Food Preservation: Fermentation

In this class, local food preservation expert April McGreger will show us how to use one of the world’s oldest and simplest methods of preserving foods, lactic-acid fermentation, to turn our garden’s bounty into crunchy pickled vegetables and vibrant salads that will last for many months without canning. We will utilize a small batch method of fermenting by the pint or quart, which requires no special equipment and makes this the perfect preservation method for beginners. We’ll discuss the long history of fermented foods, how and why they‘ve risen to health food status in recent years, and why fermentation is a fantastic low-effort, high-reward technique to curb food waste.

April McGreger is an award-winning fermenter, jam maker, cooking teacher, and food writer whose work and recipes have been featured in Bon Appetit, Southern Living, The New York Times, Eating Well, Martha Stewart Living, and many other publications. Before moving to Philadelphia in 2018, she founded and operated the pickling and preserving business, Farmer’s Daughter, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for over a decade. There she turned the best of the North Carolina harvest into impeccable products that won 13 Good Food Awards. Her work preserving and promoting endangered cultural traditions and ingredients was recognized in 2014 with the Slow Food Ark of Taste Betsy Lydon Award. Her passion for social justice and food justice in particular led her to Philadelphia’s The People’s Kitchen, where she is excited to share her food preservation skills to help build food security and community in Philadelphia. She is the author of two books, Sweet Potatoes (UNC Press) and Canning and Preserving (Centennial Media). Follow her on Instagram @preservingthesouth.

This workshop will take place at Wyck (6026 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144). We will gather in the education building next to the Walnut Lane entrance.