This story by Nicola Smith was first published in the Valley News on Sept. 22, 2025.
FAIRLEE — In the last week, the dewy layer of morning frost on the fields has signaled that the Upper Valley’s growing season is winding down. But the warm days and cool nights benefit root vegetables such as carrots and turnips, and above-ground vegetables such as kale, brussel sprouts and cabbage, which are at their peak in the fall.
Cabbage is one of the staple crops at Root 5 Farm, which is on high ground overlooking the Connecticut River in Fairlee.
Owners Danielle Allen and Ben Dana operate a vegetable CSA and use the cabbage they grow in their homemade sauerkraut, or PowerKraut, which is made through natural fermentation. They also make kimchi, the Korean dish that blends cabbage, spices, garlic and ginger.
Over the weekend, Allen and Dana staged their second annual Fermentation Celebration. People throughout the Upper Valley and beyond came to listen to bread bakers, and makers of beer, mead and kombucha, talk about their natural production methods, all of which involve fermentation. The one-day event also showcased Root 5’s own produce.
“We eat everything we grow and ferment,” Allen said.
Allen and Dana started farming in the Burlington’s Intervale 20 years ago but decided to relocate to the Upper Valley after the Winooski River flooded their farm during Tropical Storm Irene. They bought the property, which was already an existing farm, in 2014.
Last year the farm, under the direction of chef and chief fermenter Cindy Ross, made 8,000 pounds of sauerkraut and 3,000 pounds of kimchi, Allen said. The PowerKraut and kimchi are sold both on the farm and at stores throughout the Upper Valley.
Ross, who was at Fermentation Celebration overseeing a demonstration of sauerkraut making, said that the farm’s sauerkraut ferments in the natural brine created by the cabbage, salt and spices. She does not use vinegar.
Despite the attention paid to the health benefits of the fermentation method over the past 20 years, partially due to the writing of fermentation guru Sandor Katz, many people still don’t know much about it. “This is why we have today — for educational purposes,” Ross said.
Introducing people to foods that are made through fermentation is part of the Root 5 mission.
“We’re trying to be that first good experience, for people eating fermented foods,” Dana said. “Our sauerkraut is alive, not pasteurized. I love the living part of it, which is supposed to be probiotic.”
Probiotics are live microorganisms in such foods as yogurt, some cheeses, kefir and sauerkraut that are said to be beneficial in digestion, and in supporting the health of the immune system.
Not least, fermentation is a “way to explore the world’s foods,” Dana added.
Craft beer makers Billy and Brooke Martin, who are taking over Brocklebank Brewery in Tunbridge, described the yeast-based fermentation for their pilsners and IPAs as “doing all the work. We’re preparing a very tasty snack for yeast.” The beer makers impart subtle flavors to their beer with the addition of dandelions, red clover and currants.
Some in attendance at the event were attracted by the health benefits of fermented foods. Researchers at Stanford School of Medicine found in a controlled study in 2021 that a diet “rich in fermented foods enhances the diversity of gut microbes and decreases molecular signs of inflammation,” the School reported.
“I’m definitely sold on the idea of healthy bacteria for your gut,” said Connor Lawless, an Orford resident attending the celebration.
Others came to fermentation as a way to showcase area ingredients.
Alexandre Apfel, who owns Golden Rule Mead in Middlebury started the business six years ago, after he became interested in making natural wines. Calling himself a fermenter, Apfel uses fruit, herbs, honey and maple syrup in the production of the alcoholic mead.
“It matters what we’re making this stuff out of. I believe strongly in local food systems,” said Apfel, who works with beekeepers and gardeners in the Middlebury area. “I’m making a product that reflects the world around me.”
At the event, Suzanne Hawley, of Hanover, explored the products on sale and leafed through books on display. She is particularly interested in sourdough bread, which she makes at home using her own carefully-cultivated sourdough starter, which she named Zeke (short for Ezekiel).
Like Apfel, Hawley is drawn to the naturally occurring microcosmos of fermentation, in which the food or drink, in some ways, makes itself.
“It’s a living thing,” she said.
