The Essential Book of Fermentation: Great Taste and Good Health with Probiotic Foods

by Jeff Cox

The country’s leading expert on organic food delivers the ultimate guide to the new culinary health movement—feasting on fermented probiotics, from artisanal cheese to kimchi. In his extensive career as a bestselling cookbook author and TV garden-show host, Jeff Cox has always been keenly aware of the microbiology that helps his garden flourish. He has long known that microbes keep our bodies healthy as they ferment food, releasing their nutritional power and creating essential vitamins and enzymes. In The Essential Book of Fermentation , Cox shares a bounty of recipes for nourishing the internal “garden.” Simplifying the art and science of fermentation, Cox offers a primer on the body’s microbial ecosystem, complemented by scrumptious recipes, and easy-to-follow pickling and canning techniques. Basics such as bread and yogurt help readers progress to wine, cheese, and a host of international delicacies, including kim chi and chow chow. Inspiring and innovative, The Essential Book of Fermentation serves up great taste along with great health on every page.

Genres: Food, Health, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Reference, Cooking

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2013

About the author

Jeff Cox (15 May 1940 - ) writes about food, wine, and gardening from his home in Sonoma County, California.

Reviews

[Carol Bakker]

You can build your own health one delicious swallow at a time, strengthening your immune system, working with nature to enhance the quality of your food. There's little you have to buy to achieve this, but quite a lot to learn.

In the Goldilocks of books,
The Art of Fermentation was too big, too long, too much;
Fermentation for Beginners was too basic, too simple, not enough;
but Jeff Cox's The Essential Book of Fermentation was just right.
It hit the sweet spot.

The book is structured just like a Pauline epistle: doctrine first half, recipes second half. Cox focuses on bread, cheese, wine, dairy ferments, vegetable ferments, and bean ferments.

I've been brewing and consuming kefir (pronounce, I learned, keh-FEER) for about a month. My finger nails are amazing! My digestive health, ahem, is swell. Swell, not swollen!

I want to learn sourdough bread and kimchi in time, but I'll let the artisans make wine and cheese.

In the context of coronavirus I find this statement one to ponder:
Our modern world's constant attempts to control and eliminate microbes from our environment can have some pretty disastrous consequences.

Jeff Cox discourages canning (kills microbes, where fermentation encourages them), antibacterial soap, antibacterial mouthwash, colon "cleanses", antiperspirants. Counterculture? Indeed. If a surgeon cuts on me, I want those hands squeaky clean; but do elementary kids have to pump so much antibacterial gel on their hands that they break out in blisters?

[Rhonda]

If you are looking for a how to book, this is not the one for you. Very few recipes. I found this to be to a long boring read. The first 1/2 of the book is basically the history. The next 1/4 is basic theory of how it's done. Then it will give 1 recipe and then more theory. Was very disappointed. The Essential in the title led me to believe it would be helpful in learning how to ferment books. More of a history type book.

[Josie Varela]

Pretty awesome book. I love the way the author talks about natural cycles and the coevolution between people and bacteria. Wonderful insights.

[Gail Richmond]

A lot of reading and a few recipes. I skimmed through a lot, as I knew I would not be fermenting or eating kimchi, but I was disappointed on the small amount on kombucha! Anecdotes dominate the first third of the book, which reads a lot like a memoir! It is a bit repetitious and very California focused, and isn’t as up-to-date on grains and sourdough as many more recent publications.

[Cynthia Ayyad]

Be careful authors who tout a “cure” for autism!!! There are diets that can reduce certain anxiety behaviors around autism… but he writes about a cure and sites one doctor who has been refuted and disproven.

Also…. Not a really a how to book of fermentation.

[Chuck]

It gives a really good explanation of the benefits of Fermentation. I just wish it had more recipes. I would recommend it to a friend.

[Shelly Nicholson]

In depth information. I really learned a lot but realize that I have much more to learn.

[Annette]

Just the type of self-help book I needed to sort out being grumpy about my arthritis; another by-means-of-way to think the arthritis through and try to help it along with all I can find.
The sourdough wheat bread recipe was great -- the flavor was wonderful, using my 6-year old sourdough starter.

[Miriam]

I appreciated the science behind the book and felt that it worked well with Michael Pollan's, Cooked, but Cox seems to much like a proselytizer for both fermented foods and organic farming. While both are useful approaches, I doubt they are the complete panacea that he lauds.

[Ron Doyle]

Not as instructional or scientifically sound as I had hoped--but a very thorough book.

[Shannon Dillman]

Bought this for more kefir info. This book was the most detailed of my fermentation nook purchases.
Lots of great info and great pickle recipes.

I wanna try the grape juice kefir next.

[Velma]

Xmas 2014 gift - thanks Monika & Dante!

[Ariadna73]

Very informative, but a little bit incomplete, and too many pages on how to peel and how to cut.

[Aja Marsh]

less foucsed on recipes, more information-- which is good and fun. good reference.

[Heather]

This book is very detailed and technical! Really good for people who want to be self sufficient on some front and make their own bread cheese and wine.