Succulent, the world behind preserves and ferments

The world behind canned goods

That's how I met Paulina García, one of the partners and co-founder of Suculenta, a project dedicated to preserving, fermenting, and distributing products made from ingredients they have access to in the city of Oaxaca.

Suculenta began 8 years ago when Paulina García and Daniel López made their first jar of strawberry jam. Everything was very new to them in terms of the world of preserves and ferments.

They started looking for jam recipes and decided to explore the local products that the city where they lived had to offer. And suddenly, they were no longer just making strawberry jam, but also jams from other types of fruit such as pink guava, mango, and raspberry.

The routine soon caught up with her, and she thought she needed to make something more than just jams, something that could be sold in jars, something that people could take home and even use for cooking at home.

From there, a boom was unleashed for Paulina and for Suculenta.

Paulina began researching ways to preserve food in jars and discovered a series of methods that have existed for many years. To preserve foods like jams, pickles, and sauces, they need to be vacuum-sealed in glass jars; in the case of preserves, they should be stored in cool, dry places at room temperature.

Preserves are a way to have food or ingredients stored for a long time and can even be stored without refrigeration.

When Paulina started in the world of preserves and fermentations, she realized that these are sustainable processes and that they align perfectly with Suculenta's philosophy. They are processes that can be done at home and are accessible to everyone.

Diversity of local aromas and flavors

The land of Oaxaca boasts a rich cultural and gastronomic diversity. It offers countless flavors, products, and local ingredients, from the majestic cacao and a wide variety of dried chilies to seasonal fruits, endemic plants, and edible mushrooms, to name just a few.

During mushroom season (August to November), the rains play a significant role, creating a very special atmosphere throughout the city. Mushrooms, sprouting from the earth, become the main attraction. For Paulina, this is one of her favorite times of year. During this season, mushroom hunters from different regions of Oaxaca dedicate themselves to searching for, harvesting, and bringing down various edible mushrooms from the forest.

Suculenta then takes on the task of preserving them in different products such as shiitake, mushroom or porcini pâté, dehydrated mushrooms, tomato sauce with mushrooms, shiitake ketchup-type sauce, and they also handle them fresh in their general store so that people can take them home and cook them as they like.

Over time, he discovered the infinite variety of flavors and products that can be made, preserved, and sold using this method. He realized that his preserved foods could be consumed in different ways, in different restaurants, in different kitchens, and offered as ingredients in various dishes.

The idea of creating preserved foods for different restaurants has led her to broaden her horizons. She began to wonder about those products that should never be missing from a dish, such as cheese and bread. This step led her to delve into the world of fermentation.

The art of fermentation

Paulina, redefining her processes and rediscovering the world of preserves, found a whole range of products that can also be made through fermentation. She was invited to a fermentation course which helped her gain a broader understanding of what could be done at Suculenta.

Fermentation has always been present in all natural processes; it happens spontaneously. Always.

Fermentation is the natural metabolic process of many microorganisms and bacteria found on our planet. These microorganisms are natural probiotics and prebiotics that are beneficial to the health of our gut microbiota.

One of the products Suculenta wanted to include in its repertoire was kimchi, a fermented dish made with vegetables, spices, and chili peppers, typical of Asia. It's usually made with napa cabbage and gochugaru, a Korean chili seasoning. And while Suculenta's recipe isn't the traditional one—they opted to replace napa cabbage with regular cabbage and guajillo chili peppers with the chili peppers—this makes it a product that aligns more closely with their philosophy of using local ingredients and not relying on imported goods. That's how they created their own Mexican kimchi.

One of Suculenta's missions is to create healthy products without adding artificial colors or preservatives. Just as fermented products benefit our bodies and gut flora, they also help us diversify how we preserve and consume our food.

Including even one fermented product in your daily diet promotes your intestinal health, which plays a very important role in our body and our immune system.

Every town, every country, every region has its own local products that make them unique. Fermentation, likewise, is a process that relies on the bacteria and microorganisms found in the environment of each place. Japan has a millennia-old culture closely intertwined with fermentation, primarily using koji mold, and producing a variety of products such as soy sauce, miso, and sake.

In Mexico, we have been drinking pulque for many years, a pre-Hispanic beverage created from the fermentation of the sap of the pulque agave, as well as beer and wine, and foods like sourdough bread, made from sourdough starter.

Suculenta is a sustainable project that listens to and draws inspiration from nature. Products are created using endemic and local ingredients from Oaxaca. The project aims to foster fair exchange among producers, suppliers, customers, and everyone involved in the culinary world. Suculenta is committed to ensuring fair prices for farmers and upholding the highest standards in the processes used to transform and preserve ingredients.