Fermenting

Food Fermenting Workshops

Summary

13 Reviews
1 day - seasonal
Any

Overview

Spend time in the breath-taking grounds of Sharpham Estate with Jon Howell, learning how to improve your immune system and gut health with the power of probiotic-rich fermented foods.

Ferments are highly nutritious and are an excellent way of storing food, with a compelling and complex flavour. On this workshop you will learn how to create nourishing ferments at home using a range of vegetables, explore how the fermentation process works to benefit your overall health and sample a variety of tasty fermented goods.

This event costs £65 per person for the day and is suitable for adults aged 16 and over. 

Fermenting Jar

This day is for you if you are:

  • Keen to learn about nourishing, healing food
  • Interested in learning more about the natural world
  • Wanting to understand more about your health and well-being
  • Enthusiastic about learning new recipes and cooking
  • are aged 16 or over

What you will learn:

  • The ways in which your gut bacteria help us throughout our lives, and how to introduce fermented foods into your diet in easy and accessible ways.
  • How the fermenting process works to make tasty foods from a variety of vegetables
  • About Probiotics and Prebiotics and why we need to include both to stay healthy
  • About your body's Microbiome and how to look after it
  • How to prepare and maintain the right environment for 'good' bacteria to thrive in jars and in your bodies
  • How your immune system is linked to the diversity of your gut ecology
  • Common fermenting failures and how to avoid them
  • Some basic but really tasty fermenting recipes to get you started
  • How to use taste and timing to gauge when fermentation is ready
Fermenting

Examples of what you might make:

  • Sauerkraut
  • Kvass (a fermented drink – most likely from beetroot)
  • Fermented whole veg (e.g. carrot sticks)
  • Kefir (fermented drink)

What should you bring?

  • A packed lunch 
  • Bottle of water
  • Waterproofs and warm clothing
  • Good comfy shoes or wellies
  • Paper and pen if you want to take notes
  • Camera if you want to take pictures
  • We will supply enough fresh organic vegetables for all the ferment types you'll be making, but if you'd like to add your own home grown (must be organic) or wild foraged produce them please bring it along.
  • 4 clean 'clip-top' jars (2x 1 litre and 2x half litre). You are welcome to bring other types of jar but clip-top jars are 'self-burping' so are safer and generally more reliable

Schedule

Each day runs from 10am to 4pm

The day starts with an introduction to the art of fermentation, how it works and why our bodies thrive from fermented foods.

We will learn by making a number of ferments together, using ingredients provided, using techniques as old as culture itself, but adding into the mix your own unique combinations of flavours.

We will each lunch together accompanied by a variety of fermented foods for you to sample - please bring along a packed lunch. 

At the end of the day we will close with final questions and a wild cup of something delicious.

Reviews

Sharpham Trust retreats listed in 9 winter adventures you can have in the UK: "An astonishingly lovely private estate on a bend of the River Dart in Ashprington [which] offers friendly and approachable secular meditation retreats for anyone – including those new to both retreating and meditating"

The Guardian
November 2022
The Guardian

"A superior venue with an unrivalled range of breaks centred on mindfulness and nature" - We are highlighted as Retreat of the Year in an article written by the Queen of Retreats

Psychologies Magazine
January 2021
Psychologies Magazine

"Where else can you practise walking meditation among roses and lilies in a formal garden, or meditate in a blue-painted music room where the marble fireplace is a sculptured work of art?" - a feature on our silent retreats in Sharpham House

The Telegraph
January 2021
The Telegraph
See all Reviews

Sharpham Trust Woodland Retreats

Woodland Events

Events at the Woodland Campsite, which has its own car park signposted as you drive onto Sharpham Estate.

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Leaders

Jon Howell
Jon Howell - Fermented Food leader Read more +

Costs

£65 per person (age 16+) for the day, which includes materials and ingredients.

Terms & Conditions

Please click here to see our booking and cancellations policy

Available dates

2025 17 May

Food Fermenting Workshop

With Jon Howell
2025 21 Jun

Food Fermenting Workshop

With Jon Howell
2025 26 Jul

Food Fermenting Workshop

With Jon Howell
2025 04 Oct

Food Fermenting Workshop

With Jon Howell