Culture Revolution! Fermentation workshop with Melanie Furman
Picture this: a long row of tables, pushed together, with people on either side busy chopping, grating, and mandolining piles of beets, carrots and cabbage. Turmeric, ginger and garlic smells waft by as happy chatter fills the air.
This is the Culture Revolution! Fermentation workshop with Melanie Furman, the fermentrix behind Culturalive! Fermented foods. Students have joined the Root To Bloom hosted workshop to learn the language of bacteria and probiotics, through practical fermentation techniques handed down through many cultures and generations.
Great resources were shared, including the iconic “Noma Guide” to fermentation
Melanie shared that, as she vends her sauerkraut and ferments at the Saturday Market, she often meets Eastern Europeans who have a strong connection to sauerkraut. They’ve shared childhood memories of community fermenting gatherings at which entire villages bring their veggies to a central square to chop, season, and preserve the harvest together. These weren’t just practical efforts; they were acts of collective resilience, blending the microbiota of many fields and households to strengthen the health of the whole community.
The workshop echoed this spirit. It felt like a return to something instinctual and ancestral—where care, nourishment, and connection flow between people just as they do through the hidden mycelial networks that connect all of life. A beautiful reminder that a movement for local food revival, like a living system, thrives through interconnection. Culture Revolution indeed!
An old fashioned work party - many hands made light work. FLT board Chair Jenn LeBlanc with her jarred veggies, ready for fermentation.
We look forward to more community sharing at our upcoming Food Share events, where people are encouraged to bring food, take food, and share in food processing every week. Save the date for this year’s gatherings:
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