Although it is an ancient technique that has been practised around the world for centuries, it is really only in the last decade that fermentation has amassed a loyal following of fans.
Fermentation is the process of changing the nutritional properties of food using bacteria. Fermented foods are reported to support our gut health, improve digestion and boost our immunity. Crucially, they also taste good – with sour and tangy notes adding a distinct flavour to a meal – which is perhaps why we’re now seeing fermented foods on many restaurant menus. There are a few food fermentation businesses in Ireland, but not all of them use Irish ingredients. This is the focus that Rory Gartlan and Laura Pusceddu have taken with their small business, Bia Cultures.
Rory and Laura’s story started out in an equally niche Irish destination, the small island of Inishbofin; found off the coast of Co Galway. Laura and Rory worked together in hospitality on the island before moving to the UK to work as chefs. “Laura was working in fine dining in some Michelin star places, and I was mostly in brunchy spots and cafés,” says Rory.
The pair returned to Inishbofin in 2023 to set up a farm-to-fork café. “What we’d harvest in the morning, we’d bring back to the kitchen. That was the first time we really focused on what was available in Ireland, and more specifically what was available on the farm,” says Rory.
The farm was big and the café was small, so Rory and Laura started to ferment their surplus vegetables. “We really enjoyed working with the Irish ingredients and saw there was a gap in the market. We wanted to start our own business, basically,” says Rory.
This triggered a move back to Rory’s home county of Monaghan to found Bia Cultures, which the pair started in February 2024 with little more than an idea and a mandolin slicer (the same one that Laura uses to cut vegetables as she speaks to Irish Country Living Food).
Bia Cultures fast gathered momentum, winning Best Artisan Food Producer only three months later at the Ballymaloe Food Festival 2024, and they are now stocked in 40 independent shops nationwide. Bia Cultures also have a stall at St Anne’s Park Market every Saturday and Herbert Park Food Market every Sunday in Dublin.
Journalist Rosalind Skillen attends a food fermentation workshop with Laura Pusceddu making fermented beetroot (sauerbeet).
Only Irish ingredients
The business’ success may reflect the growing demand for ‘gut-friendly’ and ‘gut-loving’ consumer products, but Rory says they “actually try to stay clear” of that kind of brand marketing. “There’s a lot of noise in that [healthy gut] space, and so much labelling, advertising and marketing. We’re not nutritionists or microbiologists. We focus on the ingredients.
“We’re super proud to be using Irish and that’s really why the fermentation process works so well. If there are any kind of chemicals or pesticides [on the vegetables], that works against the whole [fermentation] process.
“Another reason why we use Irish is that the second the vegetable comes out of the soil, it starts to lose its microbes. The faster you get it harvested, salted and into a jar, the better the results. Vegetables from Spain and Holland look fine and taste okay, but they really lack in nutrients as they still have to travel for maybe a week. If you get vegetables from the farmer down the road, you get it fresh and that’s what makes a really lively ferment.”
Bia Cultures source all their vegetables [including radish, carrots, turnips, garlic, onion, mustard leaves and Jerusalem artichokes] from Irish farmers. “Most of our farmers would supply fine dining restaurants. They’re very high quality,” says Laura. “Generally, they are small scale, organic farmers or if they’re not certified organic, they grow with organic practices.
“The rule is if you get good vegetables and you process in the right environment, you generally come out with a good result.”
Rory and Laura tweak their recipes ever so slightly, depending on what they get from the farmers each week. “The names of the products stay the same, like sauerkraut [fermented cabbage] or sauerbeet [fermented beetroot] but the ingredient list may change a little. It makes it interesting for us as we’re not making the same products, week in and week out, with the same ingredients,” says Laura.
When asked the crucial question – how on earth do you eat this stuff? – Rory laughs. “That’s the biggest, most asked question by a mile. At the markets, people ask: ‘I’ve heard about this stuff, I’ve heard it’s good for you, how the hell do I use it?’
“Ferments are quite acidic, a little bit sour, a little bit tangy, so they work well with fatty things such as cheese and meats. At Christmas, we were selling it with cheeseboards and for the summer, barbeques. You could have it instead of a pickle in a burger.”
Bia Cultures show people exactly what to do with fermented food at their workshops, which they host at food festivals nationwide and also at home in Co Monaghan. “We do a workshop and dinner in our home where we showcase what you can cook,” says Rory. “For us, that’s the best experience of all because you really have the time to chat and take questions.”
The workshop (€70) lasts three and a half hours, and includes a fermented drink and a meal, largely featuring all the elements of fermentation.
Fermenting vegetables
The science of fermentation and all the talk of bacteria and enzymes could easily make you feel like you’re back in biology class, but Laura and Rory, with their well-worn aprons and hands stained red with beetroot, bring the process to life.
“The meaning of the word is just food that get transformed by microorganisms,” explains Laura. “There is a transformation, and it’s living at the end of the day. What I put inside, like raw cabbage, and the end product [fermented cabbage] is so different in terms of vitamins, minerals and compounds.”
That transformation happens with the help of salt. “There are good and bad bacteria in vegetables, and adding salt creates the right environment for the good bacteria to thrive. Bad bacteria doesn’t like salt, the good bacteria does. The bad ones cannot live,” says Laura. “The rule is 2% salt. So for 200g vegetables, it’s 4g salt.”
When it comes to fermenting, Rory and Laura say you can choose whatever vegetables you would like, but texture is important to bear in mind. “Some vegetables become mushy, like cucumbers, so the softer the vegetable, the less [time] you want to ferment,” explains Laura. “We’re really lucky in Ireland, because our vegetables are all pretty ‘hard’. Most ferments are going to keep their crunch.”
Rory and Laura have a ‘best before’ on the backs of all their jars, dictated by the date of production. “If someone buys our jars, they should consume [the food] within six months from the date of production. Some research says that the peak of the probiotics is about six months after production, and then the probiotics slowly start to go down,” says Laura. “After six months, the bacteria starts to taper off.”
She stresses that this timeline is just for the nutritional value, not food safety. “The product is so acidic that it can stay good for 10 years; but then it would probably just become vinegar,” she says, with a smile.
biacultures.ie
Fermented beetroot (sauerbeet)
Making fermented beetroot(sauerbeet).
Making fermented beetroot (sauerbeet).
Makes one jar: Ingredients
100g beetroot
100g carrot
1 clove garlic, peeled
4g salt (2% of the total weight of vegetables)
Method
1. Cut the vegetables using a mandolin slicer or vegetable peeler. Keep the skin on, as this is where most of the bacteria is.
2. Slice garlic and mix with vegetables in a large bowl.
3. Add 4g of salt.
4. Massage the vegetables in salt, covering every surface. This process draws out water.
5. Layer the vegetables in the jar, pressing down with your hands. Pack the layers tightly to prevent air bubbles until you reach the rim of the jar.
6. Take one slice of beetroot and cut to fit the rim of the jar, essentially making a vegetable lid. Press down to seal and then close with the lid of the jar.
7. Leave the jar on top of a plate for one month, in case some liquid spills out during the fermentation process. If this happens, wipe clean.
8. Leave it to rest for another five months.
9. Open and enjoy.
Although it is an ancient technique that has been practised around the world for centuries, it is really only in the last decade that fermentation has amassed a loyal following of fans.
Fermentation is the process of changing the nutritional properties of food using bacteria. Fermented foods are reported to support our gut health, improve digestion and boost our immunity. Crucially, they also taste good – with sour and tangy notes adding a distinct flavour to a meal – which is perhaps why we’re now seeing fermented foods on many restaurant menus. There are a few food fermentation businesses in Ireland, but not all of them use Irish ingredients. This is the focus that Rory Gartlan and Laura Pusceddu have taken with their small business, Bia Cultures.
Rory and Laura’s story started out in an equally niche Irish destination, the small island of Inishbofin; found off the coast of Co Galway. Laura and Rory worked together in hospitality on the island before moving to the UK to work as chefs. “Laura was working in fine dining in some Michelin star places, and I was mostly in brunchy spots and cafés,” says Rory.
The pair returned to Inishbofin in 2023 to set up a farm-to-fork café. “What we’d harvest in the morning, we’d bring back to the kitchen. That was the first time we really focused on what was available in Ireland, and more specifically what was available on the farm,” says Rory.
The farm was big and the café was small, so Rory and Laura started to ferment their surplus vegetables. “We really enjoyed working with the Irish ingredients and saw there was a gap in the market. We wanted to start our own business, basically,” says Rory.
This triggered a move back to Rory’s home county of Monaghan to found Bia Cultures, which the pair started in February 2024 with little more than an idea and a mandolin slicer (the same one that Laura uses to cut vegetables as she speaks to Irish Country Living Food).
Bia Cultures fast gathered momentum, winning Best Artisan Food Producer only three months later at the Ballymaloe Food Festival 2024, and they are now stocked in 40 independent shops nationwide. Bia Cultures also have a stall at St Anne’s Park Market every Saturday and Herbert Park Food Market every Sunday in Dublin.
Journalist Rosalind Skillen attends a food fermentation workshop with Laura Pusceddu making fermented beetroot (sauerbeet).
Only Irish ingredients
The business’ success may reflect the growing demand for ‘gut-friendly’ and ‘gut-loving’ consumer products, but Rory says they “actually try to stay clear” of that kind of brand marketing. “There’s a lot of noise in that [healthy gut] space, and so much labelling, advertising and marketing. We’re not nutritionists or microbiologists. We focus on the ingredients.
“We’re super proud to be using Irish and that’s really why the fermentation process works so well. If there are any kind of chemicals or pesticides [on the vegetables], that works against the whole [fermentation] process.
“Another reason why we use Irish is that the second the vegetable comes out of the soil, it starts to lose its microbes. The faster you get it harvested, salted and into a jar, the better the results. Vegetables from Spain and Holland look fine and taste okay, but they really lack in nutrients as they still have to travel for maybe a week. If you get vegetables from the farmer down the road, you get it fresh and that’s what makes a really lively ferment.”
Bia Cultures source all their vegetables [including radish, carrots, turnips, garlic, onion, mustard leaves and Jerusalem artichokes] from Irish farmers. “Most of our farmers would supply fine dining restaurants. They’re very high quality,” says Laura. “Generally, they are small scale, organic farmers or if they’re not certified organic, they grow with organic practices.
“The rule is if you get good vegetables and you process in the right environment, you generally come out with a good result.”
Rory and Laura tweak their recipes ever so slightly, depending on what they get from the farmers each week. “The names of the products stay the same, like sauerkraut [fermented cabbage] or sauerbeet [fermented beetroot] but the ingredient list may change a little. It makes it interesting for us as we’re not making the same products, week in and week out, with the same ingredients,” says Laura.
When asked the crucial question – how on earth do you eat this stuff? – Rory laughs. “That’s the biggest, most asked question by a mile. At the markets, people ask: ‘I’ve heard about this stuff, I’ve heard it’s good for you, how the hell do I use it?’
“Ferments are quite acidic, a little bit sour, a little bit tangy, so they work well with fatty things such as cheese and meats. At Christmas, we were selling it with cheeseboards and for the summer, barbeques. You could have it instead of a pickle in a burger.”
Bia Cultures show people exactly what to do with fermented food at their workshops, which they host at food festivals nationwide and also at home in Co Monaghan. “We do a workshop and dinner in our home where we showcase what you can cook,” says Rory. “For us, that’s the best experience of all because you really have the time to chat and take questions.”
The workshop (€70) lasts three and a half hours, and includes a fermented drink and a meal, largely featuring all the elements of fermentation.
Fermenting vegetables
The science of fermentation and all the talk of bacteria and enzymes could easily make you feel like you’re back in biology class, but Laura and Rory, with their well-worn aprons and hands stained red with beetroot, bring the process to life.
“The meaning of the word is just food that get transformed by microorganisms,” explains Laura. “There is a transformation, and it’s living at the end of the day. What I put inside, like raw cabbage, and the end product [fermented cabbage] is so different in terms of vitamins, minerals and compounds.”
That transformation happens with the help of salt. “There are good and bad bacteria in vegetables, and adding salt creates the right environment for the good bacteria to thrive. Bad bacteria doesn’t like salt, the good bacteria does. The bad ones cannot live,” says Laura. “The rule is 2% salt. So for 200g vegetables, it’s 4g salt.”
When it comes to fermenting, Rory and Laura say you can choose whatever vegetables you would like, but texture is important to bear in mind. “Some vegetables become mushy, like cucumbers, so the softer the vegetable, the less [time] you want to ferment,” explains Laura. “We’re really lucky in Ireland, because our vegetables are all pretty ‘hard’. Most ferments are going to keep their crunch.”
Rory and Laura have a ‘best before’ on the backs of all their jars, dictated by the date of production. “If someone buys our jars, they should consume [the food] within six months from the date of production. Some research says that the peak of the probiotics is about six months after production, and then the probiotics slowly start to go down,” says Laura. “After six months, the bacteria starts to taper off.”
She stresses that this timeline is just for the nutritional value, not food safety. “The product is so acidic that it can stay good for 10 years; but then it would probably just become vinegar,” she says, with a smile.
biacultures.ie
Fermented beetroot (sauerbeet)
Making fermented beetroot(sauerbeet).
Making fermented beetroot (sauerbeet).
Makes one jar: Ingredients
100g beetroot
100g carrot
1 clove garlic, peeled
4g salt (2% of the total weight of vegetables)
Method
1. Cut the vegetables using a mandolin slicer or vegetable peeler. Keep the skin on, as this is where most of the bacteria is.
2. Slice garlic and mix with vegetables in a large bowl.
3. Add 4g of salt.
4. Massage the vegetables in salt, covering every surface. This process draws out water.
5. Layer the vegetables in the jar, pressing down with your hands. Pack the layers tightly to prevent air bubbles until you reach the rim of the jar.
6. Take one slice of beetroot and cut to fit the rim of the jar, essentially making a vegetable lid. Press down to seal and then close with the lid of the jar.
7. Leave the jar on top of a plate for one month, in case some liquid spills out during the fermentation process. If this happens, wipe clean.
8. Leave it to rest for another five months.
9. Open and enjoy.
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