open House. Don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind opportunity!
Introduction to Fermentation and Natural Cheesemaking at John C. Campbell Folk School
Register via John C. Campbell
Fermentation is practiced around the globe to preserve food, create compelling flavors and textures. Explore a variety of fermentation techniques using vegetables, fruits, beans and milk through demonstrations and hands-on experiences. Discuss ways to incorporate fermented foods into your diet and minimize food waste.
Vegan Cheeses at Short Mountain Cultures
Register via Short Mountain Cultures
In this class, we will explore nut and seed based vegan cheeses. Soirée will demonstrate techniques for fermenting, flavoring, pressing, drying and aging this infinitely delicious style of plant-based cheese making.
The workshop will take place on August 18, 1-5pm in Cannon Hall, adjacent to Short Mountain Cultures at 1424 John Bragg Highway, Woodbury TN 37190. Refreshments will be served including a selection of vegan cheeses and other fermented goodies.
This is a small demonstration based class. Limited to 20 attendees.
Feta, Sour Cream, & Yogurt at Appalachian Center for Craft
Register via Appalachian Center for Craft
Never buy another dollop of sour cream; always have yogurt on hand for breakfast, parfait, baking, or marinades; and reach for a jar of aging feta to crumble on top of salads and pizzas! Come learn how to make sour cream, feta cheese and yogurt quickly and inexpensively at home. This workshop will cover selecting milk for cheesemaking, selecting and using dairy cultures and rennet and draining, salting, aging and storing cheese. Participants will enjoy cheeses during the workshop and take a feta cheese home to finish along with an heirloom yogurt culture.
Also consider spending the night at the Craft Center and making a weekend of it!
Corn and Fields: Everything from Corn Chowder to Corn Nuts
Cultures.Group online live session starts at 11AM Eastern/10AM Central
Oaxacan corn ferments and mole. Fermented tamales. Misos. Shoyus. Koji. Tempeh. Breads.
With Soirée-Leone and Galia Kleiman, Co-Founder of Congreso Fermentación Oaxaca @fermentoaxaca, Raquel Guajardo co-founder of @fermentoaxaca as well, and multiple James Beard award winning author Anya von Bremzen, Melissa Hoffman and friends.
Kombucha & Wild Sodas at Short Mountain Cultures
Register via Short Mountain Cultures
We will explore using foraged and purchased ingredients to make kombucha and wild sodas, keeping your kombucha SCOBY (symbiotic community of bacteria and yeast) happy and thriving, using various sugars and sweeteners, and the infinite world of creative flavors.
Students will each receive a kombucha SCOBY and water kefir grains as well as a soda to ferment at home and enjoy.
The workshop will take place on June 9, 1-5pm in Cannon Hall, adjacent to Short Mountain Cultures at 1424 John Bragg Highway, Woodbury TN 37190. Refreshments will be served including a selection of kombucha, water kefir, and other fermented goodies.
This is a small workshop with hands on components. Limited to 20 participants.
Cheesemaking: Feta Cheese, Cream Cheese & Sour Cream at Short Mountain Cultures
Register via Short Mountain Cultures
We will use local milk to make a feta cheese and we will learn about making cream cheese and sour cream using simple ingredients and methods. We will explore the tools and equipment for home-scale cheesemaking, selecting and preparing milk for cheesemaking, aging homemade cheeses without a cheese cave, and learn how time, temperature, and curd treatment influence the final cheese. Enjoy homemade cheese and rosemary flatbread during the snack break.
And take home a feta cheese to finish and enjoy!
The workshop will take place on May 26, 12:30-5:30pm in Cannon Hall, adjacent to Short Mountain Cultures at 1424 John Bragg Highway, Woodbury TN 37190. Refreshments will be served including a selection of different cheeses.
This is a small workshop with some hands on participation. Limited to 15 participants.
Kojicon: Presence, Place, Possibility
From Kojicon website:
“Calling all koji enthusiasts, chefs, fermenters, scientists, anthropologists, historians, and foodies! Kojicon 2024, themed: “Presence, Place, Possibility”, is for everyone from the koji-curious to the seasoned professional. Embark on a culinary journey with us during our fourth annual Kojicon.
A profound sense of place is crafted through the artful use of local and indigenous ingredients, intertwined with the vibrant microbial communities that grace our home kitchens, restaurants, or industrial facilities. Each locale generates distinctive characteristics, flavors, and narratives that tell the story of its culinary identity.
Fermentation begins with the presence of microbes found in our surroundings, on our bodies, and within the very ingredients we use. Yet, it's the marriage of this microbial dance with our mindful presence and personal connection to place that sparks the flames of creativity and builds community.
Join us as we explore the limitless possibilities that arise when we intentionally weave together the threads of presence and place.”
Cultures.Group: Fermented Vegetables
Join me as I moderate a Cultures.Group live session with Kirsten Shockey!
2PM Eastern/3PM Central
The month of February is all about fermented vegetables: Vegetables fermented with salt, miso, koji, soy sauce, vinegar, sake kasu, shio koji, sugar, mustard oil, nuka, wild yeasts, mustard, or other substrates with Kirstin Shockey, co-author with Christopher Shockey of the 10th anniversary edition of Fermented Vegetables. Kirsten will talk about using moisture reduction with fermentation to create superior fermented vegetables. She will introduce you to this technique and give some demonstrations of ways these techniques can be used for flavor building, preservation, and as a food waste strategy. Moderated by Soirée-Leone. Beyond Brine: Using moisture reduction in vegetable fermentation (for amazing flavor, superior preservation, and food waste strategy with Kirstin Shockey, co-author with Christopher Shockey of the 10th anniversary edition of Fermented Vegetables. Videos plus Sunday February 18 at 2PM EST live session with Kirsten Shockey and Soirée-Leone.
Videos for Annual Subscribers from Dr. Esther Miller , Rudy Huang, Sébastien de Roany, Jessica Alonzo , Connie Chew, Ekta Maheshwari, Llewyn Máire, Eve Jazmati, Darra Goldstein, Jennifer Solow, Priya Mani, Marcus Im, Alex Gunuey, Umair Khakoo, Cortney Burns, and Leda Meredith (in Memoriam).
Wildcrafted Fermentation: Fermenting the Abundance at Highland Realm Blueberry Farm
Take a drive out to Hampshire, TN! Highland Realm Blueberry Farm is gorgeous!
Together we will take a deep dive into fermenting vegetables from kraut and kimchi to nukazuke and perpetual ferments. Learn what makes fermented vegetables delicious, nutritious, and safe. Learn how to incorporate fermented foods into your lifestyle and diet. Learn how to use fermentation as a strategy to minimize food waste and maximize taste. Enjoy a variety of delicious fermented snacks.
Email Deanna deannanaddy@gmail.com
Workshop fee: $90
Homemade Vinegars at Short Mountain Cultures
Explore making homemade vinegars using local ingredients plus aging and storing. Learn how to reliably and consistently make delicious vinegars that you can use to make shrubs, pickles, and preserves, and other tasty treats.
Kimchi Workshop at Short Mountain Cultures
This hands-on workshop will explore some of the more than 160 traditional kimchi recipes plus contemporary riffs. Selecting and preparing produce and ingredients, brining, seasoning, fermenting and storing.
Basic Cheesemaking at Short Mountain Cultures
Together we will make a feta style cow’s milk cheese that’s aged in a brine. While making cheese we will learn about selecting and handling milk, ripening, coagulating, cutting the curd, using wild and commercial cultures, and improvised options to age cheese at home.
Natural Cheesemaking and Fermentation at Appalachian Center for Craft
Learn cheesemaking techniques to make feta and cream cheeses. Learn techniques and strategies to ferment vegetables, fruits, grains, and beans and enjoy fermented foods every day. Participants will taste a variety of ferments and make ferments to take home.
Additional information and to register: Appalachian Center for Craft
Fermentation Workshop at Cumberland Folk School
Explore different perspectives and approaches to fermenting foods to create new and complex flavors. We will taste a variety of ferments and start ferments to take home.
Organic Growers' School Spring Conference 2023
Organic Growers School’s Spring Conference (NC) Meredith Leigh, author The Ethical Meat Handbook, Pure Charcuterie @mereleighfood Meredith Leigh @thefermentationschool The Fermentation School @carbonharvest Carbon Harvest, and I taught half-day fermentation workshops including whole muscle curing, cheesemaking, garum, perpetual ferments and pickling beds, working with scraps, and more.
KojiCon 2023
Kojicon 2023: Preserving the Past, Fermenting the Future
My session was entitled Preserving Food with Koji at Home.
I shared my technique and experience using a plant-based source of Aspergillus to make shoyu and miso.
Kojicon is is presented by @yellowfarmct, an education center on a working farm in Stonington, CT, and @ourcookquest, Co-Author of Koji Alchemy.
Wildcrafted Vinegars with Pascal Baudar and Soirée-Leone (MOFAD online)
After covering yeast fermentation in The Wildcrafting Brewer and lactic acid fermentation in Wildcrafted Fermentation, pioneering food expert Pascal Baudar completes his wild fermentation trilogy with Wildcrafted Vinegars, exploring acetic acid ferments, their wide array of flavors, and the dishes you can enhance with them. Baudar delves deeply into the natural world for wild-gathered ingredients: herbs, fruits, berries, roots, mushrooms, wood, bark, and leaves all play their parts in creating distinctive, gourmet-quality vinegars.
On December 1st, join us virtually for a conversation with Pascal Baudar and Soirée-Leone, a teacher and writer focused on food preservation. They’ll discuss how to source ingredients from your own environments to make vinegar, as well as how to use your homemade vinegars to make a wide range of delicious foods such quick pickles, soups, sauces, salad dressings, beverages, desserts, jams, and other preserves.
Additionally, Pascal will demonstrate how to make your own “wildcrafted” vinegar at home using any alcoholic beverage of your choice— wild or commercial.
Pascal Baudar, author Wildcrafted Vinegars, Wildcrafted Brewer, Wildcrafted Fermentation @pascalbaudar
Tradition Creativity, and Innovation in Preservation and Processing at Stone Barns’ Young Farmers and Cooks Conference 2020
Farmers in temperate regions can grow food for only a portion of the year; to provide year-round sustenance, some of the bounty of summer and autumn must be preserved. Some farmers produce fermented or preserved products themselves, adding value to their farm produce. Others partner with businesses specializing in these preserving processes. Do fermented products need to stick to their traditional forms, or is there room for experimentation and innovation?
Online panel discussion: Sandor Katz, Mara Jane King, Jason Elberson, and Soirée-Leone