4. From ancient wisdom to future resilience

An early spring walk in the woods, right in my own surroundings, with the eyes of an explorer.

I’m not a chef, but I am curious.

I ask myself: how can old techniques like fermentation teach us something for the future?

It started with a vegetable box from Kleverland farm, just across the border in Germany: parsnips and potatoes. Together with my digital walking buddy ChatGPT, I started looking for wild herbs that could become part of the story. I found nettle, deadnettle, dandelion leaves and garlic mustard (that last one was new to me).

At home, I sliced the parsnips and potatoes. They went into a glass jar together with the herbs, some bay leaves and a few crushed juniper berries. I made a brine with lukewarm water, poured it over the contents and weighed it down with stones. And now? Now it happens by itself. Or not. Fermentation is mostly about: waiting. Trust. Watching what time does.

Old knowledge for new times

What we used to do, we can use again today. Fermentation helps preserve food without a fridge or waste. It gives something back: a sense of self-reliance, rhythm, simplicity.

In a time when the Earth creaks and groans, that might be more important than ever.

Without change, we keep repeating the story in which we take more than we give — while this might be exactly the time to take small steps toward greater balance.

Time as an ingredient

Perhaps time is the most important ingredient of all.

In this blog, I travel a little through time:

• Past: forgotten techniques, seasonal rhythm

• Present: my own kitchen, experimenting and trying

• Future: what can we learn, what do we want to carry forward?

And it starts simply. Along a path. In a kitchen cupboard.

You don’t need to be an expert to try something old in a new way. Just a bit of curiosity. And an openness to what might emerge.

What about you?

Maybe there’s something edible waiting near you too. A root. A leaf. An idea.

Next time, I’ll share what happened in my fermentation jar. And I’ll continue exploring how old food techniques can help us look to the future with hope.

Martine Legtenberg M.A. – Experience Design

Connecting food, time and future through stories that leave you wanting more.