Fermentation Basics
from £195.00
Join our Fermentation guru Rachel de Thample and learn to transform seasonal ingredients into gut-friendly ferments. This course focuses on sauerkraut, fermented pickles, homemade vinegar, kombucha and easy fermented breads.
Get to grips with gut-friendly ferments with fermentation expert Rachel de Thample. Learn to make a range of fermented produce, all with top quality seasonal ingredients. This is the perfect introduction to fermentation for beginners but seasoned fermenters will also be inspired with twists on basics using local and seasonal ingredients, a new approaches to making fermented classics.
The day focuses on the healthy end of fermenting starting with sauerkraut and fermented pickles. The course will cover fermented batters like dosas, blinis and farinata, and touch on delicious, fermented dairy. You will also discover how to ferment fruit and create sparkling good-for-you drinks like kombucha.
You’ll cover all the techniques and basics you need to get started. It’ll be bursting full of hands-on making – you’ll leave with a stash of soon-to-be bubbling jars to take home, a recipe pack weighted with wisdom, a tongue-pleasing array of tasters and a guide to how you can apply your newly-found knowledge as the seasons ebb and flow.
If you'd like to take your fermentation skills even further, check out our Global Ferments with a Local Twist course or Gut Health: How to Rewild your Microbiome.
Highlights:
• Make your own kraut and pickles using local, seasonal ingredients
• Learn about fermented batters and dairy
• Delicious two course lunch featuring fermented foods
• Opportunity to wander around the farm
• Learn about ferments drinks such as kombucha
• Gain the skills to make your own apple cider vinegar and other homemade vinegars using foraged finds and scraps of fruit
• Find out how fermentation can be used to enhance sweet creations as well as savoury
• Discover how recipes can be altered to suit the best produce of the season
• A complimentary recipe pack featuring all the recipes you learned throughout the day
Your day
10:00 - 17:00
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Make yourself at home
You will meet your host and settle in with a tea or coffee in hand and a welcome snack from our team of chefs, featuring delicious goodies from our garden.
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Session One
We’ll then get stuck right in learning how to ferment grains and dairy to make them more digestible. We’ll mix up a stunning batch of fermented Russian blinis.
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Session Two
Next we will dive into the world of lacto-fermentation as Rachel teaches you how to make your own sauerkraut such as a springy wild garlic kraut, summery elderflower and rhubarb kraut or an autumnal curried parsnip kraut with pears from our orchard and garden herbs. You’ll also learn how to use brine in place of vinegar to make lacto-fermented pickles that take minutes to make and create veg that’s even healthier pickled than it is raw.
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Lunch
Lunch will feature a smattering of some of Rachel’s favourite ferments such as fermented mushroom pate or oat-crumbed mackerel with honey-fermented rhubarb with thyme.
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Session Three
The afternoon will focus on healthy fruity ferments and drinks. Fruit has so many fun options when it comes to fermentation and Rachel will guide you through her favourite fruit ferments. Embracing honey from local bees, we’ll be making a honey-fermented jam.
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Session Four
We’ll then cook up the blinis we’ve been fermenting throughout the day and try them alongside a smattering of Rachel’s matured ferments.
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Session Five
As you dive into your final treats, Rachel will guide you through making her favourite homemade drink. Sharing her love for fermented tea – aka kombucha, she’ll offering you a starter kit to take home with key instructions on how to brew and craft your tipple into seasonal masterpieces. You’ll get to try Rachel’s brews with her season spins such as Marmalade & Toast or Gorse kombucha.
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Departure
There will be time to chat to your fellow scholars and the River Cottage team, before heading back up the hill for 5pm.
You’ll take home a copy of the recipes you've created, the jars of kraut, kimchi and pickles you'll have made, as well as, a honey-fermented jam and a kombucha scoby so you can get brewing at home.
Please note: This is a guide to the activities that will make up your course at River Cottage. This is by no means set in stone and will depend on seasonal availability.
On occasion cookery schools will use equipment that includes induction hobs. It is recommended that people with pace makers should not work on these units. If you are concerned or would like to check whether or not induction hobs will be used on the course you are interested in, please call us on 01297 630302.
Further information...
This course is run from River Cottage HQ on the Dorset/Devon borders. Full address details of HQ will be provided once you have booked.
We are a licensed venue. We have a wide selection of the finest organic wines available to purchase.
Stay in our famous Farmhouse, click here. For other local accommodation click here.
We would advise that this course is only really suitable for 12 years of age and upwards. Under 16s must be accompanied by a paying adult. We put these guidelines in place for the safety, comfort and enjoyment of all our guests.
With many of our courses there are often treats and leftovers to take away with you. In our quest to be more sustainable we are encouraging guests to bring their own containers and bags to transport their produce home. Details of what is required for each course will be included in booking emails.
- Sustainable Restaurant Association
- Food and Travel Magazine 2017
- Great British Food Awards 2017
- Great British Food Awards 2018