Assessment of In-Home Fruit and Vegetable Fermentation Trends Among Consumers

Home food preservation of fruits and vegetables, including canning and fermentation, is an important aspect of food safety and consumer science Cooperative Extension System programming. The purpose of this study was to understand the prevalence of in-home fermentation of fruits and vegetables, the reference materials used by home fermenters, and the interest in expanding fermentation practices. These data were collected as part of a larger survey on fermented food consumption and preferences (n = 751). Nearly half of the total respondents indicated that they ferment fruits and vegetables at home (49.20%, n = 367). Commonly fermented commodities were cabbage, cucumbers, alliums (onion, garlic, etc.), carrots, peppers, and citrus. Individual (n = 367) responses to a list of 14 fruits and vegetables reflected interest in expanding fermentation to specialty crops. Although 25% of respondents reported using extension resources for recipes and processes (n = 89), nearly twice as many used books from authors popular in the fermented food community (46.32%, n = 170) or YouTube (38.69%, n = 142). These findings highlight the need for new extension resources for in-home fermentation, particularly for high-interest crops, including berries, peppers, and tomatoes. Using video content in extension programming could enhance the impact of fermented food education and lead to increases in preservation of specialty crops via fermentation.