Cookery School, Latest Posts

My Fermentation Weekend – making fermented foods together!

Posted on by Stephanie Jeffs
08
Sep

I must say that I have become obsessed lately with finding out more and more about fermented foods. I have been making krauts, kombuchas, cheeses and all manner of ferments now for some time and thought I was doing pretty well. That was until my friend Stefano introduced me to his collection of fermented EVERYTHING in his array of fridges and cupboards.

I took a peek at his five year old fermented miso, and a huge gang of miso ‘projects and experiments’ that were on the brew. We made fermented turmeric together we embarked on a lovely (beautiful) collection of jars of honey that were fermenting various delights. The rows and rows of jars and bottles that included all manner of ferments and experiments was amazing!

It was then that I knew that I needed to get to know waaaay more about fermented foods. What I knew was not enough! I wanted to explore more. It’s true what they say – the more you learn the less you know – there is no end to journey when exploring raw – this is a journey that keeps on giving with so much to see and learn.

So Stefano and I co-hosted a fermentation retreat at his farm in Portugal recently and it was off the scale! We loved hosting it! And loved sharing our recipes and foods with others.

Here’w what Amina had to say about her stay with us:

“The Dinkle and Rye breads were a huge success, and the precious Longfile and kefir cultures made it though the customs like Mother Nature special agents. Thank you again to both you and Stefano. I have reorganised my kitchen, and started integrating new rhythms at home planning more thoroughly to increase my own compliance! Will keep you posted.”
“I’d like to express my warmest gratitude to Stephanie and Stefano for organising and setting up such a nurturing (and nutritious!) environment in Shangri-La. The farm sits in a gorgeous valley surrounded by soft hills. It is clean, comfortable, peaceful and very aligned to nature’s rhythms. This was the perfect environment to explore whole foods in their natural state and the nutritional potential they hold through a wide range of techniques culminating in unique earthy and delicious breads, fermented vegetables, fruits, dairy, grains and scrumptious raw chocolate.  Stefano’s life long fermentation expertise and passion complemented beautifully Stephanie’s refined understanding of raw foods. Stephanie and Stefano’s integrity and experience are evident through their teaching style: it is hands on, relaxed, vivid and infused with sparks of creativity and playfulness. I would recommend the Fermentation retreat to food lovers who wish to explore Fermentation and Raw Food in a peaceful environment.”
Amina Pfeufer, DipNT (BANT), B.C.S.T
Here’s a few pics from the weekend – although we were too engrossed in our food projects to take too many photos! We enjoyed making all manner of fermented breads, cheeses, vegan cheeses, milks, sour milks, kefir, kombuchas, chocolates (well, why not, right!)
Would you like to join us next year? We will be hosting another long weekend retreat early in the new year – sign up to my newsletter to be the first to hear or email me now at stephanie@exploreraw.com to get yourself on the waiting list!

Teaching in the kitchen: Making a range of fermented breads using heritage cultures and our home milled flour

Making nut cheese – using probiotics to ferment organic cashews ready for a second ferment of ‘souring’ – we use the milk also that is left (the whey) to make fermented plant based yogurts and more! Nothing is wasted!

Stefano’s five year Miso – which we actually realised was a SEVEN year miso! Wow! Tasted insane…

This is actually an ASHWAGANDHA plant that we found while exploring the farm! Amazing!

Stefanos sensational buckwheat bread. Fermented. Gluten Free and probably the tastiest bread I have eaten! Email me if you would like the recipe at stephanie@exploreraw.com

Sprouting nuts and seeds ready for fermenting and making a huge range of cheeses, sauces, and ready just to ferment in jars. Fermented activated food are OFF THE SCALE!

Me making some raw chocolate (we just had to!) learning how to temper with fermented beans. I am also doing the ‘not washing my hair’ thing to get my natural oils back. This is 6 weeks in and my hair looks a little wild – I LOVE it

This is actually a SCOBY smoothie! We used the pellicles (the big jelly looking discs) for making kombucha in to smoothies too!

This is what a pellicle looks like… its the starter for fermenting tea and making it in to a kombucha or jun.

Students making their own HERITAGE yogurts! From a culture from the fermentation guru Sandor Katz himself – all students get to take some cultures home!

And of course – theres always some light reading hanging around…

Keeping it juicy & raw

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephanie Jeffs
Stephanie Jeffs

Raw Food Chef & Author. The juice behind Explore Raw, Raw Juice Camp in Portugal & Cookery School in London. Spokesperson and teacher of raw foods, host of award winning retreats, creator of a range of ebook recipe collections and author of 'Spiralize'. Recognised as an expert in her field and producer of the ProSpiralizer - a chef standard spiralizer for the home cook.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.