Salt, Fire, and Time is a small grocery and kitchen classroom dedicated to all things old world and delicious, so it’s fitting that the operation is set up in a purple Victorian home in Northwest Portland. From this charming spot, owner/instructor Tressa Yellig makes organic, long-simmered prepared foods that nourish the body—think stews, bone broths, organic beef jerky, lemon curd, and even rendered lard from biodynamically raised pigs. The small store also sells Yellig’s line of gut-friendly fermented foods like kvass (a whey-fermented beet beverage), crème fraîche, kim chi, and jugs of flavored kombuchas. In addition to the prepared items, Yellig also sells locally grown ingredients, everything from the hazelnut oil to the organic milk and free-range eggs with yolks the color of the setting sun come from less than 100 miles away. Through classes on hot topics like canning and cooking for cancer patients and gourmet community dinners, SFT is spreading the word about the health benefits of local, organic foods. Event prices are intentionally kept low so that education and good food can be accessible to the whole community.
