The Portland Fermentation Festival, affectionately known as the “Stink Festival,” brings together hundreds of people to celebrate foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut and pickles. Now in its 14th year, the event also offers an unusual lens on the growing popularity of fermented foods among the MAHA movement and Donald Trump’s cabinet, even if the festival crowd and the “MAHA Steak and Ferment” audience do not naturally overlap.
I woke up early, put a small jar of sauerkraut in my messenger bag, hopped on my bike, rode to Seattle’s King Street Station and caught the train to Seattle. I was headed to the Portland Fermentation Festival, an annual gathering affectionately nicknamed the “Stink Festival.”
Fermentation finds an unexpected audience
The existence of festivals like this is usually enough to bring people together to discuss their favorite fermented foods. But fermented foods are also gaining popularity among another demographic. The MAHA movement—particularly Donald Trump’s cabinet—has embraced fermented foods alongside a diet centered on meat, often steak, at every meal.
I was in Portland, Oregon, wondering whether there might be some overlap between festivalgoers and the MAHA Steak and Ferment crowd. When I mentioned the idea to my cousin-in-law Eric, who has been involved in Portland’s food scene for years, he laughed out loud.
“It’s going to be more like a bent dumbbell,” he said, making a circle with his thumb and forefinger and drawing a line in the air between them. “There is no overlap, but food is the bridge.”
Still, I was curious. I decided to check it out.
Inside the Portland Fermentation Festival
The festival is much what anyone interested in fermentation would expect. Just inside the main door, beside the check-in desk, was a bacterial petting zoo—a feature common at events like this—as well as tables where attendees could bring their own ferments to share.
Exhibitors lined the walls of the main room. Each had paid a total of $25 for a table and was handing out free samples of fermented foods.
The space filled quickly, with hundreds of people streaming through during the evening. Lines formed in front of individual exhibitors, while a more organic, continuous flow carried visitors clockwise from one table to the next. The crowd became noticeably more excited and happy.
A child walked around with a tray of homemade pickle spins for people to try. After 20 or 30 minutes, the mascot Dillon T. Pickle gasped all at once. The Portland Pickles, a West Coast League baseball team, walked into the room. At one point, a large baby happily crawled across most of the main floor without hindrance.
A 14-year Portland tradition
At the center of the festival was co-organizer, journalist and cookbook author Liz Crane. She explained that the festival, now in its 14th year, was started in 2009 by friends who loved fermentation.
A small company called Pickleopolis and members of a club called The Kraut Collective launched the Portland tradition with help from author and fermentation advocate Sandor Katz.
Source: www.wired.com