Farmhouse Culture

PRODUCTS: Sauerkraut made with local vegetables

PEOPLE: Kathryn Lukas, her son Shane Peterson, and three part-time employees.

ABOUT: In March 2008, Kathryn started making raw cultured sauerkraut as a value-added item for a friend's CSA box out of the cabbage from their farm. Since then she has built a Santa Cruz-based business based on local igredients, a connection with the "slow" economy, and environmental stewardship. Kathryn sells the kraut in glass jars or biodegradable containers. She is driven by a desire to revive a "nearly lost food tradition" that "requires almost no fuel and, forkful for forkful, is some of the most nutrient dense food available."

By taking traditional recipes and plugging in local ingredients, Farmhouse Culture hopes to convey a serious commitment to regional food independence. She explains, "I think it's time California had its own kraut tradition and my flavor profiles are created in that spirit."

SOURCING: All of the vegetables (cabbage, onions, carrots, jalapeños, daikon) and fruit (apples) in the sauerkraut are local and organic. The only things not purchased directly from farmers are the caraway and fennel seeds. The salt (which she uses less of than your average kraut) comes from Sonoma County.