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OPINION: Preserving our connection to food through learning fermentation

By Amber Benson
Nov 17, 2024, ABQ Journal

Fermentation is an ancient practice of preserving food and has recently gained renewed popularity. Increasing inflation, higher cost of food and a desire to reduce food waste has sparked many New Mexicans’ interest in home food preservation, specifically: fermentation.

If you enjoy beer, wine, sourdough or even hot sauce, you are amongst the many New Mexicans that celebrate this ancient method of preserving food.

A response to this increased interest is an innovative programming grant awarded to Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension through New Mexico State University. The grant provided funding for a 12-part educational series all about fermentation and is the first of its kind here in New Mexico. The classes are open to the public and topics include sourdough, sausage-making, cold-smoking and curing meats, kombucha, koji, mustard, miso and many more.

Fermentation can be an exciting and empowering skill that allows home cooks to create delicious ingredients and food products that add complex flavors to otherwise basic meals. Imagine adding a fermented green chile paste to braised roast or assembling a charcuterie board for your next party using a homemade peppercorn mustard and cold-smoked red chile sausage that you created yourself.

Home food preservation, and specifically fermentation, is a topic that many individuals are curious about but fearful that they may do it wrong. However, there are many resources available that provide scientifically tested recipes that help provide home cooks with trusted information that can help build confidence in one’s own kitchen.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation is a research-based organization that provides current and up-to-date information about how to safely preserve food at home. The NCHFP offers a website that houses many recipes and frequently asked questions, as well as a publication entitled “So Easy To Preserve,” which is in its sixth edition and features over 300 pages.

Following research-based methods of home food preservation is critical. Many food safety concerns arise when food is improperly preserved and can result in illness and even death. Earlier this year in California, 10 family members received medical treatment for botulism intoxication. Two of the sisters ended up in ICU after consuming home-preserved nopales, or cactus pads. This news story hits home as here in New Mexico, many residents enjoy the regionally celebrated food including the tunas, or fruits, of the popular Prickly Pear cactus.

Education around food safety is so important, not only for keeping our friends and families safe, but also for our greater community.

The 2021 New Mexico Homemade Food Act provides an opportunity for individuals to create small food businesses at home featuring lower-risk foods and sell those products to the public. Offering outreach and educational opportunities can empower community members and is key to building safer and more reliable local food systems. If New Mexicans have more information about how to safely preserve food, residents can have more confidence about what is available at our local growers’ markets and other community events.

Celebrating food as a community is important for strengthening our community. Besides hunting down locally roasted green chile, freshly milled blue corn flour or Estancia pinto beans each year, we have many opportunities to celebrate regional foods.

Here’s hoping you celebrate your favorite preserved foods at local events such as the Southwest Chocolate and Coffee Fest, Edible New Mexico’s Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown, Bernalillo County Bosque Chile Fest, New Mexico Prickly Pear Festival and the ABQ Fermentation and Fungi Fest.

Amber Benson is an assistant professor of family and consumer sciences at New Mexico State University.