My guest Wardeh Harmon (also known as ‘Wardee’) is quite literally a living encyclopedia when it comes to traditional food preparation. For years she’s been sharing her hard-earned knowledge on her amazing website TraditionalCookingSchool.com.
If you haven’t checked out this resource yet, you won’t believe the wealth of easy-to-follow videos, cheat sheets, and perfectly crafted recipes Wardeh has taken the time to create. It’s truly the easiest-to-use resource I’ve found when it comes to learning the often forgotten art of fermenting, preserving, and culturing real foods.
I’m so thrilled to have her on the podcast today! Let’s dive in!
Wardeh Harmon, Real Food Expert
I’m not the only one who considers Wardeh Harmon an expert. She authored The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Fermenting Foods (see link in Resources Mentioned section below), a book I really could have used in the beginning of my real food journey. It’s the perfect non-intimidating introduction to this style of food preparation.
What’s more, she’s an expert in a cooking method you may not think of as traditional … pressure cooking in my favorite kitchen device, the Instant Pot! In this episode, Wardeh explains why this modern improvement on an age old method deserves a place in the real food world.
And the Instant Pot is not the only shortcut Wardeh offers. One of my favorite things about her recipes are her many “hacks” to make traditional food preparation fit a busy modern life: adding gelatin to yogurt, baking bread in the Instant Pot, and cutting out any unnecessary steps.
Her food philosophy really speaks to me: the fewest possible steps (and dishes) for the maximum nutrition!
In This Episode, You’ll Learn

the food allergy challenges Wardeh faced in her own family, and how traditional food preparation healed their intolerances
Wardeh’s 5 simple baby steps for converting to a real food pantry
what the terms ferment, culture, soak, and sprout mean
planning traditional foods by the season and how to make them last
bulk and batch-cooking tips that work for real life
Wardeh’s favorite kitchen staples (cheat sheet below!): the easiest traditional recipes that can provide the foundation of your family’s food plan
amazing probiotic benefits of traditionally prepared foods, especially sauerkraut (no more buying expensive probiotics!)
a one-stop formula for fermenting practically anything
how to make foolproof homemade cultured yogurt in less than 5 minutes (even using raw milk, which is usually tough)
how to adapt slow cooker recipes to the Instant Pot … with some awesome tips I didn’t know before!

So What Can You Ferment? Wardeh Harmon’s Top 10

Yogurt
Kefir
Bread
Sauerkraut
Apple Chutney
Salsa
Pickles
Relish
Ketchup
Kombucha

Wardeh’s biggest tip: