Bubble-icious

 For me salsa has always been a tricky purchase.  What I expect to buy – a jar filled with fresh, zesty, vegetable-studded sauce – I often do not get.  Instead I end up with countless containers of bland pureed tomatoes spiced with a splash of distilled vinegar, dash of onion powder and limp slivers of green bell pepper.  Forget about a jolt of flavor or even a hint of wholesomeness.  These condiments possess as much zing as a slice of plain, white bread.  

On the verge of chucking my salsa quest and all my Mexican recipes with it, I happened upon a jar of Zukay Live Foods hot salsa viva.  Brimming with chunks of raw tomatoes, serrano and green peppers, onions, cilantro and lime juice, it produced that hot and piquant kick that a bowl of tortilla chips or platter of fajitas deserve.  Loaded with live active cultures, the salsa gave me the added bonus of healthfulness.  Good tasting and good for me.  Needless to say, I was hooked.      

Launched in April 2008, Zukay Live Foods is the creation of Scott and Cathy Grzybek of Elverson, Penn.  The idea for their condiment company came two years earlier, though, and stemmed from a shared interest in fermenting foods.

“As a chemical engineer, I was intrigued by the process of transforming things using lacto-fermentation,” says Scott, who holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a Masters in Business Administration from Rice University in Houston, Tex.  

Lacto-fermentation uses lactobacilli to produce lactic acid, a natural preserving agent.  The lactic acid, in turn, hinders decay-promoting bacteria and, ultimately, preserves vegetables.  Lacto-fermentation is explored in depth in Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig’s Nourishing Traditions, the book that inspired Scott and Cathy to try their hands at fermenting produce.

“The fermentation process not only creates vitamins and antioxidants, it makes the existing vitamins and minerals in vegetables and the vegetables themselves easier to digest. It turns them into probiotics,” Scott says.

Found in foods such as yogurt or in dietary supplements, probiotics are commonly referred to as “good bacteria.”  According to the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, they are thought to help to maintain a well-balanced digestive system, stimulate the immune system and fight gastrointestinal upsets.     

With Fallon and Enig’s book as their guide, Scott and Cathy preserved everything from beets and carrots to cabbage and daikon, a large Asian radish.  Usually, when preserving produce, cooks will employ a mixture of salt, vinegar and sugar.  At Zukay Live Foods active enzymes do the job.  Raw apple cider vinegar is added only to maintain the Ph balance in their relishes, Scott says.

“Live active cultures protect against pathogens.  You won’t get mold and other pathogens when using them,” says Scott, who formerly worked in branding for Hormel, McCormick, and BC USA as well as on an organic farm in York, Penn.   .  

He adds, “People lived off fermented vegetables from November to April for centuries.  They didn’t realize that the live active cultures were keeping them healthy.  By adding live active cultures to our products, we take a habit that someone already has – using condiments – and make them healthy.”

Eventually, Scott and Cathy whipped out their food processor and in February 2007 branched out into their current line of condiments.  From the Grzybek’s test kitchen Zukay Live Foods’ mild and hot salsas, garlic dill relish, horseradish dill relish and ketchup were born.  

Zukay’s condiments ferment for roughly one week.  Opened, they remain fresh for 180 days.  If left unopened, they will last forever, Scott says.

Along with the products came the company’s name.  While visiting Scott’s college friend in Tokyo, Cathy and Scott sampled a plethora of “tsukemono” or pickled vegetables.  The Japanese served tsukemono at every meal, including breakfast, and used a variety of vegetables and techniques when preserving.

Back at home the Grzybeks recalled that “zukay” was the phonetic spelling of “tsuke.”  Thus, with a nod to the Japanese practice of consuming pickled vegetables, they dubbed the company “Zukay Live Foods.”

Company name and products in place, the duo began to try out their probiotic salsas and relishes on friends and family.  “Almost every family event that we had, we were taste testing,” says Cathy, an environmental consultant in Exton and the “salsa person” in the family.

The bubbliness of their condiments unnerved some.  “People don’t expect salsa to bubble,” Cathy says.

That burst of bubbles is an inevitable by-product of fermentation.  Want naturally preserved produce?  Then you’re bound to see a bit of effervescence.  Zukay tries to ferment their products as much as possible so that they don’t bubble as much, Scott explains.

“Often people would open the salsa, see the bubbles, think that it had spoiled and return it to the grocery store,” Scott says.

To eliminate this problem, Cathy’s brother created labels for the tops of every jar.  They read, “Hi.  There’s a whole lot of healthiness going on inside.  Due to our natural fermentation process, pressure and bubbling are normal.”  

This put a stop to the returned jars of salsa and relish.

To get the word out about Zukay Live Foods, Scott started doing weekend demonstrations at Whole Foods, Kimberton Whole Foods and other natural food stores.  “I set up a table and allowed people to taste test.  The reaction was ‘Wow!  This is the greatest idea,” Scott says.

Along with the tastings, Scott also offered cooking classes at Philadelphia’s Essene Market at 719 Fourth Street in Fabric Row.  There he shared how to ferment daikon, fruit preserves and cabbage, which turned into sauerkraut.  He also taught fermenting courses at Fork You! – Food with Philadelphia Charm, which can be found online at www.forkyou.tv.   

Zukay became a hit not only with consumers but also with culinary professionals.  At New York’s 2008 Fancy Food Show Zukay Live Ketchup received a 2008 “Outstanding New Product” Finalist Award from the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade.  At Boston’s Expo East in October 2008 the hot salsa ranked as one of the top five finalists in the “Most Innovative Products” category.

At present Zukay Live Foods distributes on the East and West Coasts.  There are plans, though, to move into markets in Georgia, North Carolina and Florida and to open a production facility in California.  Currently, the salsas, relishes and ketchup are made in Leola from produce acquired locally from the Leola Produce Auction.   

In Southeastern Pennsylvania the probiotic condiments can be found in a variety of natural and whole food stores.  Kimberton Whole Foods, Philadelphia’s Essene Market, Weaver’s Way in Mount Airy and Germantown, Nature’s Garden in Reading, Miller’s in Bird in Hand, Martindale’s in Springfield, Bunn in Southhampton and various Whole Foods all carry this brand.  The cost ranges from $4.49 to $5.59.  Cases can be ordered online at www.zukay.com or by calling 610-286-3077.

Looking back almost a year after launching Zukay Live Foods, Scott feels strongly about the key to the company’s success.  “We wouldn’t have been able to do this without the support of the natural food stores in our area,” he says.

“And our friends and family,” adds Cathy.