Ferment the Seasons

You will meet your host and settle in with a tea or coffee in hand.

You’ll start the day with a breakfast taster featuring some of Rachel’s favourite ferments such as scrambled eggs on blinis with fermented mushroom pickles.

We’ll then get stuck right in learning how to ferment grains and dairy to make them more digestible. We’ll mix up a stunning batch of fermented Russian blinis or Italian farinata and a kombucha crème fraiche which you can shake into butter.

Next we will dive into the world of lacto-fermentation as Rachel teaches you how to make your own sauerkraut and fun seasonal version of kimchi such as a springy beetroot and rhubarb or an autumnal curried parsnip kraut with pears from our orchard and garden herbs.

Fruit has so many fun options when it comes to fermentation and Rachel will guide you through her favourite fruit ferments. Embracing honey from our own bees, we’ll be making a honey-fermented jam.

Lunch will feature a smattering of some of Rachel’s favourite ferments such as pumpkin kimchi dumplings or oat-crumbed mackerel with honey-fermented rhubarb with thyme.

The afternoon will focus on healthy homemade drinks as Rachel shares her love for fermented tea – aka kombucha, introducing you to a honeyed version called ‘jun’. You’ll also learn how to make water kefir with key instructions on how to tailor basic brews into seasonal masterpieces. You’ll get to try Rachel’s brews with her season spins such as Marmalade and toast kombucha and Rhubarb and elderflower kefir.

There will be time to chat to your fellow scholars and the River Cottage team, before heading back up the hill for 5pm.

You’ll take home a copy of the recipes you've created, the jars of kraut and kimchi you'll have made, as well as kombucha crème fraiche, honey-fermented jam and a kombucha scoby so you can get brewing at home.