LOCALadk Magazine

34 Winter 2017 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk Cori Deans is the perfect ambassador to represent what is, in her words, "the awesomeness of living foods." She is at once optimistic and grounded, and a wellspring of knowl- edge for all things fermented. Her company, Small Town Cul- tures, was born of an amalgamation of her personal experi- ences, passions, research, and innovations. Her own health journey led her to believe that ever yone would benefit from consuming living foods daily, and Small Town Cultures lends Cori the platform to help educate the public about the versa- tility and possibilities that fermentation offers. A decade ago, Cori was chronically ill with Crohn's Disease. A laundr y list of medications and restrictions ensued, each with a myriad of side effects. Feeling like a captive of her di- agnosis, Cori made the decision to take a different approach to her wellness. After some extensive research, she devel- oped a two-part lifestyle overhaul, and this is what defines the way she chooses to live, work, and view her life today. Part one was to eliminate the negative feedback loop that stress can create in the body. Stress and GI health have an intricate and intimate relationship, and Cori's sys- tem had become severely imbalanced as a result. Cori slowly remapped her reactions, relationships, and decisions to support a lifestyle of balance and positivity. Part two of this lifestyle change was to focus on repopulating her gut with good bacteria. Cori's idea was that by inoculat- ing her GI with a variety of living, probi- otic-rich foods at least once a day, paired with eating a low-sugar, real-food diet, her intestines would have a chance to heal. The combination of reducing her stress and repopulat- ing her gut bacteria was over whelmingly successful, and it wasn't long before she was free of Crohn's symptom and off all medications. This is no small feat, considering there is no acknowledged medical cure for this disease. Cori now lives in Keene, NY with her fiancée, Shawn Red- ding, their year-and-a-half-old son, Liam, and their rescue dog EZ. "The Adirondack region has an inspiring local food move- ment with a wave of young farmers, producers, brewers, and chefs. With the advent of my health concerns I accidentally stumbled on a void in this food system. If you wanted locally fermented food, you had to do it yourself." Cori discloses. So, she began turning her weekly CSA share into many different fresh ferments, developing her own recipes and techniques. "If the farmers grow it, I'll ferment it!" she said. It was from this experimentation and innovation that Small Town Cultures arose. Working under the theor y that, "if it grows together, it goes together," Cori cre- ates recipes around seasonal ingredients. The farmers contact her directly with what they have in surplus, and Cori melds their veggies with the earthy flavors that wild- crafting supplies. Her products are as vibrant, thoughtful, wholesome, and delightfully quirky as Cori herself. She is truly an innovator in this de- veloping market, producing ferments that cannot be found elsewhere. Her offerings give bright new attitude to familiar flavors, elevating foods traditionally overlooked as side-dishes or condiments into the main Serving up Small Town Cultures By Jessica Wimmett Phot by Shawn Redding

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