Wild Fermentation : The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods

Bread. Cheese. Wine. Beer. Coffee. Chocolate. Most people consume fermented foods and drinks every day. For thousands of years, humans have enjoyed the distinctive flavors and nutrition resulting from the transformative power of microscopic bacteria and fungi. Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods is the first cookbook to widely explore the culinary magic of fermentation."Fermentation has been an important journey of discovery for me," writes author Sandor Ellix Katz. "I invite you to join me along this effervescent path, well trodden for thousands of years yet largely forgotten in our time and place, bypassed by the superhighway of industrial food production." The flavours of fermentation are compelling and complex, quite literally alive. This book takes readers on a whirlwind trip through the wide world of fermentation, providing readers with basic and delicious recipes-some familiar, others exotic-that are easy to make at home. "Bread. Cheese. Wine. Beer. Coffee. Chocolate. Most people consume fermented foods and drinks every day. For thousands of years, humans have enjoyed the distinctive flavors and nutrition resulting from the transformative power of microscopic bacteria and fungi. Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods is the first cookbook to widely explore the culinary magic of fermentation. "Fermentation has been an important journey of discovery for me," writes author Sandor Ellix Katz. "I invite you to join me along this effervescent path, well trodden for thousands of years yet largely forgotten in our time and place, bypassed by the superhighway of industrial food production." The flavors of fermentation are compelling and complex, quite literally alive. This book takes readers on a whirlwind trip through the wide world of fermentation, providing readers with basic and delicious recipes-some familiar, others exotic-that are easy to make at home. The book covers vegetable ferments such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and sour pickles; bean ferments including miso, tempeh, dosas, and idli; dairy ferments including yogurt, kefir, and basic cheesemaking (as well as vegan alternatives); sourdough bread-making; other grain fermentations from Cherokee, African, Japanese, and Russian traditions; extremely simple wine- and beer-making (as well as cider-, mead-, and champagne-making) techniques; and vinegar-making. With nearly 100 recipes, this is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging fermentation cookbook ever published."--Amazon Cover Page 1 Praise for Wild Fermentation 2 Title Page 4 ISBN 1931498237 5 DEDICATED TO JON GREENBERG (1956-1993) 6 CONTENTS 8 LIST OF RECIPES 10 FOREWORD 12 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 14 Introduction. Cultural Context: The Making of a Fermentation Fetish 18 Chapter 1. Cultural Rehabilitation: The Health Benefits of Fermented Foods 22 Chapter 2. Cultural Theory: Human Beings and the Phenomenon of Fermentation 30 Chapter 3. Cultural Homogenization: Standardization, Uniformity, and Mass Production 37 Chapter 4. Cultural Manipulation: A Do-It-Yourself Guide 45 Chapter 5. Vegetable Ferments 55 Chapter 6. Bean Ferments 74 Chapter 7. Dairy Ferments (and Vegan Alternatives) 90 Chapter 8. Breads (and Pancakes) 109 Chapter 9. Fermented-Grain Porridges and Beverages 127 Chapter 10. Wines (Including Mead, Cider, and Ginger Beer) 141 Chapter 11. Beers 158 Chapter 12. Vinegars 169 Chapter 13. Cultural Reincarnation: Fermentation in the Cycles of Life, Soil Fertility, and Social Change 175 Appendix: Cultural Resources 184 Notes 186 Bibliography 192 INDEX 198 A 198 B 198 C 199 D 200 E 200 F 200 G 200 H 200 I 201 J 201 K 201 L 201 M 201 N 202 O 202 P 202 R 202 S 203 T 204 U 204 V 204 W 204 Y 204 Chelsea Green Publishing 205 Back Page 206 9781931498234 Bread. Cheese. Wine. Beer. Coffee. Chocolate. Most people consume fermented foods and drinks every day. For thousands of years, humans have enjoyed the distinctive flavors and nutrition resulting from the transformative power of microscopic bacteria and fungi. The flavors of fermentation are compelling and complex, quite literally alive. This book takes readers on a whirlwind trip through the wide world of fermentation, providing readers with basic and delicious recipes -- some familiar, others exotic -- that are easy to make at home. The book covers vegetable ferments such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and sour pickles; bean ferments including miso, tempeh, dosas, and idli; dairy ferments including yogurt, kefir, and basic cheesemaking (as well as vegan alternatives); sourdough bread-making; other grain fermentations from Cherokee, African, Japanese, and Russian traditions; extremely simple wine- and beer-making (as well as cider-, mead-, and champagne-making) techniques; and vinegar-making