THE DISH

R O O

Meet two Mentone-based makers who are taking an ancient form of food preservation to tasty new heights.

As Southerners, we know how to put up and preserve foods. We often save some of each season’s abundance for later, canning and/or pickling a variety of fruits and veggies. But fermenting is another method that achieves the same end result—and that can also increase the flavor and even the nutritional value of produce. While it is often associated with Asian cultures, a young couple up in Northeast Alabama is putting a Southern spin on the tradition.

Peter Halupka and his wife Lindsay Whiteaker started Harvest Roots, their small organic farm, in Mentone in 2012. They began fermenting some of their bounty to sell alongside their fresh produce at farmers markets, turning herbs and berries into kombucha, cabbage and carrots into kraut, and radishes and scallions into kimchi. Folks couldn’t get enough. Whether it was their uniqueness (there’s not a lot of kimchi at your corner farm stand), their funky, tangy taste or both, it quickly became clear that their fermented products were their best sellers, so they shifted the farm’s focus. “Our fermented items were more popular than our produce,” Pete said. They began to put all of their harvest into their ferments, and demand grew so much, they had to supplement from other area farms. Today, they no longer grow. “We are fully dedicated to fermenting, so we source all our produce from our farming friends around us,” Pete said. This year, Harvest Roots is on track to ferment approximately 35,000 pounds of local produce. “So when you buy our stuff, you’re not just supporting us, you’re supporting Alabama farming families,” Pete said.

Fermenting is akin to pickling, but there are distinct differences in method and outcome. There’s no added acid (like pickling’s vinegar); instead, fermentation relies on micro-organisms and natural bacteria to produce an anaerobic (zerooxygen) environment, thus killing “bad” bacteria and safely preserving foods for months and even years. The result is a powerfully pungent and tart flavor that’s SO, LIKE PICKLES? “Vinegar pickling and canning are good ways to preserve, but fermentation adds a

whole other layer of complex, deeper flavors that are very different,” he said. “There’s more

nuance. If you have five seasonings in your kraut, you can taste each one unraveling as you eat it. We love exposing people to that.”

GIVE GOOD

WASTE NOT. You can ferment any vegetable (instead of throwing them out before they go bad) but some work better than others. Cabbage is easy, as are radishes, carrots, turnips, apples and beetroot, even some berries.

lower in sodium (even though the process calls for salt) and less acidic than pickles.

And unlike canning or freezing, which can diminish vitamins and nutrients, fermentation keeps them intact. Plus, the bacterial workhorses responsible for the fermentation are really good for your digestive system, and several recent studies have shown a strong link between a healthy gut and improved overall well-being. “The health benefits of fermented foods are big,” Pete said. “One you can really feel is improvement to your digestive health thanks to the probiotics in fermented food and the fact that they are kinda pre-digested, which means you digest them easier and get more out of them.”

Lindsay learned the fermenting process while living in a self-sufficient community in Fiji, which highlights another benefit of fermenting foods: its sustainability. “Fermenting was really important to their lifestyle and for the same reasons, has been a part of many cultures all around the globe for thousands of years,” Pete said. By extending the life of fruits and vegetables, you cut down on waste. “Instead of throwing out the cucumbers or cabbage you can’t eat before they go bad, preserve them by fermenting them,” Pete said.

Fermentation is good for the environment and good for your body, but because you can add spices and seasonings to amp up the flavor, fermented foods taste great too, often even better than the produce in its original form and, in Pete’s opinion, better than pickled items. “Vinegar pickling and canning are good ways to preserve, but fermentation adds a whole other layer of complex, deeper flavors that are very different,” he said. “There’s more nuance. If you have five seasonings in your kraut, you can taste each one unraveling as you eat it. We love exposing people to that.”

Those people are loving Harvest Roots and their wares right back; many end up fervent ferment fans after just a few bites. And some are learning to make their own. Lindsay routinely offers workshops that teach how to properly (and deliciously) ferment at home.

While it may seem like a new trend, at least here in the deep South, its really a throwback, just one part of a return to a simpler, more natural way of eating and living. “Time after time, we see that the habits and food knowledge of our ancestors hold up,” he said. “They knew what they were doing.”

GOODNESS is plant powered

“We source all our produce from our farming friends around us. So when you buy our stuff, you’re not just supporting us, you’re supporting Alabama farming families."

Visit harvestrootsferments.com to find out where you can buy Harvest Roots' products.