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Wild Fermentation: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Cultural Manipulation
A very literal guide, "A DIY Guide to Cultural Manipulation" is a great resource for learning to use the microbes around you. Wanna learn how to make your own sourdough? Miso? Injera (Ethiopian sourdough) bread?!!! It's in this handy dandy and super resourceful guide for fermenting in the comfort of your own home. Yummy home made sour cream! Buttermilk! Cheese and tempeh!!! Double and triple wow your friends and family with the helpful directions on how to ferment your own kimchi and other tasty, briny treats.
64 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2011
1 person is currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Sandor Ellix Katz
36 books258 followersMy name is Sandor Ellix Katz, and I am a fermentation revivalist.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 30, 2018
First of all, Goodreads has really jacked up the listing for this book. This is for the book, Wild Fermentation: A Do-it-Yourself Guide to Cutural Manipulation. ISBN 978-1-934620-17-5. It’s a 64 page booklet published by Microcosm Publishing, 2001. This listing is for this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1.... However, Goodreads shows “other editions” of this book as this one: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1.... Two completely different books, as the latter is an expanded version of this booklet. Additionally, if you go to Sandor Katz’s author page on GR, this booklet is not even listed, although the ebook version is listed separately.
So, for this booklet, many of the reviews below are actually for the second book above. It doesn’t help that Katz has two books with almost identical names, but really surprised GR hasn’t done a better job of separating the two, since GR is associated with Amazon, which is where I bought my copy. This is a good reason to always check the ISBN of whatever edition you’re reading, to ensure you’re reviewing the right book here.
So, on to the review. Katz is basically modern hippie who lives in a commune in Tennessee, becoming something of a cultural (ha, nice pun) warrior for the lost art of fermentation. His books, blog, and workshops have helped to revitalize an ancient form of preserving food which, while never lost, was becoming less and less prominent in the way we eat and prepare foods here in the United States. Covering everything from sourdough breads to kimchi to sauerkraut and cultured milk products, Katz lays out the very simple groundwork for producing these fermented delicacies in your own kitchen.
Fermented food contain many beneficial bacteria, or probiotics, that are essential to our health. These bacteria evolved along with us, becoming part of how our bodies regulate our health. Katz believes he is is a living example of this. He considers fermented food to be part of his health regimen in keeping himself healthy despite having AIDS. My own personal anecdote is that since I started fermenting cabbage into sauerkraut about a year and a half ago, and eating at least a quarter cup of it a day (or other cultured products like kimchi or yogurt - not the heavily sweetened, commercial shit, but the real stuff), I have not suffered from chronic sinus infections. I used to get them at least twice a year, but only had one very mild case in this time period that lasted a couple days versus weeks.
If you’re interested in fermenting foods for the first time, this is a handy booklet, easy to read and follow directions. Katz has a blog, and another fine blog to follow is http://fermentationrecipes.com/ which has a couple of recipes I use often, like the curtido and the beet/ginger sauerkraut.
Fermenting foods is easy and safe, offering up many nutritional benefits. Give it a try!
So, for this booklet, many of the reviews below are actually for the second book above. It doesn’t help that Katz has two books with almost identical names, but really surprised GR hasn’t done a better job of separating the two, since GR is associated with Amazon, which is where I bought my copy. This is a good reason to always check the ISBN of whatever edition you’re reading, to ensure you’re reviewing the right book here.
So, on to the review. Katz is basically modern hippie who lives in a commune in Tennessee, becoming something of a cultural (ha, nice pun) warrior for the lost art of fermentation. His books, blog, and workshops have helped to revitalize an ancient form of preserving food which, while never lost, was becoming less and less prominent in the way we eat and prepare foods here in the United States. Covering everything from sourdough breads to kimchi to sauerkraut and cultured milk products, Katz lays out the very simple groundwork for producing these fermented delicacies in your own kitchen.
Fermented food contain many beneficial bacteria, or probiotics, that are essential to our health. These bacteria evolved along with us, becoming part of how our bodies regulate our health. Katz believes he is is a living example of this. He considers fermented food to be part of his health regimen in keeping himself healthy despite having AIDS. My own personal anecdote is that since I started fermenting cabbage into sauerkraut about a year and a half ago, and eating at least a quarter cup of it a day (or other cultured products like kimchi or yogurt - not the heavily sweetened, commercial shit, but the real stuff), I have not suffered from chronic sinus infections. I used to get them at least twice a year, but only had one very mild case in this time period that lasted a couple days versus weeks.
If you’re interested in fermenting foods for the first time, this is a handy booklet, easy to read and follow directions. Katz has a blog, and another fine blog to follow is http://fermentationrecipes.com/ which has a couple of recipes I use often, like the curtido and the beet/ginger sauerkraut.
Fermenting foods is easy and safe, offering up many nutritional benefits. Give it a try!
August 24, 2012
A guide to making your own naturally fermented products such as miso, sauerkraut and sourdough bread.
August 18, 2015
A short guide to making fermented foods, using the "wild cultures" of micro organisms that naturally occur in the air and on foods. The book includes simple recipes for classic ferments like pickles, sauerkraut, sourdough bread, and kimchi, as well as other foods from African and Asian cultures. I don't believe fermented foods are a panacea for every modern health problem, but they do seem to have positive effects, and I just think it would be an interesting project to try some of these recipes.
December 27, 2012
I genuinely squealed with glee when I opened this on Christmas and I cannot wait to try the recipes in here.
August 20, 2017
A short but enthusiastic manual on fermentation. It's got me back making sauerkraut and I'm also keen to have a crack at sourdough bread and yoghurt.
July 17, 2015
A great book for a beginner to start
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews