Fermented Food: Then and Now

Fermented food is touted today for its nutritional benefit – and rightfully so. Recent studies suggest that the human body has in fact evolved to depend on fermented food as a key portion of our diet. And if you’re anything like us, you’ve grown to love the taste of different ferments like kimchis, sauerkrauts, more sauerkraut, sourdough bread, yogurts and cheeses.

It’s thus no surprise that long before recent research and health fads shone a spotlight on fermentation, these super foods have been a staple of almost every known human culture. Fermented food has actually been around for quite some time, dating back to as early as 6000 BC. It plays a role across many different cultures, each with its own twist on flavor. Pretty cool.

Fermenting produce has long been an act of preservation and thus human survival. Sandor Katz, guru of the fermenting world and loving nicknamed “Sandor Kraut,” realized when he first started farming that all of the cabbage planted would be ready at the same time. The answer to avoiding the spoilage of massive amounts of cabbage was sauerkraut.

We love fermentation for many reasons, but much of what it entails ties into what our company is built on: preserving produce grown by our local farming partners for year-round, healthy local eating. Fermenting has become a fundamental part of our mission to make it easier to grow and eat local food, all year round.

Great-tasting, locally-sourced produce: it’s what keeps us going. Both literally and figuratively.

Kraut with Caraway

Our sauerkraut products come in three bright, delicious varieties: Simply Kraut, Green Chile Kraut, and Kraut with Caraway. The green chile is a fun flavor for us, but there is a bit of a cultural rivalry between our basic kraut and the rye-style with caraway seeds. In some Eastern European – primarily Bavarian – traditions, caraway seed is almost as fundamental to sauerkraut as cabbage. For many other European traditions – including the rest of Germany and Northern France – the presence of caraway is an abomination of a treasured culinary tradition. The vegetal equivalent of ice cubes in a glass of white wine: cringe-worthy.

We’re not the type to discriminate between two great-tasting ferments, so we make ‘em both! Eat your hearts out, kraut lovers.

Funky Fermented Friends

We like to play with food. In an innovative way, we mean. Not in the way that our mothers scolded us at the dinner table when we were younger.

Our fermented line is a point of pride for us. We’ve experimented with beloved classics to find new combinations that take both flavor and health to a new level. Hot sauces are not necessarily a “classic” ferment, but we have been excited to introduce our Chile Verde and Spicy Mustard to the MM Local fermented family. And while many of you were already familiar with the long-established kim-chi, hailing from Korea, we came up with our own version: Spicy Napa Kimchi. We love fermented food, and we love continuing the legacy of fermented food with our own twist. Probiotics never tasted so good.