Fermenting Kits

Gut health has become, in recent decades, a focus of interest for nutritionists, scientists and people who describe themselves as “fermentation revivalists”. Those who recognise the great benefits of fermented foods and understand the link between this and gut health.

The value of a diet high in probiotics (the beneficial microorganisms that help to balance the gut microbiome), supported by a high-fibre diet, has many beneficial health outcomes.

At Gutsy Ferments, we stock the best quality fermented foods and drink, made proudly from locally-sourced, organic ingredients. However, if you’re thinking of trying your hand at making these probiotic-rich wonders yourself, make sure you acquire the best tools.

Starting your own fermentation is a magical, mystical process. According to author and fermentation guru Sandor Katz the advantages of fermented food and drink go far beyond just adding flavour to the food. Using the “...transformative action of microorganisms”, he says the practice of fermentation involves the harnessing of the amazing power of the microorganisms for our overall health. 

Pointing to the growth in popularity of the ancient practice in our own culture he adds there’s a “growing recognition of how important bacteria are to our own health and wellbeing, to the health of the soil, to the health of ecosystems.”

Inspiration enough to want to start your own fermenting journey? Check out our range of fermenting kits, starters and accessories.

Sauerkraut fermentation kit

The sauerkraut fermenter kit contains all you need to get started making delicious — and gut health friendly — sauerkrauts and kimchis. In the fermenter kit, you’ll find a glass jar, an airlock, salt and instructions on how to ferment your own vegetables.

If you’re stuck for ideas on what to ferment, check our own fermenting recipe book Forage, Ferment and Feast. We’re offering this with the above kit in our Budding Fermenter Kit. Our huge (356 pages) book contains all the fermenting recipes you need to begin your journey, as well as an idea of what to expect.

The kit makes an excellent gift for a friend or family member who is also starting out on fermenting.

Sauerkraut pounder

One of the first and most important tasks, when you make sauerkraut or kimchi, is to properly pound the shredded cabbage and other vegetables with salt. The juice from the vegetables combines with the salt to form a brine. It is this solution that supports bacteria that feeds on the carbohydrates of the vegetables.

Breaking down the structure of the cabbage, or any other vegetables used, is vital to the success of the ferment. Using one of the sauerkraut pounders from Gutsy Ferments makes this energetic work easier! 

Here at Gutsy, we experimented with a range of kitchen utensils in our early days of making sauerkraut and kimchi. But none really worked very well! So we went searching for someone who could craft the pounders for us. 

Luckily we found a local artisan woodturner who agreed to make the pounders to our requirements. All of them are made from either Silky Oak, Red Iron Bark, Blue Gum, Cyprus or Oregon and sourced locally — one of our main goals at Gutsy.

As they are hand made, each of the pounders is unique. As a special offer, we’ve also made the pounder available in a separate package with the glass jar, airlock, pounder, glass weight, salt and instructions.

So, if you’re interested in making your own sauerkraut/kimchi to help maintain the right balance of good gut bacteria, and would like to know where to start, try our range of fermenting kits, starters and accessories.

Experience the microbial transformation of fermenting for yourself!