Fermentation Farm
Surprisingly, most of us eat fermented foods on the reg: chocolate, wine, yogurt—just to name a few. Fermentation is not just our grandmas’ technique to keep our food from spoiling—it’s also extremely healing for the body. We recently dropped by Fermentation Farm in Costa Mesa. No it’s not another farm- it’s a fermentation kitchen with a storefront. This members only kitchen + market hosts weekly fermentation classes, and sources high quality, local, organic products. Hard to find staples like raw milk, local grass-fed meats, duck eggs, and house-made favorites like bone broth, kombucha and raw yogurt—unavailable at most markets-line the shelves at Fermentation Farm. 
Dr. Yasmine Mason and her husband, Dr. Derek Mason have had their chiropractic business in Newport for over fifteen years. Yasmine started fermenting 6 years ago and, loving the results, started recommending it to her patients, but most of them opted out because it took “too much time” (first world problems). This was the inspiration for Fermentation Farm, a place to offer their patients foods that they normally wouldn’t have access to- and wouldn’t take the time to make themselves. Their food philosophy is most similar to Westin A. Price and Dr. Mercola. But why has the age-old method of fermenting become popular again? For starters, it’s packed full of probiotics, known as helpful bacteria, especially in our digestive systems. Preserving produce in a jar with sea salt helps probiotics flourish and grow nutrient-rich, also enhancing the flavor of sometimes bland vegetables. Eating food full of probiotics is better than consuming a supplement or pill (more absorbable) and is also way tastier. Probiotics restore what antibiotics have depleted in many of us. 
The bottom line: fermentation used to be necessary for survival in colder climates because fruits and vegetables couldn’t grow all year long, so people would harvest and save food for winter. Luckily today most of us don’t live in a world where we need fermentation, but you never know when it might come in handy. 
“It’s just a great thing to learn in case there’s ever a crisis. We’re just trying to take everyone back a couple generations where we didn't have the convenience of refrigeration and all these chemical preservatives that are poured all over our food so nothing goes bad,” said Yasmine. “Food is supposed to go bad unless you preserve it in the proper or traditional way.” Fermentation Farm doesn’t mind sharing their secrets and invited us to learn more through their weekly classes. Personally, we can’t live without their grain-free banana walnut chocolate chip muffins sweetened with maple syrup—mmm. We like to wash those down with a glass of their raw milk. Not ready for raw milk? Try their house-made kombucha or ginger soda. If you’re looking to restore nutrients in your body, look no further—Fermentation Farm might just have something for you.Visit their website for store hours & a class schedule.
