An unexpected type of culture in Thailand
An unexpected type of culture in Thailand
My husband drops me off at Good Life Dacha, around 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning. It is a few minute scooter ride from Pai's main tourist area. I walk into the courtyard area where you can have a drink or buy a bite. It is empty, except for a guy standing near the bar. With a flyer in my hand, I ask if he is the one who teaches the fermentation class. "Yes, come on in," he says. I introduce myself and we sit down for a chat.
I quickly realize Konstantin Topchi is someone with a lot of passion and knowledge to share. He was born and raised in Ukraine where kombucha tea, milk kefir and fermenting vegetables were part of daily life. He now lives in northern Thailand where he runs a few businesses related to healthy living, including commercially selling kombucha and water kefir.
I commit to coming back the next day for the Wild Fermentation Class - it is 500 baht ($20 Canadian) for a half day. On the way out, he quickly introduces me to Lance Hancherow, who will also be teaching. He is a Canadian, who lives in Thailand during the winter. He is a fermentation historian of sorts. He has also experimented with a variety of ancient and modern fermentation techniques.
In most cities we visit in Thailand there are cooking classes offered. I took one when I first visited the country in 2003. It is fun, you usually go to the market with the instructor, then go back to an outdoor kitchen to learn how to make the delicious Thai curries. I never dreamed I would find a fermentation course, but Pai, a small town in the mountains of northwest Thailand, is full of surprises.
Wild Fermentation Class
There are seven people in the class from around the world. Some with a lot of fermenting experience, others with none.
We all gather around Lance for the first part of the class. We sit quietly as he holds court. The only interruption is when Konstantin or "K" as he is known locally, brings another round of of his kombucha.
Lance covers the first known records of fermentation- the variety of methods they used, then moves on to some of the things he is personally experimenting with.
"Fermentation is the core basics of how life continues. Nature uses fungi - bacteria to break things down. Some are good for humans, some not," says Lance Hancherow, fermentation expert. We are going to learn how to guide Nature a little bit. Nature takes over and we harvest it at the point we like."
After a tasting of various fermented foods at lunch, including K's sourdough bagels, it is time for the "how to" portion of the class.
We start with water kefir, then move to kombucha and finish with milk kefir. Konstantin has taken his grandmother's recipes and techniques and simplified or enhanced them. With a chuckle, he says his methods are for lazy and busy people - which he is both.
"She (Grandma) used take her mushroom or "SCOBY" (SCOBY is actually an acronym: Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast.) It used to always be a big mushroom. Until now people always value a big mushroom - back in Ukraine people say 'Oh look at the size of my mushroom', " says Konstantin Topchi, owner Good Life Dacha.
After going into commercial production he now thinks differently. "I started noticing a kinda aftertaste to the kombucha... yeasty almost and I didn't like it. People normally cover it with flavouring. "
So he figured out, it was most likely coming from the large mushroom, what he refers to as an old set of bacteria. So he changed to a small piece of mushroom.
Each type of culture is passed around. He encourages us to taste them. He says they won't hurt you. "The cultures are just hotels for the good bacteria and yeast to grow." He adds he has even made gummy bears from the kombucha mushroom. Another interesting tidbit he passed along was about the sediment at the bottom of the kombucha bottle.
"People seem to assume that the sediment is where the health benefits are so they shake it and create an adventurous environment," he says with a chuckle. "But really it is not much, but some traces of yeast and bacteria that has served its purpose, but you can use it for a starter for your breads."
By the end of the class our brains are filled with new knowledge and our stomachs are full of kombucha. Konstantin then offers cultures to anyone who wants to take some home. Because we still have several weeks to travel I sadly pass on the SCOBY and kefir grains. But I did leave with a few new techniques and a further revved up enthusiasm for all things fermented, which is something both Konstantin and Lance hope for. "This is more like a mission, we have to keep the tradition alive and pass it on," says Konstantin.
Konstantin teaching the class in the area where he commericaly brews kombucha.
Konstantin's methods
Basic kombucha - black tea, spring water from the hills around Pai, white sugar and a young or small piece of a SCOBE- he has found the smaller SCOBE results in a non-flavoured beverage without an aftertaste. He says most people use the flavouring to cover the taste up. The sediment at the bottom of each batch can be used to build a sourdough starter.
Water kefir - purchased purified water, sugar and grains. In the second fermentation he mixes 2/3 kefir and 1/3 juice for flavouring.
Milk kefir - whole milk (raw if you can get it) and grains. It is important to give the jar a swirl 2 to 3 times a day. He says there is no need to wash the jar after every batch.
He says the key to all the techniques is catching the ferment when it hits the perfect balance of flavour - a little sweet and a little sour.
Lance's fermenting tip
Lance shows how you can make sauerkraut or other fermented vegetables in a food-grade plastic bag by using a simple tying technique with an elastic. It is great if you are on the move.
Good Life Dacha can be found on Facebook or email at mailgoodlife@yahoo.com .
The small town of Pai is a mecca for people who want to eat healthy. Most restaurants offer vegetarian and vegan options with several being 100% vegan. There is an abundance of fresh fruit and stalls making smoothies. You can even get a wheatgrass shot or a healing tea.
