SHARON FLYNN
FERMENTER
DAYLESFORD, VIC
A fermented foods business with a strong reputation for quality is dedicated to using wild cultures.
Sharon Flynn’s business began with three fridges of sauerkraut and an honesty jar in her garage. Originally taught fermenting by elderly ladies who “adopted her” when she lived in rural Japan, Flynn started making fermented products after her daughter became sick and needed to take lots of antibiotics.
“I became a bit evangelical about fermenting, then everyone started asking me to make some for them,” she says. So, she set up production in her home and began selling from her garage. “It started getting out of hand, so I went to the local health-food store and asked if they’d stock my products,” she says. “People would call me and make an order and I’d write their name on it and put it in the fridge there.”
From there, her brand, The Fermentary, took off and soon some of Victoria’s top chefs were using her products. By 2014, the business had grown so much she had to hire an offsider, Roger Fowler, who is now her life partner. Today, she makes five or six types of sauerkraut and kimchi, and five types of water kefir, depending on the season, whim and “what people bring her” with production moved from her home kitchen to an old abattoir in Daylesford.
The one thing that hasn’t changed is her insistence on only using wild cultures. “It’s a huge thing not to use a starter culture, because wild cultures are expensive and you have to get accreditation and licences. But I believe there isn’t a lot of ‘wilderness’ left in the everyday lives of most people and this was a last frontier that needed protecting.
“We don’t need the number of bacteria so much as the diversity, and you can only get that by wild fermentation. Relying on starter cultures also means having to import them. The strains allowed in Australia are limited and in order to add them to vegetables, you also add water, thus watering down the flavour and complexity.”
“IT’S A HUGE THING NOT TO USE A STARTER.”
SHARON FLYNN