The Brinery

The Brinery Design Project

When four Innovation Design Engineers from The Royal College of Art got together to work on their graduation project, a unique, game-changing product was born. The Brinery, developed by the team, is a home fermentation vessel that lets us explore the ‘forgotten’ process of fermentation. It is designed to encourage users to pickle vegetable scraps—from unused carrots to watermelon skins—rather than tossing it in the bin. But why push the envelope with fermentation? ‘While fermentation used to be a major preservation process in all existing societies, it has been increasingly ignored in the Western world since Pasteur discovered bacteria and our food system became more and more sanitised. However, probiotics that grow in fermented food are essential to our microbiome. We have been fascinated by this ancestral technique, both for its historical and cultural richness and for its benefits to health. It is a radically different way to contextualise flavours and our relationship to bacteria—opposing what the food industry generally advertises. The Brinery’s intent is to bring this beautiful process back into the household and reframe the narrative around it from being gross and DIY to beautiful and desirable.’

The concept was born as a rebellion against how we grow, process and consume food. The vessel is designed to make fermentation more straightforward and user-friendly, stripping all the myths that surround it. Chopped vegetables are placed inside the air-tight container along with salt and water, and the lid is replaced to kick start the process, that also keeps the veggies submerged in the brine. ‘Between fresh and rotten exists a creative space in which the most compelling of flavours arise,’ says Pratik Ghosh, one of the four from the team. Ahreum, Bassam, Marie and Pratik each bring to the table their nuanced understanding of different streams of design and engineering. Together, they are also designing a recipe book and a dining experience to break new-comers into the idea of fermentation. ‘In the three design experiences we propose, we want to beautify fermentation’s image, raise awareness of how important it is to consume live food, and empower the fermentation process.’

 

The Brinery Co-Founder

Pratik Ghosh

Co-Founder

The Brinery is being developed and user-tested at the moment and is slated to be manufactured in the next year. But at the heart of the project lies the power of food to bring people closer together. ‘We’re huge fans of Michael Pollan and he puts it more eloquently than we can—“The shared meal is no small thing. It is a foundation of family life, the place where our children learn the art of conversation and acquire the habits of civilisation: sharing, listening, taking turns, navigating differences, and arguing without offending.”


Text Ritupriya Basu