Cary’s First Ferment Fest Shares the Joys of Fermented Foods and Drinks

Story originally appeared on FoodCary.

Cary, NC – Humans have been fermenting their foods and drinks for more than 10,000 years, but today, few people try to do it on their own. A new festival in Cary is celebrating fermented foods while also teaching people how they can create it at home.

Kombucha made at Southern Peak Brewery

First Fermentation Festival

The Triangle Fermentation Festival takes place at Chatham Hill Winery on Chapel Hill Road on Sunday, October 13, 2019, with food and drink vendors, hourly giveaways and classes on how to make fermented foods and drinks at home.

Festival founder Kerry Mead said one big reason she wanted to create this festival was to share information about fermented food’s health benefits with people in the Triangle.

“With all of the research about the micro-biome and its benefits, I felt like that was something people should know about,” Mead said. “And I wanted to help people realize they can make it at home. You don’t have to go out and buy a $3.50 bottle of kombucha.”

To teach people about making fermented foods and drinks, the Triangle Fermentation Festival includes classes by Triangle chefs and brewers. This includes Lionel Vatinet from La Farm Bakery leading a workshop on making sourdough bread, Southern Peak Brewery’s Sarah Michalski teaching a class on making kombucha and Chapel Hill chef Mama Kwon holding a hands-on class to make kimchi.

Kimchi is a very popular Korean dish, made with spiced fermented vegetables, and is so essential in Korean cooking and dining that many homes will have a special refrigerator just for kimchi.

“Usually it’s eaten on the side, as a condiment,” Mead said. “It’s getting more and more popular here in the United States.”

While the festival includes foods and drinks from many different cultures, there will also be a literal “culture swap” with people exchanging different cultures and yeasts to create distinct foods and tastes.

Additionally, there will be giveaways with fermentation products and starting cultures so people can make their own fermented foods and drinks at home.