The age-old practices of pickling and fermenting extend the shelf life of fresh produce so you can eat delicious Victorian seasonal foods year-round. Both processes produce tangy, complex flavours that are full of nutrients and crunch, utilising different methods.
Each week, our stallholders bring a variety of delicious pickled and fermented produce to market. Check out some of our market favourites below.
Pickling
Pickling involves persevering produce in an acidic solution, typically vinegar, which acts as a preservative. The acid in the vinegar prevents the growth of spoilage microorganisms, preserving the food and giving it a tangy flavour.
Rosemary Pickled Mushrooms & Soy Oyster Mushroom Pickle from The Mushroomery
Pickled Chili Crisp Giardiniera from Acide
Green Tomato Pickles from Jude's Jams
Vegetable Pickle from Pickle Me
Kasundi from Allenbee Fields
Fermentation
There are a few different types of fermentation: vinegar is fermented with acetic-acid-producing bacteria, soybeans are fermented by mold and wine is created by alcoholic fermentation using yeast. (We have too many delicious wines to talk about, we'll spotlight our winemakers in another post.)
In lacto-fermentation, naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria converts sugars into acids or alcohol. This anaerobic process (occurring without oxygen) relies on beneficial bacteria, such as lactobacillus, to create an acidic environment that preserves foods.
The process often involves a brine (salt solution) which takes days to weeks to undergo fermentation and produces beneficial probiotics which aid digestion.
Just some of the fermentation goods you can find at our markets
Miso from Cooking with Koji
Kombucha from Good Brew
Yogurt from Schulz Organic Dairy
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