Craft Fermentary

Much of the “craft” is in the cultivation.

Our soil is the foundation for what we achieve in the kitchen, and it shows.

Growing Food & Making Quality Ferments

Our focus and drive is different than most small-scale growers. You generally won't find our fresh veggies at the farmers’ market. Instead, produce is cultivated and harvested by Kres Farm and delivered to our commercial kitchen for processing.

We think this distinction is a good thing. As grower-fermenters, we aim to strengthen the local food system by broadening year-round access to healthy preserved foods. Our nourishing sauerkrauts are available at local markets and keep well in the fridge for six months or more.

Our Story

Between regenerative agriculture, food preservation, and healthy communities; we’ve mobilized our passions in Kres!

We’re two women who made the intentional decision to pivot careers to put our time and resources into local food. Our aspirations unite food cultivation and food preservation in a model that carries quality harvests well into the off-season. Some call it crazy risky, we see it as coextensive adaptation… an idea whose time has come!

What preceded this decision was a long period of endless mental modeling and many staycations verifying and working through the prospects. Guided by our love of food, nature and science we experimented with vegetable fermentation recipes from around the world. What we discovered was a highly reliable preservation method that transcended geography and ethnic cuisines. Our initial trial was a Slovenian-inspired kraut with garlic, apples and juniper berries; a hat tip to Kim’s heritage. Many more inspirations would follow. A mutual favorite (not yet produced for market) is Meyer lemons preserved Moroccan-style. I can assure you, once you’ve made hummus with lacto-fermented lemons you will crave it forever!

In our early forays, every fruit and vegetable we fermented came from our own gardens. As our research and fermentation trials progressed, a special relationship emerged between our growing techniques and the flavors and textures that ensued during fermentation. With each recipe it became more apparent that microbial diversity drives flavor! Those bacterial communities that thrive in rich biological soils and are naturally found on the surfaces of vegetables contribute immensely to the fermentation process. A business model was conceived.

With that, we leaped into the world of permaculture and regenerative food cultivation. Our learning curve was steep and ongoing but in spite of many failures, we had just as many successes to guide us forward. At Kres Farm we’ve expanded our production space considerably with a heated greenhouse, high-tunnel, orchard, raised beds and row cropping. Throughout this expansion, we stayed true to our original vision and core values:

Expand and protect native biological soil, boost intrinsic plant resilience, avoid synthetics fertilizers and pesticides, and always be working to advance ecosystem diversity.

Today Kres Kitchen prepares unique recipes using seasonal fruits and vegetables grown on our farm. We process and ferment in a commercial kitchen that is quality inspected. We pride ourselves on using organic and naturally-grown ingredients in our products because this is where our biological co-creators, lactobacilli and others, thrive. We source first from our own regenerative farm and then supplement (primarily cabbage and fruits) from other local growers. We are committed to minimizing waste by composting all of our kitchen scraps and garden debris back into our soil. As part of our path to sustainability, we launched a glass recycling program with clearly-defined mechanisms to share the savings with customers who participate.

A socially conscious business; we give back!

We enjoy sharing our thinking on the many benefits of lacto-fermented vegetables with our community of fellow processors, foodies and individuals/families. We are so grateful for YOU, our supporters - learning with us, collaborating with us and enthusiastically exploring the complex flavors and range of nutrients that wild fermentation offers. We listen carefully to your comments and critiques; valuable info as we work to become better fermenters. Thank you for your kindness, for your generosity, and most importantly, for your TRUST. We feel privileged to produce foods that intersect both culinary enjoyment and lifestyle health! It is important to us that our krauts are locally accessible to all who want them; this is the beacon for our business moving forward.

Grow wild. Eat wild. Be well!

- Kim & Karen

What makes Kres Ferments so Special?

  • Preserving the Season

    Enjoying fresh vegetables during peak growing season is a culinary delight. Extending that experience and nutritive benefit into the depths of winter is absolutely enchanting. We get it. Because our timeline from harvest to ferment is condensed, we’re able to capture the essence of “in-season” locking-in quality and freshness. We think Farm to Ferment is the BEST way to meet your family’s needs for healthy vegetables year-round.

  • Wild Fermentation

    Lacto-fermentation is powered by beneficial bacteria naturally found on fresh foods. Proliferation of these bacteria during fermentation contribute to more than just preservation; flavor, bionutrients, vitamins, and important enzymes are all enhanced. At Kres Farm, we nurture these “good-guy” microorganisms by avoiding synthetic chemicals and protecting our soil. History shows that fermented foods have flourished in every culture across the globe; wild and diverse is the way.

  • Specialty, Craft, and Handmade.

    An artisanal craft, lacto-fermentation performs best when wholesome vegetables are harvested at their peak and promptly handled in small batches. Our sauerkraut recipes follow the seasons inviting unique vegetable fusions for superior flavors and varied nutritional benefits.

    Be on the lookout! Our seasonal ferments are limited in quantity and availability.

  • Quality and Safety.

    At the outset of our business, Kres engaged Cornell Food Venture Center to critically analyze our finished product and to validate that our production process yielded the highest quality and safety. Every product we make is tested by Kres to certify that these key requirements are met.

    We ferment in stone, glass or food-grade stainless offering customers a plastic-free premium product. To achieve authentic flavors and to optimize probiotic performance, our krauts remain in original fermentation vessels while nature does her work. With experience, we’ve learned that fermentation time has a distinct impact on flavor, probiotic succession and nutrient profiles. We don’t rush it.

    TIME has become our most respected collaborator.

  • Health and Performance.

    Our fermented products are fuel for a healthy and active lifestyle… driven by our gut. We begin with the very best ingredients including superfoods such as garlic, ginger, beets, and berries. Then we stimulate growth of wild lactic acid-producing bacteria by setting-up a high-grade mineral salt brine. With the help of lactobacilli, raw foods are fermented to achieve a fully preserved product. Fermentation positively influences the nutritional value of raw vegetables by liberating vitamins and enzymes otherwise unavailable to us.

    Vinegars, pasteurization, starter cultures and preservatives are excluded from our process. Once fermentation runs the course, we refrigerate to maintain quality and flavor. This is how we uphold the authenticity of every product we produce.

  • Craveable and Flavorful.

    Wild fermentation unlocks unique culinary flavors and transforms raw vegetables into living foods that are much easier for us to digest. A delicious way to boost the taste and overall nutritional value of just about any meal. If you’re not sure you like fermented sauerkraut, you probably haven’t tried ours!