Unexpected Pairings: Cider & Kimchi

21+ event. Includes Museum admission

Inspired by the age-old practice of fermentation, try an unusual pairing made here on New York State farms: cider and kimchi.

While cultures around the world have relied on fermentation to prevent food from spoiling as far back as 6000 B.C., in the United States today the practice is rare. Join two New York State farmers, Melissa Madden, founder of Finger Lakes Cider House, and Madalyn Warren, owner of Kimchee Harvest, for a conversation about how they are reintroducing New Yorkers to this ancient craft. Cider expert Daniel Pucci, New York’s own “pommelier,” moderates as Madden and Warren share their products, cider made from fermented fruit and kimchi, a traditional Korean side dish, made from lacto-fermented seasonal vegetables like napa cabbage and Korean radishes.

This event takes place outside on the Museum’s Terrace and includes a tasting of a flight ciders from Finger Lakes Cider House and a serving of kimchi from Kimchee Harvest.

Part of our new series Unexpected Pairings, in which New York’s most adventurous brewers and distillers share their craft and pair their drinks with distinctive local bites. To view all of the programs in the series, click here.

About the Speakers:
Madalyn Warren is a farmer and an owner of East Branch Farms in upstate New York. In 2017, she and her sister began selling their homegrown and homemade kimchi under the name Kimchee Harvest. They sell at Kimchee Harvest local farmers markets, restaurants, and online.

Melissa Madden is the owner of Good Life Farm, home to Finger Lakes Cider House, a collaborative multi-cidery tasting room in Interlaken, NY.  Madden and Garett Miller purchased Good Life Farm in 2008; created their cider label, Kite & String, in 2013 with Miller’s brother; and opened the Finger Lakes Cider House in 2015.

Daniel Pucci (moderator), originally a sommelier selling wine for the likes of Eataly and Otto, in 2015 shifted his focus to cider in order to become a “pommelier.” He is the first cider director at Wassail, the former cider-focused bar and restaurant on the Lower East Side.