Starter Sisters

Last Sunday, we got to introduce some sweet possibilities with fermentation at Good Food Sundays with our workshop, “Fermented Sweet Treats.” From the importance of taro as a Filipino survival crop to its relevance to other cultures, including its transformation into poi, we shared how microbes and time can turn the humble root crop into something even more nourishing and delicious.

Together, we used poi and cultured cashew cream to make a creamy and tangy cake (our vegan version of a cheesecake), and siddu, a fermented steamed bread commonly eaten in the mountainous areas of northern India that Mabi learned to make in her recent visit to the country. It was a morning spent reimagining dessert through different food cultures and fermentation. We’re grateful to everyone who joined us and made it such a warm, curious, and generous space.

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Feeling nostalgia for some siddu, the steamed fermented wheat bun from Himachal Pradesh that I learned from (photo is from my Delhi trip last year).

I got to share my version with friends, this time filled with fermented taro, ginger, coconut jam and cardamom. So good! - Mabi

Join us this weekend and learn to make this yummy (and very portable) snack in our workshop at .

Check out our Stories for details or visit https://tinyurl.com/39n38vfj to register!

Love desserts? Then don’t miss this one. This month we’re stepping away from the savory and diving into fermentation’s sweet side — and spots are limited. Across many cultures, grains, root crops and nuts have long been fermented to create comforting desserts enjoyed with coffee or tea, and now you can learn how to make them yourself.

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to make a dessert pie with fermented taro (a Hawaiian staple), blended with cultured cashew cream. We’ll also prepare siddu, a traditional fermented steamed bread from Himachal Pradesh in India, which Mabi learned from renowned fermentation teacher Anita Tikoo in Delhi last year — this time filled with sweet red bean paste for a delicious Pinoy twist.

Spots are filling quickly. Register here: https://www.goodfoodcommunity.com/products/fermentnation-fermented-sweet-treats

Fermentation and food sovereignty? These are not alien or separate from each other.

Our workshop on lacto-fermentation with activists working with farmers opened up a rich conversation on how this humble, time-tested technique supports the people's right to food, the need to protect traditional food cultures from cooptation and erasure by corporate food, and the need to defend public markets. In such spaces as households and palengkes we encounter many local fermented products deemed too wild or too funky or belittled as unsafe by a food system that wants homogeneity and standardization.

We talked of how fermentation is political, how as an archipelago surrounded by thousands of miles of coastal waters, 93% of our salt needs is filled by imported salt. Salt is a key ingredient in fernentation and the ASIN law has practically wiped out our local salt industry and decimated the small asinderos. We reminisced about the ferments we all grew up that are now no longer available or are hard to find, and the mothers and grandmothers who made them for us.

We were nonetheless excited by the fact that such a revolutionary technique of preserving food that supports small producers, provides nutritional benefits and promotes biodiversity is so easily available to everyone. There is a need to keep the practice of fermentation accessible, creative, wild, and not gatekeeped by a handful of so-called experts.

Thank you again for the invitation to share fermentation!

If your organization, community group, or collective would like to host a similar workshop on fermentation and food sovereignty, we’d love to collaborate. Feel free to reach out and start the conversation.

Desserts using ferments? You’re in for a treat! This month, we’re taking a break from the savory and exploring fermentation’s sweet possibilities. There’s a rich tradition of grains, root crops, and nuts being fermented in many cultures to create sweet treats to enjoy during the midday or to cap a meal with coffee or tea.

In this workshop, we will show you how to make a dessert pie using fermented taro (a staple in Hawaii), mixed with cultured cashew cream, and fruits. We will also make siddu, a fermented steamed bread from Himachal Pradesh in India, which Mabi learned from Anita Tikoo, a well-known fermentation teacher in Delhi last year. This time we’re using sweet red bean paste for a touch of Pinoy.

Seats are limited: https://www.goodfoodcommunity.com/products/fermentnation-fermented-sweet-treats

What's cooking?

Ferments in desserts!

Abangan!

Why settle for instant noodles when you can have something tastier AND more nutritious in just minutes? ⏳You see, wheat noodles tossed with soy-garlic chili oil and a spoonful of fermented mustard greens deliver that instant umami hit—with probiotics, texture, and heartiness included. Ready in under 3 minutes—no packets required! Try it out: https://startersisters.com/instant-noodles-alternative-wheat-noodles-with-fermented-mustard-greens/

Level up your Chinese New Year table 🧧✨ From slurp-worthy noodles to golden spring rolls and cooling drinks, our recipes infused with ferments are made for sharing and good energy all around.

Find them all at www.startersisters.com 🥰

Love is in the air… or maybe it’s just the smell of ferment. 😌 With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re thinking cold beers 🍻 and pulutan are a solid plan.

We don’t make beer, but we do make dishes that pair beautifully with it — all powered by ferments.

Comment ❤️ or 💔 and we’ll share them with you. Or find the link in our bio.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner — and whether you’re celebrating love, friendship, or self-care, beers 🍻 might be in order. While we don’t brew beer, we do have fermented dishes that make the perfect pulutan to pair with every sip.

Comment ❤️ or 💔 and we’ll send these your way.

It's ! Which fermented foods do you have at home right now?