As growing season winds down, foodservice departments are receiving their final shipments of local vegetables. But at the University of Montana’s Missoula campus, some of the season’s kohlrabi and cabbage slowly are fermenting to last through the winter.
Executive Chef Patrick Browne’s culinary team began experimenting with fermenting as a preservation method last year, starting with chili and jalapeño peppers to create housemade hot sauces. His chefs since have expanded the practice, adding a 2 percent salt cure to shredded produce, mixing it with hot peppers and shrimp, and transforming it into kimchee.
Once a batch of kohlrabi or cabbage has fermented for at least a month, Browne and his staff start weekly taste-testings. One batch he is particularly excited about is a kohlrabi/shrimp-paste mix that has been developing since this summer—but he’s “waiting for the flavors to break down a bit more,” he says.
It’s a trendy technique—fermenting was the No.2 preparation method in the National Restaurant Association’s 2015 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast. Still, it remains a small-batch process. Browne’s chefs conduct their experiments in food-grade, plastic buckets that are recycled after they’ve been permeated by the strong scent. Initially the buckets were stored on the kitchen’s back tables, which are in a cool, dry area conducive to the fermenting process.
“Having a place to store [containers] that is the right temperature and the right darkness [is important],” Browne says. “Otherwise you just end up with a bunch of buckets that are emanating a smell from your kitchen.”
While Browne’s staff menus its hot sauces and kimchee as available because the flavor outcome can be unpredictable, he has been pairing a housemade hot sauce with salmon during catered on-campus events. One cabbage kimchee that started out fishy has developed a sweeter flavor, and Browne plans to use it as a garnish during catering events and at a pop-up dinner event in the dorms.
As UM becomes more accustomed to fermenting, Browne plans to eventually introduce students to housemade kombucha, a trend taking hold beyond the West Coast, according to a September report from Bevnet. “It’s something that takes time, and there’s a little bit of mystery about the fermentation thing,” he says.
Ferment-o-pedia
Kimchee: A traditional Korean vegetable side dish; some common versions include cabbage, radishes or daikon.
Kombucha: A fermented black or green tea drink.