My (John's) Story

I honestly can't remember the first time I ate kimchi. But I know kimchi has been on my brain for a long, long time. I would look for it in the supermarket. I would order it when it was on the menu. I even dabbled in making it myself here and there. I couldn't get enough of that spicy, salty funkiness. A food product that tasty AND that good for you? I was sold.

I could easily recall what great kimchi tasted like, but I was not always getting that great taste when I could find it. I'd go back, buy the same jar again, from the same company, and it would be...yeah, not so good. It would taste stale, sour, muddled or flat.

These disappointments drove me to the cutting board. It took much time and many tries to get it right. Through myriad combinations of ingredients, techniques and fermentation times, I chased the dream. Finally, it all came together and as I stood in my kitchen with a spoon in my own jar, I thought, I wish everyone could eat this. 

I was pleased with my kimchi's taste and ready to unleash enjoyment unto the world. But first, I had more problems to solve: when the newly minted Batch #3 was done fermenting, it was superb. However, even superb kimchi is too intense to eat by the gallon in one sitting. When I had reached the bottom of the barrel, I met with the same problem as that jarred stuff in the store. It tasted old. I had no intention to make gallons of superb kimchi only to deliver it past-its-prime to you. My solution: I would make the kimchi from scratch for each order, and ship it out as soon as it was ready.  When you receive your order, it will arrive at its peak texture, tasting exactly how it should: fresh, flavorful, funky.

Have you ever bought a jar of kimchi and eaten it as soon as you got home in like three bites?  Me too. Those jars get packed by volume, and there needs to be head-space included so the whole thing doesn't explode. Which, by higher mathematics, means you get less. I'd give a better bang for the buck. Problem solved: instead of packing a jar by volume, I do it by weight.  If you order a pint, you get at least 16 ounces. You order a quart and you get over 2 pounds of product. I use 3 ply, BPA free, FDA approved, and landfill friendly stand-up pouches, with a sealed tear-off top and resealable lock enclosure. I promise, when a suitable recyclable and/or compostable option comes to market, I will make the switch.

Meanwhile, why stop with kimchi?  Why not sauerkraut? I was not going to make the boring stuff you find at the bottom of the cooler beneath the hot dogs.  Nope. Again, I wanted to make something that I wanted to eat. This 'kraut simply pops with probiotics, and elevates anything you pair it with. 

Please feel free to pair with everything, because millennia of scientific evidence supports my incredible enthusiasm for the unique health benefits fermented foods hold. These products are all are flavorful nutritional powerhouses. Lacto-fermentation increases the availability and absorption of nutrients in your body. Look it up and learn more; it's beyond super.

I got into fermented foods because of my own desire for better. I was also hunting for salves and weapons to help arm and comfort all the warriors of chronic disease among my own family and friends--and in my own fight against inflammatory arthritis, athletic injury, and aging. Healing foods, that's why.

When not doing my best to make the best "Super Foods" for folks like you, I have my hands full raising a beautiful kid and working to make my wife's wildest dreams come true. Otherwise, you can find me in the woods or on the water, harvesting the land and sea, trying to keep myself and fellow humans healthy and happy. 

But enough about me. Thank YOU. 

All good,

John