Preserving and transforming future food one vat at a time

Alex Hozven of The Cultured Pickle Shop in Berkeley, California has a reputation within the fermentation community for the sheer breadth and distinctiveness of her practice. Hozven and her husband, Kevin Farley, started the shop in 1996 and have seen different incarnations. “When we really started, the conversation was very different, not a lot of people understood what and why we did what we did, but kraut was a bit of an entry point for people,” Hozven says.

What fermentations can currently be found in the cases? Tokyo turnips in fennel bee pollen brine, watermelon rind in chile shiso brine, and kombuchas including a pomegranate-parsley and fennel-Asian pear are the latest seasonal offerings.