GRADUAL ADAPTION . . . 

can be a lot more successful than abrupt adaptation . . .

Happy New Year, everyone. In our first mailing of 2018, we'll be sharing the last in Gina's series documenting 'American food' across the country. 

This week's subject of gradual adaptation hits home for us. We find that the end of the year, and the promise to start fresh, tricks us into thinking we can always start out with a BANG. That, like magic, everything will be different (read: better). 

But we've crossed too many a New Year's threshold not to realize that this year, like last, all we want to do on January first is hibernate and rest. This allows us to slowly unfold all of the new plans we have in store, just like the living things around us are preparing to unfold toward Spring, many of them invisible, seemingly dormant, or deceivingly still. This plan feels much more balanced to us than feeling disappointed when an eagerly anticipated overnight change does not come to fruition. 

Speaking of changes, we have a newsletter redesign in the works for the beginning of this year, as well as a few other exciting ideas and changes, but we're taking Sandor's advice (see below for the full story) and spending the winter gradually adapting Good Food Jobs into the new version that better fits our vision of where we want it to be now. Stay tuned for the progress - we promise it will be slow and steady. 

For now, we'll curl up with Gina's last guest post. We thank her for these contributions over the last few weeks. We've really cherished these stories, and hope that you have, too.
 

On a sunny November day, Bjarke and I wound our way through Tennessee woods to reach the home of Sandor Katz. Walking into his kitchen was like entering an ode to fermentation—shelves are stacked high with crocks of kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, and more. When your gaze reaches the tippy top, you find a stained glass window depicting bacteria.

Sandor, a self-proclaimed fermentation revivalist, is working to preserve the traditions of fermented foods. He spreads the lessons through workshops, his website, and beautiful books, including The Art of Fermentation. There’s more depth and intricacy to his work than I could ever convey here—I highly recommend exploring it yourself.

One of the fermentation traditions we discussed around Sandor’s kitchen island is that of kombucha, the deliciously fizzy tea-based beverage. Bjarke has been using cane sugar to feed bacteria in his own kombucha endeavors. When Sandor offered us sips of his own brew that utilizes honey for the job, Bjarke wondered—should he swap out all the cane sugar for honey in his next batch?

To this, Sandor replied, “Gradual adaptation can be a lot more successful than abrupt adaptation.” Instead of replacing 100% of the cane sugar with honey, try a combo of 75% cane sugar with 25% honey. If that batch turns out well, try more honey in the next generation.

Several weeks after our visit with Sandor, Bjarke and I were conducting our annual end-of-year review. Hunkered down in a gorgeous old house in the heart of Ohio’s farmland, we made long, idealized lists of all the things that would be different in 2018. All the new routines, rituals, and traditions we’d adapt.

As I stepped back to take stock of this mounting list, I remembered Sandor’s wise advice. Sure, he was referring to fermentation formulas, but as he reminds us through his work, fermentation can help us understand how to relate to the world.

You, too, may be setting out to make sweeping changes in the new year. If so, I invite you to ponder this question alongside me:

How can you gradually integrate the traditions, rituals, or routines you want to practice this new year?

To gradual adaptation,

Taylor + Dorothy + GINA*
Co-Founders, Good Food Jobs
Creator of American Heirloom Project + Maker of Heirloom Mail
 

* Gina Lorubbio, creator of American Heirloom Project and maker of Heirloom Mail, gets to the heart of the lessons we can learn from our food, and she shares them through words, art, and teaching. As this series about U.S. food traditions from her cross-country road trip comes to a close, continue to learn with her through weekly creative food inspiration in your inbox.