I have been making function pottery with Ray Bub at Oak Bluffs Pottery Cottage in Pownal for a couple years. Recently I have had fun making fermentation crocks. I have done a bit of playing around with lacto-fermentation over the years, mostly making pickles and sauerkraut. The benefits of these ferments is that they are teeming with probiotics and enzymes. It is a great way to preserve veggies! Pictured here is Jen with a crock that I made her at Oak Bluffs. Her first batch of ferments was a zucchini pickle, pictured below on the right. She added whey to the crock because the addition of whey will add even more probiotics and jumpstart the fermentation process. You can purchase whey from the Cricket Creek Farm Store if you want to try your own!
There are only two local businesses that I know of who make real lacto-fermented veggies and those are Hosta Hill and Real Pickles.
Hosta Hill grows many of their own veggies, and also buys produce from other local farms. They make two kinds of sauerkraut – both from green and red cabbage, and also a traditional spicy kimchi with fish sauce. They also make a tempeh and sell all their products at several farmers markets in the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley. When they have enough inventory, we’ll be selling their ferments here from the Cricket Creek Farm Store!
Ray is now accepting students for his fall pottery session. You can find more information about his classes on his website, or on his facebook page. The next session starts the last week of August and take place at his studio in Pownal, VT. Classes meet Tues or Thurs evenings, or Sat mornings. What a delicious way to combine art and food!