Kimchi & Kraut Masterclass

Edinburgh Fermentarium is hosting a Kimchi & Kraut Masterclass on Saturday 24 October, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. It's a two-hour session run by the Fermentarium's founder, Ruth Munro, who'll be teaching you how to make your own kraut and kimchi from scratch. The whole point is to leave feeling confident enough to keep it going at home, and Munro frames the practice as a brilliant way to use up leftover vegetables rather than letting them go to waste.

Those are two of the most well-known ferments out there, but they come from different traditions. Kraut is the classic European salted cabbage, while kimchi is the spicy, pungent Korean staple. Both rely on the same basic principle: salt and time doing the work, with the natural bacteria in the vegetables creating that signature tangy flavour. It's a technique that's been used for centuries across the world, and the result is a preserve full of health-promoting nutrients and bacteria. You'll make both during the class, and you take your ferments home with you to let them continue developing.

It's not just about the making, either. The session includes tasters of fermented food and drink, so you get a sense of what you're aiming for before you've even started. Munro also has a selection of the Fermentarium's own products on sale there, if you want to pick up something ready-made to take home alongside what you've made yourself.

The class is at Edinburgh Fermentarium, which is based in Leith Pilates in Leith. One practical thing to keep in mind: there's no disabled access, as the studio is on the second floor. Tickets start at £55, and the session runs from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm on Saturday 24 October.