Soil to Spoon: Jerusalem Artichoke & Horseradish Ferment - Jo Webster Collaboration

In The Garden 

Every story has to start somewhere. 

The story of this jar starts on 29th October 2024.

A mild Autumn day, the perfect time to dig for treasures tucked away under the Somerset soil at Worminster Farm. Not too far below the surface, our wonderful Jerusalem artichokes have been growing and soaking up all the goodness they can from the complex and nutrient-packed soil that surrounds them. From here, they can begin their journey from our farm to your delicious plate.

 

 

 

Our team here at Worminster strive to look after our crops and soil health, to insure we have the best environment for crops to thrive. This involves everything from producing our own compost to monitoring the pH of the soil. It’s all about keeping the soil and plants as happy as they can be, whilst always remaining free of pesticides, chemicals and staying true to our responsible farming methods and values. We grow as much as we can on our small farm and ensure that we produce as little waste as we can. Out of what we dig up, anything that is too small or cannot be used in the kitchen is replanted for next year, or tossed on our very important compost to become food for the garden.

 

 

Fresh out of the ground, the artichokes are crisp and nutty smelling when snapped. We work on washing and giving the artichokes a good scrub, so they are clean and ready for the kitchen. We don’t want to peel our artichokes and get rid any of those essential beneficial microbes found on and in the skin. Thanks to our natural, chemical free and pesticide-free growing process, it’s all good stuff! 

 

 

Next up is our beautiful, hot and peppery horseradish. Despite its ordinary looking leaves, Horseradish is a root vegetable that grows deep into the ground and packs a punch both in flavour and smell! Even as we pulled it out of the ground, we were hit with its peppery fragrance. Most people know Horseradish as fiery accompaniment to roast beef, it is a member of the Brassicaceae family, and is similar in flavour to its relatives; the radish, mustard and wasabi. This plant family also includes cabbage and broccoli.

 

 

Digging up the whole vegetable can prove a bit of a challenge, especially as horseradish taproots (the part of the plant that we eat) can grow well over a foot into the ground. In such cases, even Peter, CULTJAR founder gets his hands dirty and has a go. 

 

 

According to Greek mythology, the Oracle of Delphi told Apollo that horseradish was worth its weight in gold. This is no wonder with horseradish being a great source of glucosinolates, calcium, fibre, folate, potassium, magnesium and vitamin C. Horseradish glucosinolates are known to support antioxidant and detoxifying processes in humans.

In The Garden

5th November 2024

Just a few days later, our chefs work on preparing the vegetables from the garden. This involves washing the vegetables thoroughly with water to get rid of any last bits of soil. Thanks again to our lack of chemical growth enhancers, our vegetables are all kinds of weird and wonky shapes. This means it is important to trim off any flavour-affecting imperfections, all of which go straight on the compost. Peeling the horseradish of its skin is our next step, ready to be put through our mandoline.
We grow as many of our ingredients here on our Somerset farm as we can, but factors such as weather and temperature can make it difficult to produce as much as we need with constancy, as well as making it tricky to grow more exotic plant species. We do hope to grow more of our own chillies here next year and become self-sufficient. The fennel and red chillies we used in this recipe are carefully sourced from other responsible growers. We know and trust these producers to supply us with quality fresh ingredients. We make sure these growers are always pesticide and chemical free, just like us!
 

 

After removing the stalks from the chillies,  we finely chop them, seeds and all. The vibrant and spicy red chillies, alongside the fresh and clean fennel are ready to go. Each ingredient of this recipe brings not only wonderful flavour, but a wealth of nutrients. Chillies not only bring a warming flush of flavour towards the end of the mouthful, but are also packed with carotenoids and capsaicinoids; powerful antioxidantsas well as circulatory stimulants with the potential to improve blood circulation.

 

 

Fennel brings a subtle aniseed flavour to the mix, this complements the nuttiness of the Jerusalem artichokes. Fennel is rich in fibre that feeds microbes and supports healthy gut function. As well as multiple vitamins and minerals, fennel contains volatile oils, including anethole and fenchone. Apart from tasting delicious, fennel can help to reduce gut spasm, reduce bloating and wind.

 

 

Jerusalem artichokes are a fantastic substrate for our resident microbes because our microbes feast upon the inulin they contain. These tubers also have a unique delicate, nutty, sweet and earthy tang. By fermenting them, microbial action to digest the inulin begins in the ferment vessel. This enables us to enjoy their flavour and benefit from their inulin content without the unwanted gassy side effects Jerusalem artichokes can sometimes cause. We cut our artichokes finally in a Julienne style, alongside our eye-watering, fresh and fiery grated horseradish, ready to all be mixed together and undergo the final stages of the recipe. 

Fermentation 

2nd - 18th November 2024

 

At this stage, salt is added to help release juices from the vegetables and to deter any problematic microbes. This is necessary to produce a flavourful brine, an essential part of a safe fermentation and preservation process. These ingredients are then mixed and massaged together by hand, helping to release this liquid and combine all of these wonderful flavours together. Once tipped into one of our clean fermentation barrels and carefully pressed to exclude air, we pop on the lid, and from this point the human part of the recipe is over. It’s time for the microbes to work their magic. The slow and miraculous process of fermentation takes place, growing microbes and their metabolites, breaking down natural sugars and maturing and developing flavour. 

 

 

We leave the ferment to sit in its barrel at ambient temperature for two weeks to a month. Here, it can relax and start to mature. This process can vary drastically depending on all sorts of factors, one of which is temperature. We monitor this, as well as the pH of the ferment to make sure that the microbes are happy and great flavours are developing. We want to stay true to Jo Webster’s delicious original recipe.

 

Once our our ferment has reached the desired pH range, and is taste tested for deliciousness, it’s ready to jar. 

 

 

Back to the Garden 

 

The circle of life. 

We can’t forget one of the most important parts of a sustainable and healthy working farm; the compost. 

Any trimmings from our kitchen are taken straight back down to the garden compost, where microbial decomposition will occur. Just like fermentation, composting depends on microbial action, but the process and the microbial players are very different in composting compared to vegetable fermentation! The breaking down of plant materials by microbes creates a nutrient-dense natural fertiliser; nutritious food for the garden and essential for ensuring the quality of our produce here at Worminster farm.

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