Guest Blogger: Organic Chassidic – Brassica and Brine’s Uri Laio
Jan 16th, 2013 | By EstherThis week at Aish Center, we’re celebrating Jewcology week! In the lead-up to our Downtown Jewcology Shabbat dinner (this week!), and the holiday of Tu B’Shevat, we want to take time to learn about, celebrate and actualize positive and sustainable environmental practices. We’re lucky to have some really awesome people guest blogging for us this week, to tell us about the wonderful and important work they do.
Without further ado, our second guest blogger…
Uri Laio shows off his wares.
Hi, I’m Uri Laio, owner and operator of Brassica and Brine. I make food with lots of bacteria in it (otherwise known as fermented food). Why? Because we can’t live without symbiotic bacteria (for every human cell in our body, we have about 10 beneficial bacterial cells) and one of the best ways to get more of these bacteria is through food.
My company is based in Los Angeles, CA. Some of our bacteria-rich products include kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, and dill pickles. All of our ingredients are organic, and all of our produce is grown locally in California. We do not use vinegar in our products—rather, we use an Old World method called lacto-fermentation. It is a living process where those aforementioned beneficial bacteria create their own “vinegar”, called lactic acid.
I fell in love with fermentation while participating in the Adamah Jewish Environmental Fellowship in 2008. Traditional fermented foods have a living, bright flavor which I had never tasted before, and which vinegar can’t replicate. I also experienced noticeable sudden health benefits from eating those foods, including benefits to my digestive and immune systems. I wanted to share these flavorful and healing foods with the world, and so Brassica and Brine was born.
As a Jew, and especially as a Lubavitcher chossid, I am especially proud of the foods I make. I know that I’m using fair and sustainable business practices and creating healing foods that are improving lives.
Thank you, Uri! Register for the Jewcology Shabbat Dinner here.
