Food fermentation is far from new. Man drinks wine, for example, 8,000 years ago. However, few people realize all the potential that this biochemical process can offer. Bread, beer, kefir, mustard and kimchi are some of the products obtained using this technique.
What is new is that, now, two houses in São Paulo are exploring this territory: Trilha Fermentaria, in Barra Funda, and Fermentaria Jandira, in Butantã, both in the west zone of the city.
“Fermentation is a biochemical process that involves yeast and bacteria. The result is products with much more interesting flavors, such as the alcohol in the drink, fermented milk, teas or pasta”, explains Beto Tempel, partner at Trilha, an artisanal brewery with more than 300 creations and house in Pompeia, also in the west zone of the city.
The space for the Trilha brewery is located in a shed used to store the wooden barrels in which the brewery ages some special labels. From there, 250 square meters were set aside to house the new bar, opened two weeks ago.
The menu features starters, pizzas, sandwiches and desserts – always with a fermented item. “The fermentation plant was born from a mixture of experiences. It goes beyond the obvious. What we are doing is nothing new, but it was interesting for Trilha to follow this path”, says Tempel.
It is worth trying the portion of portobello and paris mushrooms served with fermented chickpea miso, vinaigrette and barley popcorn, priced at R$ 26. Another tip is the lamb sandwich, with house bread and lamb marinated in beer accompanied by harissa honey, a pepper paste, for R$32.
“All breads and pizzas have malt in the recipe and beer yeast to give the dough a stronger personality”, says Tempel. Among the pizzas are the zucchini with boursin cheese, for R$58, or the tuna belly confit in olive oil, black olives and red onion pickles, for R$45.
To accompany, 18 taps of beer are available to the public, in addition to a menu with exclusive options of beers aged on site, for prices starting at R$ 15 (a 350 ml glass). “We are in partnership with Vivente for a list of natural wines, in addition to a collaborative cider.”
Jandira, opened a year ago in Butantã, was also born from the production of craft beers, sold at a bar and events. “The partners wanted to make bread and other fermented ingredients. When I joined the group, in 2021, the pandemic let us work just for . As soon as it eased up, we opened with the day to day operation”, says Vinícius Rioli.
The authorial menu, with sandwiches, salads, snacks and drinks, uses only ingredients with low industrialization – refined sugar, for example, does not enter the kitchen.
Over there, a suggestion is the portion Mercearia Jandira, priced at R$64, which comes with kimchi, curd, sunomomo (Japanese cucumber salad), olives, crazy meat, roasted tomatoes and house breads. Among the sandwiches, the ribs stand out, made on brioche bread with dry curd and leaves, accompanied by kimchi and potato chips, for R$32.
“We created a ketchup made from kimchi, kimchichup, as well as mustard with fermented grains, following the logic of not using industrialized products”, says Rioli.
To drink, in addition to the creations of the partners, there are other brands of unpasteurized beers. The wine list, signed by sommelière Andréia Vilas Boas, has 15 labels, most of which are low-intervention and organic.
But focus your attention on the cocktail shop. The Jandira Fitz, for R$25, combines homemade cachaça, lemon, rapadura syrup and sparkling water. The fermented Negroni, priced at R$33, is a mix of kombucha, gin, vermouth and Campari.
Fermentaria Jandira
R. Antônio Mariani, 250, Butantã, west region, tel. (11) 98593-0034. Instagram @fermentariajandira
Fermentary trail
R. Cônego Vicente Miguel Marino, 390, Barra Funda, west region, tel. (11) 2533-6002. trailcervejaria.com.br
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