A Black Diamond festival will appeal to more than just taste buds this weekend. Organizers of the Makers & Growers Market strive to get more people on board with fermented foods by sharing the health benefits of these tart-tasting varieties through a combination of educated vendors and demonstrations on Aug. 26. The Fermentation Festival takes place 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. beside The Westwood in Black Diamond with three demonstrations in the Griffiths Seniors Centre each hour from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. “Fermented food is gaining more of a momentum, maybe in the last three or five years, just as far as gut health and the overall well-being of the body,” said Isis Velkova-Andrus, one of the organizers. “There is a lot more research being done. People are starting to ferment or even just learn about it more.” This year marks the second for the Fermentation Festival, an event that had one of the Makers & Growers Market’s best turnouts, Velkova-Andrus said. “The demonstrations add quite a bit,” she said. “We kind of went off the Garlic Festival idea, just teaching people and showing people the basics. A lot of curious people show up.” One demonstration will teach viewers about bees and honey, another will share the benefits of fermented food and how to make sauerkraut and the third will discuss fermenting garden vegetables, said Velkova-Andrus. “The sauerkraut is the classic one,” she said. “It’s good for people who don’t know about fermenting, it’s a really good introduction. It goes through how fermentation works and people will get to go home with some sauerkraut.” There is also a selection of vendors with honey products, fermented food, tools to make fermented food, jewelry, records, pottery and herbal potions, said Velkova-Andrus. “We have people fermenting wild greens like dandelions,” she said. “There’s things you can eat and also things you can drink that are not your typical alcohol like kombucha and kimchi, and then you have things like kefir which you can ferment using both dairy and water.” Velkova-Andrus admits enjoying fermented foods requires a preferred taste. “Most fermented things are quite tart,” she said. “It’s a preferred flavour, but you don’t need much to get the health benefits.” Among the presenters is Teresa Bryanton, who owns and operates Fabulous Ferments just outside of Cremona, who will focus on her own journey to good gut health and how fermented foods like water kefir and kombucha assist with digestion and strengthening immunity. “All disease begins in the gut,” she said. “Because we have no good gut bacteria left, because we wipe it out with sprays and genetically modified foods, we are killing our guts and killing ourselves.” In her own research, Bryanton learned that 80 per cent of immunity derives from the intestine and that people produce more serotonin in their intestines than in the brain. “People are really interested in their health,” she said. “People are tired of feeling sick. They’re realizing that prescription drugs often cause other issues and wipe out gut bacteria. Chemicals are really hard on our system.” Bryanton makes a variety of sauerkraut recipes, as well as water kefir, kombucha, fermented cheese and kvass – a fermented beet drink that’s great for liver health. She even makes salsas. During her presentation, Bryanton will explain the benefits of water kefir and demonstrate how to make sauerkraut. She will also have her fermented food available for purchase.
