Kraut, Kimchi & Kombucha: Festive Ferments

Overview

A hands-on, creative fermenting workshop on seasonal foods and drinks, with Bex Northman, Member of the Association of Foragers. You’ll make three ferments and take them all home: a seasonal sauerkraut, a kimchi and a first-ferment kombucha with its SCOBY.

We use some wild foraged foods, along with fresh seasonal fruit and veg from Eva’s Organics, an organic market garden near Carlisle. Everything is provided: the seasonal produce, the herbs and the spices. Bex will guide you through each ferment, and will bring a variety of ferment tasters to try, so you can see how different flavours come together.

During the afternoon Bex will also share a little of the science of fermentation: the microbes at work in your jars, and how your ferments change over the days and weeks at home.

Your ferments make lovely festive gifts, and you’ll leave with enough know-how to keep going at home, exploring different seasonal flavours as the year turns.

If you’d like to make an afternoon and evening of it, finish with a woodland sauna at Langley Tracks Sauna. Sauna places are limited.

How the afternoon runs

Through the afternoon you’ll try a variety of Bex’s ferment tasters, make your sauerkraut and kimchi by hand with seasonal produce, herbs and spices, and start a first-ferment kombucha with its SCOBY, with refreshments as we go. The workshop ends at 17:00, and sauna guests head to their slot (17:00, 17:30 or 18:00).

What you’ll make and take home

• 1 seasonal sauerkraut
• 1 kimchi
• 1 first-ferment kombucha with its SCOBY

Jars

Jars aren’t included, so please bring your own, clean and with lids:

• Two jars of 350 to 500 ml, one for the kraut and one for the kimchi. Clip-top jars are ideal.
• One wide-mouthed jar of 750 ml to 1 litre for the kombucha, so the SCOBY fits through the neck.

Reused jars are perfect. We don’t sell jars, so please remember to bring yours.

Not sure which jars? Here are some examples we think would work: Kilner 0.5 litre clip-top jar · Kilner 1 litre wide-mouth jar

Add the woodland sauna (optional, £20)

Finish the afternoon with a woodland sauna at Langley Tracks Sauna, then warm up with a mushroom-infused hot chocolate and a wild-inspired treat. Why not make an afternoon and evening of it?

• 12 places, in 30-minute slots at 17:00, 17:30 and 18:00, 4 people at a time
• Add the sauna when you book, then email us the time you’d like. We’ll confirm it with your joining details.
• Bring swimwear and a towel

Practical details

• Indoors: the workshop is indoors at Langley Tracks.
• What to bring: your jars (two of 350 to 500 ml and one wide-mouthed jar of 750 ml to 1 litre); an apron, if you like; and swimwear and a towel if you’re adding the sauna.
• Getting there: Langley Tracks is in Langley, near Hexham. We’ll send you the exact meeting point and parking details in advance.
• Dietary needs: please tell us about any allergies or dietary needs when you book, so Bex can plan for you. Bex’s kimchi is made without fish sauce.
• Realistic expectations: ferments take time. You’ll start all three on the day and they carry on fermenting at home, and Bex will show you how to look after them.

I’m Bex Northman, a Member of the Association of Foragers. I teach foraging and herbal remedy making across Cumbria, Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. More about me →

A note on food safety. Ferments are made with live cultures, so please follow Bex’s guidance on the day and when you carry on at home: clean hands, clean jars, and if you see mould or anything looks or smells wrong, throw it away.

Kombucha contains caffeine and a small amount of alcohol, which can rise the longer it ferments. It isn’t suitable for children, or if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or avoiding caffeine or alcohol.

Bex’s kimchi is made without fish sauce, but the ferments, tasters and refreshments may contain common allergens. Please tell us about any allergies or dietary needs when you book, or ask us before you book. Bex will have full ingredient and allergen details on the day.

The sauna hot chocolate is made with mushroom. If you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a health condition, please check with a healthcare professional before having the hot chocolate or the kombucha, or using the sauna. If you’d rather have your hot chocolate without mushroom, just tell us when you book.

Everything shared on the day is for educational purposes only, and Wild & Weeds does not provide medical advice.