<\/p>\n
When it comes to the regional delicacies of Southwest Colorado, sauerkraut isn\u2019t the first thing to come to mind. Given enough time, however, Love Krauts, a Mancos-based company, may challenge that notion.<\/p>\n
A one-woman show created and run by Lizzie Gregory, Love Krauts produces a variety of organic krauts as well as jun, a fermented drink similar to kombucha but produced by bacteria feeding on honey and green tea instead of sugar and black tea.<\/p>\n
Love Krauts came into existence in August 2016 as a result of Gregory\u2019s love of fermented vegetables.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been fermenting vegetables and tea and that kind of thing for quite a few years \u2026 and I had a friend that just suggested \u2018I\u2019d be interested in somebody making me a box of fermented vegetables,\u2019\u201d Gregory said. \u201cI called her up a week later and said \u2018Well, I think I\u2019d like to do that for you.\u2019 So I started doing that for a few friends and recipe testing and figuring out what people like and what went over well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since then, Gregory\u2019s project has grown into a business that sells krauts wholesale to grocers like Durango Natural Foods and Nature\u2019s Oasis. Love Krauts\u2019 jun and ginger beer can be found at the Living Tree salad bar in Durango.<\/p>\n
One of the details that differentiates Love Krauts from other krauts on the shelves is the source of the ingredients.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really interested in preserving local vegetables and supporting local food,\u201d Gregory said.<\/p>\n
A major goal of her business was to source foods from this area and employ traditional techniques for preserving them. As such, availability of ingredients and seasonality tend to determine what krauts she ferments.<\/p>\n
Gregory\u2019s Jalape\u00f1o and Apple Kraut, for instance, includes kohlrabi from Mountain Roots Produce and garlic from Banga\u2019s Farm in Mancos, apples from Clearwater Farm in Hesperus, jalape\u00f1os from the Old Fort and salt from Utah.<\/p>\n
If something isn\u2019t available in the area, Gregory occasionally sources specific ingredients from distant areas, such as cranberries from Massachusetts or seaweed from Maine.<\/p>\n
Once she has ingredients in hand, the fermentation of kraut and beverages is largely a waiting game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s introducing a little bacteria and letting it sit and do its thing,\u201d Gregory said.<\/p>\n
Her krauts take about six weeks to make; jun, ginger beer and root beer take three to five days.<\/p>\n
As with many members of the local and living food movements, Gregory is concerned with the nutritional benefits of her products, including enzymes that aid in digestion and helpful vitamins. But she considers the healthfulness of her krauts secondary to their flavor.<\/p>\n
In addition to supporting local food and spreading awareness, the point of Love Krauts is to offer something that tastes good, Gregory said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalking about health is a really important thing, but if people just want to eat the stuff, then you\u2019ve got two reasons to eat it,\u201d she said \u201cIt\u2019s not meant to be a supplement. It\u2019s meant to be \u2018I\u2019ve got to have this with my sandwich.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Her products are somewhat milder in smell and sour taste than traditional sauerkrauts.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy intention was to make them accessible to someone who isn\u2019t familiar with the taste of fermented vegetables,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The products also include suggestions about how best to serve them as condiments, Gregory said, so they don\u2019t \u201csit in the fridge forever.\u201d<\/p>\n