Volume XVI | CulturedThe Art & Science of Fermentation

Volume XVI

POTLIKKER‌

By Chef Lachelle Cunningham

Cultured ‌ Cultured‌

The Art & Science of Fermentation

ANCESTRY IN A JAR‌ Before fridges or freezers — before “gut health” trended — we were already keeping things alive. Across continents, Black, Brown, and Indigenous hands used salt, air, and time to save food and memory both.

Fermentation wasn’t convenience, it was continuity. Each batch still carries that lineage forward.

Our people didn’t just make food last, they made life last. Salt, air, and time were their tools of resilience. Every jar I make is me saying thank you to them.

What flavors remind you of your roots or home?

CLICK ME FOR 36 FERMENTED FOODS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

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THE BODY’S INNER GARDEN GARDEN‌‌ Inside you lives a city — trillions of microbes working around the clock to digest, protect, and communicate.

They’re our oldest allies — the original healers.

When you eat fermented food, you’re not just feeding yourself — you’re feeding them.

Your gut’s a garden!

Feed it real food, living food and it’ll feed you peace in return.

What’s one “living” food you could add to your week?

Click me For the carrot dog recipe

CLICK ME FOR THE SAUERKRAUT RECIPE

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Fermentation works because nature knows balance. Lactic acid bacteria eat the sugars in food and turn them into acid — a natural way of preserving and flavoring.

Salt draws water out, creating a brine that becomes a safe home for good microbes to thrive. Salt + Water + Time + Trust = Transformation.

Here’s the secret: salt, water, time and a little faith.

You don’t need fancy gear, just clean jars and patience.

Nature’s got the rest covered.

Click me for the Lacto-Fermented Pickles Recipe

What do you think patience tastes like?

click me for kombucha float

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Safety is sacred. Microbes can be friends or foes, your job is to create the right conditions. Start clean: wash jars, hands, and produce.

Use non-iodized salt, filtered water, and always keep food under the brine. Cloudiness is fine, fuzzy mold is not.

Clean. Cool. Covered. Calm.

Keep it clean, keep it cool, keep it calm.

If it’s under the brine, it’s fine! Trust your senses, they’ve been training for generations.

What’s one safety habit you’ll use at home?

Click me for the Fermentation Safety Guide

Click me for the Kimchi pancake recipe

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Long before science named probiotics, our grandmothers called them “good for the belly.”

Fermentation unlocks vitamins, balances the gut, and turns simple ingredients into nourishment.

Each sip or spoonful carries the memory of care — a reminder that healing starts small, alive, and patient.

SCAN ME for the Tepache Recipe

Our elders knew , food that’s alive keeps us alive. Every jar is medicine made from love, patience, and a little funk

How does your body tell you when food is healing?

click ME for the mexican tostadas w fermented salsa Recipe

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Fermentation — like healing, takes time. Some days your jar is fizzing; some days it rests quietly.

Either way, transformation is happening. You can’t rush bubbles or growth. Patience is part of the recipe.

You can’t rush bubbles — or healing. Change needs time and space to breathe. Wait, taste, and let the culture teach you about yourself.

What in your life is quietly changing for the better?

SCAN ME for the KOMBUCHA Recipe

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POTLIKKER VOL XVI‌ Every jar you start is part of a bigger ecosystem, a chain of care connecting kitchens and communities. Fermentation is more than preservation, it’s participation.

When you share a jar, you share resilience, creativity, and life itself.Keep feeding the culture that feeds you.

Every jar you share feeds more than a belly — it feeds connection.

When one bubbles, we all rise.

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Who can you share your next jar with?

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