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Fermentation is an ancient method of food preservation that helps to extend the life of perishable foods like milk, fruit, vegetables, meat and also make certain foods edible and delicious. Most of us eat fermented foods daily. Think bread, yoghurt, cheese, coffee, olives and alcoholic drinks like beer and wine. The range of fermented foods across the globe is ridiculous, with some estimates reckoning upwards of 5000 different ferments. At the heart of every distinct type is the microcosm of bacteria, yeast, moulds and fungi that transform raw ingredients into tongue-tickling foods with vastly different textures and tastes.
Put simply, fermentation is the action of microbes breaking down compounds in food, creating by-products like acids, alcohol, short chain fatty acids and some vitamins.
Although lots of foods are made using fermentation because of other parts of their processing they don’t contain any live microbes when we eat them. This is where our fermented foods differ. We utilise microorganisms that are already present on the produce to craft our products. These little buggers live on much of the foods we eat daily, like fruit and veg. We just offer them a little nudge to grow to transform something ordinary into something new and exciting! And, happily, they then live in our sauerkrauts and kimchis meaning they're alive when we chuck them on our plates!
This is the #1 question we get asked from individuals who love our ferments but just aren't sure how to eat them. Our go-to answer is... with everything! We have a serving (approx. 1-2 tablespoons) on the side of literally whatever we're eating, whether that be a quick snack of cheese and crackers or a satisfying breakfast burrito.
Here's some more ideas for you though, use them as an:
Ok, this is a bit of a complicated one. The short answer is… probably? There is a lot of anecdotal information out there where individuals claim that fermented foods have healed their bodies in some way. But strong scientific studies are seriously lacking in this area. Some companies may claim that their product contains ‘probiotics’ or are ‘gut healthy’. But the fact of the matter is most of these products have not undergone a scientific study that confirms a cause-and-effect relationship or established that they contain probiotics (which are very specific microbes that have undergone extensive testing). Although the microbes in fermented foods like ours have been shown to be 'probiotic-like' the evidence isn't there to show they offer the same health benefits as established probiotics. One thing we do know is that fermented foods can be a healthy addition to an already varied diet. And, yes, for most of us they're likely to be benefical for our overall gut health, but they still can’t be called probiotics unless they have the evidence to back it up. Read more here.
Absolutely not. No. Never have been and never will be. This means they contain the living, beneficial microbes (primarily lactic acid bacteria) - that carried out fermentation for us - when we eat them.
First things first, don't worry! Bubbling and even a bit of juice leaking out the jar or tub is perfectly normal and doesn't mean there's anything wrong with your ferment. What it does mean is that it has got a bit active and started to ferment again; this won't do anything to make it unsafe but it might change the tastes, textures and colours slightly. We recommend giving the outside a quick clean and popping it back in the fridge.
Bubbling in your jar or tub of sauerkraut or kimchi is due to the production of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas as a result of fermentation by lactic acid bacteria. During different stages of fermentation the naturally occurring bacteria produce a variety of different compounds. During the first couple of weeks of fermentation, the microbes that dominate are called heterofermentative microbes. These bacteria produce a number of different compounds including lactic acid and CO2. As fermentation is allowed to progress, these bacteria die off due to acid levels rising and pave the way for more homofermentative microbes which predominately produce lactic acid. This process is known as bacterial succession, where bacterial species are replaced with others due to the changing environment. So the lack of bubbling in your ferment is merely a lack of CO2 production and means that the fermentation process has completed.
We have an online shop so you can get your hands on us from all over the UK. You’ll also find us out and about at markets in South East Wales and over the border in Bristol and beyond, so come say hi! We are stocked in restaurants, cafés, farm shops and zero waste shops around the UK. If you're a business looking to stock our awesome products check out our wholesale page. Also if you want to stalk our pretty faces and stay up to date, follow us on social media. We try to be as active as possible, while still maintaining some sort of life of course. Here's our Instagram & Facebook accounts.
We post out orders once a week on a Wednesday. Depending on delivery location, orders arrive typically next day but up to 3 days in certain regions (Scottish Highlands, Northern Ireland and Islands). Don't worry, all orders are packed with ice packs and should stay cool enough on their journey.
We charge a flat rate of £7.99 on all orders.
We don't make any money on our shipping. In fact, we share the cost of shipping and materials with our customers and often lose money on each shipment. Please understand that shipping services are expensive, particularly for the fast service that we have to utilise.
In the fridge please! Ideally between 1°C and 5°C for best quality. This temperature slows fermentation right down so that the high quality of the product when we jar it is maintained. Our ferments are safe to eat outside of the fridge. We've had them tested in a lab - look at us, fancy! - for up to 5 days at room temperatures and they've been totally safe to eat. We even take these bad boys camping with us from time to time. But, keeping them in the fridge will make sure they'll stay as intended - utterly delicious.
All of our packaging, whether that be our glass jars and lids or plastic tubs are fully recyclable. The labels are also paper and peelable so they can be removed and recycled. We also encourage you to reuse packaging. We use our plastic tubs to store ingredients in our kitchen and glass jars for everything from elastic bands to pens and have even decorated them as gifts with little tealights in *cute*.
Due to the nature of the products we sell we are unable to provide a refund or return for any undamaged product which you decide you no longer want. Products which arrive damaged (i.e. the product packaging itself is not intact) will be eligible for a full refund or replacement. To request this please email hello@thecraftypickle.co.uk with details of your order (name, order number etc) along with an attached picture(s) or the damaged item(s).
***Please note refunds or replacements will not be provided for products which have leaked during transit. This is normal for the products which we make and they are still safe to eat***
We produce our products with a purpose. We continually strive to use more and more surplus fruit and veg to craft our delicious ferments in order to make an impact. We also make our products using what’s referred to as ‘wild fermentation.’ This means we allow the naturally occurring microorganisms present on the raw produce to do the magic for us. We believe this produces a superior product with more complexity, depth of flavour and in the way nature intended.
We began life as a business in 2019 in the bright and sunny heart of Aberdeen, Scotland at CFINE headquarters, producing out of their teaching kitchen. However, when we found out we were expecting our first wee pickle we decided to move closer to family. So in 2021 we moved countries and are now based in Crick, Monmouthshire, close to Chepstow!
Ugh, we knew this would be something you'd call us out on...
Coming up with a name is challenging. It’s the same as coming up with a name for a child. It has to sound good, roll off the tongue and not rhyme with any obscene words! We must have discussed dozens of potential names prior to settling on our baby, The Crafty Pickle Co. According to the Cambridge dictionary the term ‘pickle’ means: vegetables or fruit that have been preserved in vinegar or salty solution. The original meaning of the word would have referred to fermentation, before preserving with vinegar kind of took over. So even though we don’t sell the more modern meaning of the word pickles, the name still describes the process in which we preserve our vegetables.
The idea for our logo came about after endless cups of coffee (and pints) and chats about how we wanted The Crafty Pickle Co. to be different. Different in the sense of our mission, our marketing and the transparency of our products. Some might say the image is a bit shocking and unappetising. But so is the endless amount of food that goes to waste each day and the amount of individuals that go to bed hungry each night. We strive to highlight the issue of food waste with our brand, while giving a percentage of our sales back to a cause we believe everyone should care about. As science advocates, we will never make unsubstantiated health claims in regards to our products. So why are you still sitting there and reading this? Go out there and try one of our ferments today!
As of early 2026 we've saved more than 5.5 tonnes of perfectly edible, surplus produce from being diverted to animal feed or from the bin. That's the equivalent of around 90,000 carrots! Now, this is only a tiny fraction of the amount of produce that we use in our sauerkrauts and kimchis. Connecting with when and where food is wasted is tricky, especially when we have quite tight windows that we can ferment in. But, we're always striving to increase how much we rescue and are committed to maintaining this mission!
Through our brand we highlight the huge problem with food waste we have here in the UK. One main way we do this is through our in-person workshops and online courses teaching the ancient skills of fermentation. Since a huge proportion of food is wasted at the household level this provides an important skill to reduce food being wasted at home. Fermentation is a fiercely effective way of preserving fresh produce making it last signifcantly longer than it would just sat in the fridge.
Since we began in 2019 we've made a quarterly donation to various FareShare charities (primarily in Scotland and Wales where our business has been based). FareShare helps redistribute surplus food to local communities who need it most, fighting the big problem with food insecurity we have in the UK. We donate between 1-2% of our turnover to support the incredible work they do. Since we donate a proportion of sales (not profit) you can be reassured that every jar you buy is helping make a difference!