Co-founder of Newlyn Fermentary Rachel Booth is a big fan of beetroot. Not the pickled kind you find in the supermarket but beet kvass which she drinks a shot of daily. It’s also a key ingredient in her pink sauerkraut which, she says, goes with almost all food. “I can put it in a cheese sandwich for the kids instead of pickle, or with a quinoa and pomegranate salad. When I make a simple vegetable soup, I add sauerkraut to the top and then drizzle over the kvass (or brine). My three-year-old son loves it because it turns his food a funky bright pink colour.”
As well as several beetroot products, the fridge in the Cornish fermentary – a former art gallery that now pivots between small batch production, a retail and workshop space – is currently stocked with the last remaining jars of a bay and clove-infused red cabbage and apple winter kraut. “It was inspired a little from when I lived in Germany and the recipe for rotkohl, a braised cabbage typically eaten with a roast,” she recalls, of the origins for the seasonal ferment. During her stint in the country around 17 years ago she tried sauerkraut for the first time (on a hot dog) as well as kimchi in a Korean restaurant. “Fast forward to losing my mum to colon cancer and the gut health penny dropped for me. Fermented foods support immunity – around seventy percent of which is in the gut.”
Then came Covid, and a move from London with her partner and children back home to Newlyn in Cornwall (she grew up in the neighbouring village of Mousehole). While many spent lockdown learning to make sourdough, Rachel did a workshop on kimchi. “I was blown away by how easy it was and just didn’t stop fermenting; I literally fermented everything,” she says. “Often the microbiology side of it is mystified by chefs which puts people off and there’s a lack of awareness around it still, although that is growing. There’s so much meaning in it for me; I felt compelled to share my knowledge.”
She started the company in 2021 primarily working with nearby growers, but now that two part-time chefs produce 100 kilos of ferments a week (over half of which supply delis and restaurants), her main source of vegetables is Organic North. “There are quite a few small regenerative and no-dig farms in the area, and they are my first port of call before I put in an order. For instance, in the summer, we do a green kimchi with courgettes, and I can always get that here,” says Rachel, whose background is in business development for advertising and design agencies. These days, her creativity is channelled into recipes that are rooted in tradition but nod to Cornish produce. “In the beginning, one grower had loads of fennel, and somebody else had mint so I made a fennel and mint sauerkraut. Similarly, the dulse kimchi, which has two Great Taste stars, was based on local squash and seaweed.”
Wanting to help customers understand how to easily integrate fermented foods into their diet led Rachel to start running workshops as well as this April, a wellness retreat in Penzance. When we speak over Zoom, she is setting up for Friday evening Kraut Club, a five-week course where people come together to ferment for an hour. “It’s like a book club or yoga, for those who want some ferment buddies to help them keep momentum going during January,” she explains.
Typically, Rachel eats four or five different ferments each day and even packs water kefir grains when she goes away. “If I’m in a place for a long time, the first thing I do when I arrive is buy a cabbage and shred it up. Five days is a young ferment – 10 days or two weeks is ideal for flavour – but it’s enough,” she says. Often, at home, a jar of sauerkraut sits on the table, disappearing into wraps, dressings or as toppings for eggs and baked potatoes before it reaches the fridge. “Sauerkraut adds tang and crunch, and it’s a great way of weaving ferments into every dish,” she concludes.
Caraway, Fennel and Cucumber Sauerkraut
Ingredients:
1 small sweetheart cabbage or classic white cabbage (ca 500g)
1 fennel bulb (ca 300g)
Half a cucumber (ca 150g)
1 teaspoon of caraway seeds
20g sea salt (or rock salt)
Aim for just under 1kg of vegetables and a 2% salt ratio. If the vegetables are under 1kg, dial down the salt a little. You'll need a litre glass jar, a large mixing bowl and something to weigh down your ferment.
Method:
Take one outer leaf from the cabbage and set aside.
De-core and shred the cabbage and fennel as thinly as you can (the cores can be left in if desired for a bit of extra crunch). Sprinkle over the salt and mix through loosely, then set aside.
Halve and slice the cucumber into discs on a slant. Lightly toast the caraway seeds then gently crush in a pestle and mortar to release the aromatic oils.
When you return to the shredded vegetables, you'll see that the salt has begun to draw out the liquid: this is self-brining in action. Add in the cucumber and caraway seeds, then gently massage the kraut until you have a small cupful of liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
Put the sauerkraut in a glass jar, handful by handful, packing it down to remove any excess air. Pour the remaining brine over the top. You should have achieved enough brine to entirely cover your sauerkraut.
Return to the saved outer leaf and cut a circle to create a lid for your ferment. Place the circular leaf on top and a fermentation weight, glass ramekin or pebble. (I use beach pebbles which have been boiled for 20 minutes). Clip top jars are ideal but not necessary: if the sauerkraut is submerged under the brine, fermentation will take place.
Leave at room temperature for 7 to 10 days, occasionally releasing the air bubbles that build up. Chill to extend shelf life.
Rachel wears the TOAST Patchwork Knitted Wool Gilet, Round Neck Cotton Oxford Shirt and Railroad Stripe Pleated Cotton Skirt. The Provencal Stripe Linen Tea Towel, Forge Creative Wide Oak Chopping Board, Maria Cabrera Spice Pestle and Mortar, Cotton Canvas Project Apron and Palm Hanging Basket also feature.
Words by Emma Love.
Photography by Leia Morrison.
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