I recently had the pleasure of co-hosting the first meeting of the Sonoma County Fermenters Club. There were folks from all fermenting skill levels, and we were gifted with the use of a wonderful space– the tasting room at Old World Winery (a winery after our own heart, as they use wild yeast for all their wines!)

We began with a general discussion on the benefits of fermenting. Then onto the kimchi (recipe here)! Jen and I pre-soaked the cabbage in a brine so it would be ready for the workshop. Organic Napa cabbage was in short supply so we used green cabbage.

Everyone got to pitch in chopping the other veggies. Then we drained the cabbage and threw it all into a 5-gallon crock. At that point we added the spice mix and invited everyone to help massage the spices into the mix. Then everyone filled a quart-sized mason jar roughly half-full, and we gave them instructions on how to care for it once they got home (weigh contents down so they stay moist under the brine for a week, then transfer to fridge).

With everyone having a literal hand in the mix, we realized that our guts would forever be connected through this shared batch. Even though we wore gloves, we still imparted our energy into the mix, which was then divided equally with everyone. A better definition of community I cannot think of, and it really reinforced the reason why we’re on this mission: To build communities, a few trillion at a time.

For those of you who were there, how is the kimchi? Drop us a comment and let us know!

Austin Durant

Author and founder of Fermenters Club. I’ve been fermenting food for 14 years.

In 2024, I published my first book, Fearless Fermenting.

When not stuffing things into jars, I enjoy permaculture gardening, cooking, yoga, writing, and studying cosmology and esoteric traditions.