Foreword
by Michael Pollan xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xvii
Chapter 1 Fermentation as a Coevolutionary Force 1
Bacteria: Our Ancestors and Coevolutionary Partners 1
Fermentation and Culture 6
Fermentation and Coevolution 10
Fermentation as a Natural Phenomenon 12
The War on Bacteria........13
Cultivating a Biophilic Consciousness 14
Chapter 2 Practical Benefits of Fermentation 17
The Preservation Benefits of Fermentation, and Their Limits 18
The Health Benefits of Fermented Foods 21
Fermentation as a Strategy for Energy Efficiency 32
The Extraordinary Flavors of Fermentation 33
Chapter 3 Basic Concepts and Equipment 37
Substrates and Microbial Communities 37
Wild Fermentation Versus Culturing 38
Selective Environments 39
Community Evolution and Succession 41
Cleanliness and Sterilization 41
Cross-Contamination 43
Water 44
Salt 44
Darkness and Sunlight 46
Fermentation Vessels 47
Jar Method 48
Crock Method 49
Crock Lids 51
Different Crock Designs 52
Metal Vessels 53
Plastic Vessels 53
Wooden Vessels 54
Canoa 55
Gourds and Other Fruits as Fermentation Vessels 55
Baskets 56
Pit Fermentation 56
Pickle Presses 58
Vegetable Shredding Devices 58
Pounding Tools 59
Alcohol-Making Vessels and Air Locks 59
Siphons and Racking 60
Bottles and Bottling 61
Hydrometers 63
Thermometers 63
Cider and Grape Presses 63
Grain mills 64
Steamers 64
Incubation Chambers 64
Curing Chambers 66
Temperature Controllers 66
Masking Tape and Markers 67
Chapter 4 Fermenting Sugars into Alcohol: Meads, Wines, and Ciders 69
Yeast 71
Simple Mead 72
Botanical Enhancements to Mead: T'ej and Baälche 74
Fruit and Flower Meads 76
Simple and Short Versus Dry and Aged 77
Continuous Starter Method 79
Herbal Elixir Meads 79
Wine from Grapes 82
Cider and Perry 84
Sugar-Based Country Wines 86
Alcoholic Beverages from Other Concentrated Sweeteners 87
Fermented Fruit Salads 88
Plant Sap Ferments 88
Carbonating Alcoholic Beverages 91
Mixed Source Legacy 92
Troubleshooting 92
Chapter 5 Fermenting Vegetables (and Some Fruits Too) 95
Lactic Acid Bacteria 96
Vitamin C and Fermented Vegetables 97
Kraut-Chi Basics 97
Chop 98
Salt: Dry-Salting Versus Brining 99
Pounding or Squeezing Vegetables (or Soaking in a Brine) 100
Pack 101
How Long to Ferment? 102
Surface Molds and Yeasts 103
Which Vegetables Can Be Fermented? 105
Spicing 109
Sauerkraut 110
Kimchi 112
Chinese Pickling 114
Indian Pickling 116
Fermenting Hot Sauce, Relishes, Salsas, Chutneys, and Other Condiments 117
Himalayan Gundruk and Sinki 118
Considerations for Salt-Free Vegetable Ferments 118
Brining 120
Sour Pickles 123
Brining Mushrooms 125
Brining Olives 126
Dilly Beans 127
Lactic Acid Fermentations of Fruit 128
Kawal 131
Adding Starters to Vegetable Ferments 132
Liquid Forms of Vegetable Ferments: Beet and Lettuce Kvass, Cultured Cabbage Juice, Kaanji, and Salgam Suyu 135
Tsukemono: Japanese Pickling Styles 137
Cooking with Fermented Vegetables 142
Laphet (Fermented Tea Leaves) 142
Troubleshooting 142
Chapter 6 Fermenting Sour Tonic Beverages 147
Carbonation 148
Ginger Beer with Ginger Bug 150
Kvass 151
Tepache and Aluá 153
Mabi/Mauby 154
Water Kefir (aka Tibicos) 155
Whey as a Starter 160
Roots Beer 161
Pru 162
Sweet Potato Fly 163
Inventive Soda Flavors 164
Smreka 165
Noni 166
Kombucha: Panacea or Peril? 167
Making Kombucha 169
Kombucha Candy: Nata 174
Jun 175
Vinegar 175
Shrub 177
Troubleshooting 177
Chapter 7 Fermenting Milk 181
Raw Milk: Microbiology and Politics 183
Simple Clabbering 185
Yogurt 186
Kefir 192
Viili 196
Other Milk Cultures 197
Plant Origins of Milk Cultures 199
Crème Fraîche, Butter, and Buttermilk 200
Whey 201
Cheese 202
Factory Versus Farmstead Cheesemaking 205
Non-Dairy Milks, Yogurts, and Cheeses 207
Troubleshooting 208
Chapter 8 Fermenting Grains and Starchy Tubers 211
Engrained Patterns 212
Soaking Grains 218
Sprouting 219
Rejuvelac 220
Porridges 220
Fermenting Oatmeal 221
Grits/Polenta 221
Atole Agrio 223
Millet Porridge 224
Sorghum Porridge 224
Rice Congeep 225
Old Bread Porridge 225
Potato Porridge 225
Poi 226
Cassava 227
SouthAmerican Cassava Breads 229
Fermenting Potatoes 230
Sourdough: Starting One and Maintaining It 231
Flatbreads/Pancakes 236
Sourdough Bread 237
Sour Rye Porridge Soup (Zur) 238
Sierra Rice 240
Hoppers/Appam 241
Kishk and Keckek el Fouqara 243
Fermenting Grains with Other Kinds of Foods 244
Fermenting Leftover Grains (and Starchy Tubers) 244
Troubleshooting 244
Chapter 9 Fermenting Beers and Other Grain-Based Alcoholic Beverages 247
Wild Yeast Beers 248
Tesgüino 250
Sorghum Beer 253
Merissa (Sudanese Toasted Sorghum Beer) 256
Asian Rice Brews 261
Basic Rice Beer 262
Sweet Potato Makgeolli 264
Millet Tongba 265
Saké 266
Malting Barley 268
Simple Opaque Barley Beer 270
Cassava and Potato Beers 271
Beyond Hops: Beers with Other Herbs and Botanical Additives 273
Distillation 275
Chapter 10 Growing Mold Cultures 279
Incubation Chambers for Growing Molds 281
Making Tempeh 284
Cooking with Tempeh 290
Propagating Tempeh Spores 291
Making Koji 296
Amazaké 299
Plant Sources of Mold Cultures 301
Troubleshooting 305
Chapater 11 Fermenting Beans, Seeds, and Nuts 309
Cultured Seed and/or Nut Cheeses, Pâtés, and Milks 310
Acorns 310
Coconut Oil 311
Cacao, Coffee, and Vanilla Fermentation 312
Spontaneous Fermentation of Beans 313
Idli/Dosa|Dhokla\Khaman 314
Aearajé (Afro-Brazilian Fritters of Fermented Black-Eyed Peas) 315
Soybeans 319
Miso 318
Using Miso 323
Soy Sauce 325
Fermented Soy "Nuggets": Hamanatto and Douchi 327
Natto 328
Dawadawa and Related West African Fermented Seed Condiments 331
Fermenting Tofu 333
Troubleshooting 335
Chapter 12 Fermenting Meat, Fish, and Eggs 337
Drying, Salting, Smoking, and Curing 339
Dry-Curing Basics 341
Brining: Corned Beef and Tongue 344
Dry-Cured Sausages 345
Fish Sauce 352
Pickled Fish 354
Fermenting Fish with Grains 355
Filipino Burong Isda and Balao-Balao 356
Japanese Nare Zushi 358
Fermenting Fish and Meat in Whey, Sauerkraut, and Kimchi 359
Fermenting Eggs 361
Cod Liver Oil 362
Burying Fish and Meat 363
High Meat 366
Meat and Fish Ethics 367
Chapter13 Considerations for Commercial Enterprises 369
Consistency 370
First Steps 373
Scaling Up 375
Codes, Regulations, and Licensing 378
Different Business Models: Farm-Based Operations, Diversification, and Specialization 383
Chapter14 Non-Food Applications of Fermentation 387
Agriculture 387
Bioremediation 396
Waste Management 398
Disposal of Human Bodies 401
Fiber and Building Arts 401
Energy Production 407
Medicinal Applications of Fermentation 409
Fermentation for Skin Care and Aromatherapy 411
Fermentation Art 412
Epilogue: A Cultural Revivalist Manifesto 415
Resources 419
Glossary 435
A Note on References 439
Books Cited 443
Endnotes 451
Index 481