Brewing, Fermentation & Food Preservation
From sauerkraut to salted fish, learn how people preserved food before fridges. Students explore fermentation, drying and salting, discovering how microbes transform flavour and nutrition.
Activities include making simple ferments and tasting preserved foods. Suitable for KS1–KS3, this workshop blends history, biology and practical food science, showing how age-old skills still shape our diets today.
Learning Objective
Children will learn traditional methods of food preservation and fermentation, understanding how fermentation transforms food and its role in survival and culture.
Curriculum Links
KS1 (Ages 5–7)
- Science: Observe changes in food; understand that food can go bad or change.
- PSHE: Learn about healthy food and hygiene.
- History: Discover how people preserved food in the past.
KS2 (Ages 7–11)
- Science: Understand microorganisms and their role in fermentation and decay.
- Design & Technology: Explore food preservation methods and their impact on food safety.
- History: Study traditional food preservation techniques across cultures.
KS3 (Ages 11–14)
- Science (Biology & Chemistry): Microbial activity, biochemical changes during fermentation, food safety.
- History: Evolution of food technologies.
- PSHE: Nutrition and food hygiene practices.