A Food Revival Good for Body and Soul

Fermented fruits were used in alcoholic beverages thousands of years ago, and fermented vegetables, such as cabbage and turnips, were known in Roman times. Thus, when Kaylyn and Padraic Keane began to produce hand-made batches of fermented cabbage and other veggies in 2015, they called their business Lost Art Cultured Foods. And, in just three years, these fermented foods have come into their own.

Kaylyn (a native Rhode Islander) and Padraic (from Ireland) had been living in Australia, and she began experimenting with fermentation to preserve their summer harvest. It turns out that fermented foods also have natural probiotics.

She and Padraic (who also own Boru BBQ and Catering) hand-make each jar in their Cranston facility, with five flavors: caraway and cabbage was the first; then beet-kraut; then kraut-chi with Indian spices—their best seller; chipotle kraut—not as spicy as kimchi but with ground chipotle, cinnamon and bay leaf; and their high harvest seasonal flavor: fennel and cabbage. Most all of their vegetables are organic, contracted from New England farms.

“It’s fun to see our customers [at farmers markets] try something out of their comfort zone,” Kaylyn notes, “and then become regular customers.”

She suggests using Lost Art products on sandwiches, salads or rice bowls; with eggs; or atop fish or meats. Thus, you could get a healthy jolt at any or all of your meals!

For a list of retail stores and farmers markets around the state with their products for sale, visit LostArtCulturedFoods.com