About a decade ago, Cori Deans was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease—an auto-immune condition that left her chronically ill. After trying to combat it unsuccessfully with medications that led to even worse side effects, she determined that there had to be a better way.
Cori made the decision to completely change her diet, eliminating all sugar, processed foods, and anything that didn’t take its origins from the Earth. In particular, she upped her intake of probiotics, a powerful mixture of beneficial bacteria and yeast that are known to improve gut health.
And while she immediately noticed improvements, she also noted a real void of naturally fermented foods in the marketplace. She could never seem to find what she was looking for flavor-wise, that also provided the nutritional and health benefits she was seeking.
That’s when Cori started experimenting with ferments, using the seasonal and local bounty of her weekly CSA from Juniper Hill farm. The discovery that “if it grows together, it goes together” was especially inspirational when it came to developing flavors, from baby carrots brined with coriander, to a fizzy and spicy mashup of pickled radishes and jalapenos.
Since officially hitting the market in 2017, the woman-owned and family-run company continues to thrive in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. In fact, Cori was able to make Small Town Cultures her full-time pursuit after a mere month in business, thanks to a regional distributor stumbling upon her products in a local store.
Yet the maker is intent on maintaining her indie cred, overseeing a tiny team of eight in her commercial kitchen in Keene. They fulfill mountains of orders for popular items like Turmeric Kimchi, that increase immunity and benefit gut health, while really delivering on texture and taste. Small town, big ideas.