The Art of Fermenting

Established in 2021 (now with two Great Taste awards and a personal endorsement by Tim Spector under its belt), the humble Newlyn Fermentary has been subtly making great strides into the world of better health ever since. Having spent the past few years working across the Fermentary’s website design, product label design and documenting the brand’s evolution on 35mm film, it was a real joy to catch-up recently with co-founder Rachel Booth to find out more about their journey so far.

Rachel, I’m excited to learn more about your background. You hear of people wanting to set up their own shop, or clothing brand, but what was it that inspired you to set up a Fermentary of all things?! 

I actually did a cliché, but simultaneously life-changing workshop on fermentation during lockdown, with an incredible woman Dr. Nena Foster. Nena is a natural chef, she has a PhD in health AND she reversed her own peanut allergy through fermented foods. But, prior to that there were just so many things leading me in that direction. I’d spent the first few years of my life roaming a small holding in southern Ireland – foraging, collecting eggs and eating flowers – so earning a living from an ancient food craft kind of came naturally. My parents championed this way of living and it has played huge influence in how I approach food. My love of sauerkraut began a number of years later in Berlin where I lived for a few years, but the thought of ever making it myself was hugely daunting. Once I had learned how insanely simple, and more importantly how fundamentally healthy it was, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head to open a Fermentary. I was really yearning to do something more creative than tapping out words on a laptop (my background is in arts marketing and fundraising) and I found my niche here in fermentation. 

What are your goals and aspirations for Newlyn Fermentary? 

To keep doing what we are doing, for now. We get such heart-warming feedback from our customers who come into the shop and our workshops sell out. I’d like to grow our team a bit more, do more collaborations with other fermenters and host more supper clubs in our space in Newlyn – there’s always more to do! But genuinely my goal is to share as much knowledge abut fermentation as possible.

Another thread of what we have been doing since the beginning, is celebrating the ancient connection that fermentation has with ceramics, another craft which is close to my heart. You may have noticed our logo mirrors the fermentation weights that are used on top of the crocks to weigh down the vegetables. For our launch event we commissioned a 9 litre ceramic fermentation crock made by Jon Mackenzie, which we still use in production today. Ben (my partner and business partner) designed and made some ceramic fermentation weights which are now in production and form part of our growing merchandise line, along with kraut making kits, vegetable-dyed tote bags and organic cotton tees.

How’s it going so far? What’s been the most exciting part of the journey to date? 

Being awarded by one of the most renowned culinary awards when you have only been producing food for 2 years and have zero background in it! That was a good moment for us. And of course the Tim Spector story. But in terms of meaning, sharing my passion for fermented foods, their associated health benefits and the fact that they are very easy to master, ignites the most spark. It’s why I keep doing it. 

And what’s been the most challenging? 

Producing up to 100kg of kimchi a week and balancing this with a huge renovation at home and a family. Any one of these things on their own would be enough! It’s not massively financially rewarding at this stage of business, but I have never worked so hard. You do sometimes wonder why you are doing it, but then someone will come into the shop who has been referred by their GP, and return two weeks later after having bought our fermented goods to say they’re better! And then you remember. 

Achieving and maintaining good gut health seems to be the latest wellness craze, but I’m aware the philosophy and science around its benefits is pretty ancient, right? What’s the secret to good gut health, its benefits and how much fermented foods should we really be consuming on a daily basis?

We have been fermenting foods for about 9,000 years, so yes, it’s ancient! For me it’s about combining a few fermented foods into my diet every day, making it simple and accessible and not stressing about the science too much. If you can’t make it at home then buy some. I do buy some stuff myself like kombucha, a few other kimchis and always milk kefir, but I make sure it is raw (not pasteurised) so it contains the beneficial bacteria. I’d also say that steering clear of ultra-processed foods (which are a disaster for gut health), is important. And being mindful of our overall health – how much fresh air and exercise we get, the amount and the quality of our sleep, how much stress we are under and how we manage it it – as this all impacts gut health. But back to fermented food, the consensus is 3 types a day. I eat about 100g of kimchi or sauerkraut a day and probably drink about a litre of kefir, plus we have yogurt or kefir most days.

I’m aware not everyone has a Fermentary on their doorstep (we are very lucky)! Are there any things we can do ourselves at home to improve our gut health through fermentation? I’ve briefly looked into making water kefirs and kefir yogurt, but it all looks a bit confusing and like a mad science experiment!

It totally is all a mad science experiment! That’s the fun and beauty of it. You can make some really simple ferments – come on a workshop and I’ll show you! They are all much easier than you think. Just remember, our ancestors have been doing this for millennia without scales, recipes books, fridges etc. It’s intuitive and once you start you can’t stop.

From a design perspective, the work we’ve done together has always been very considered. Sustainability runs through the core of what you do – from sourcing your ingredients locally, to your glass bottle/jar returning and re-using scheme, to using 100% recycled shop bags, to your bottle labels being made from biodegradable Natureflex. It’s a fundamental part of your brand ethos. How do you see this part of the business evolving?

Yes – we were awarded Plastic Free Champion status recently and it’s an essential part of our business moving forward. The glass return scheme has grown from strength to strength and the screen printed bottles that we collaborated on really kick started that. We would definitely like to invest more here and work with partners and suppliers who are genuinely committed to this way of business. 

Looking to the future, what’s up next for the Fermentary? Any exciting things on the horizon?

More workshops – workshops in schools, workshops with chefs, collaborations with more chefs to increase the fermented food offering in restaurants… oh and I’d love to do a retreat this year. Watch this space. 

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