Fermenting: A Thousand Year Old Food Trend with Jaimee Edwards

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Fermenting - Episode 116 of The Slow Home Podcast

In today’s episode I chat with Jaimee Edwards, who, as a professional fermenter, has one of the coolest job titles ever.

Fermenting is having quite the resurgence in popular culture now - think kombucha, miso, kim-chi and sauerkraut - but in today’s chat Jaimee and I talk about food trends and why some disappear (I’m looking at you, Atkins Diet) while others grow and shift, becoming movements that appeal to a far greater audience than just the French-basket wielding, farmer’s market crew.

We also talk at length about her shift from academia, as a Phd in English Literature, to in-house fermenter at Sydney’s Cornersmith, and what life is like when lived elbow-deep in good bacteria. Jaimee talks about her experience in bottling 100 kilograms (yes, kilograms!) of tomatoes one afternoon and how it proved to be a turning point in not only her career, but also her relationship with food.

There is so much renewed interest in traditional home skills, and we spend time talking about why that is, as well as explore the unexpected benefits of fermenting food - aside from taste and preservation, Jaimee’s ferments have taught her life lessons and the value of time.

As a beginner, I ask specifically about the fear of getting it wrong and poisoning everyone, and Jaimee talks me down by explaining that of the thousands of bacteria that exist in our homes, only a tiny percentage have the potential to harm us, which makes me feel a lot better!

I’d like to start doing more episodes where I get to talk about a specific slow living concept in depth, so I’d love to know from you - what specific topics do you want to know more about?

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Show Notes:

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