The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from Around the World Book

Foreword 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|DhoklaKhaman 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