Lacto-Fermentation: Homemade Sauerkraut & Kimchi
Taught by Laena McCarthy
Laena is Founder and CEO of Anarchy in a Jar, a jam and mustard company based in Brooklyn. She's an entrepreneur, instructional designer, birth and business coach–empowering people through work, life, childbirth, and transformation. In her private practice, she coaches people who crave financial freedom and an integrated work/life/cycle.
Laena launched her startup, Anarchy in a Jar, in 2009. It has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Martha Stewart Show, New York Magazine, Food & Wine, and more. Laena's cookbook, Jam On: The Craft of Canning Fruit, was published with Penguin Random House in 2012. Her newest venture is Integrated Hustle, a firm that coaches and educates lean entrepreneurs.
Laena graduated magna cum laude from Mount Holyoke College, received an MS in Information Science from Pratt Institute, has trained as a birth coach and food scientist, and was awarded the United States Antarctica Service Medal by the Department of Defense for her work with the National Science Foundation.
When she’s not making it rain with mustard and startup nitty-gritty, you can find her dreaming about her next adventure and chasing her children around Brooklyn.
Learning to preserve fresh veggies through natural lacto-fermentation is one of the coolest skills I've mastered. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria, and lacto-fermentation increases the vitamin and enzyme levels, as well as digestibility, of food. I'm still amazed at how fun, easy, healthy and delicious it can be; and I look forward to sharing my passion for fermentation with you.
The diets of every traditional society have included some kind of lacto-fermented food. In this class you'll learn the simple steps of homemade, lacto-fermented cabbage two ways: Eastern European sauerkraut and Korean kimchi. We'll cover all the basics, from sourcing veggies to the right balance of salt & time for delicious fermentation. We'll also cover the tools and tricks of preservation, such as safety and shelf-life, as well as various pickling methods and canning history. You'll also get a recipe, tips, and a jar to take home.
Skill level: beginner; but those with preservation skills are welcome to join and learn some new tricks.
You will walk away with the ability to:
* source and select ingredients
* ferment and preserve vegetables, while maximizing flavor
* share your homemade jar of sauerkraut or kimchi with friends!
(class size: 12-14, demo + hands-on, lecture, q&a, everyone will make a jar of either sauerkraut or kimchi to take home)
