Ferment: A guide to the ancient art of making cultured foods

by Holly Davis

What does your favourite farmhouse cheese have in common with crusty sourdough bread, a glass of sparkling ginger beer or a bowl of marinated olives? The answer is each is a product of fermentation, a process that harnesses good bacteria in order to preserve ingredients and transform them into uniquely delicious foods with remarkable health benefits.

Thanks to an increasing awareness of the crucial role probiotic-rich foods play in our wellbeing, the ancient art of fermentation is experiencing a renaissance. Add to this the joy, ease and economy of making fermented foods at home, and it's no wonder we are scrunching, pickling and bottling our way to better gut health and a deeper connection with our food.

With this extensive collection, wholefood pioneer Holly Davis shares familiar and lesser-known recipes, as well as the wisdom and experience accumulated over 40 years of teaching fermentation techniques around the world. Her gentle and thorough guidance guarantees you will find a place in your home for one or more ferments that make your heart and stomach sing.

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

272 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2017

Reviews

[Yaaresse · Rating 2 out of 5]

As usual, my rating for cookbooks is based mostly on whether I will ever cook from it, whether I felt it was trustworthy or accurate.

I don't know enough about fermentation to have an opinion on the second factor, although I did see some things that gave me a hard pause involving mushrooms, and it sure seemed like there was a lot of vague "just try different things and see what happens."

As for the first factor, the "will I use it" point, nah. I'm not that committed to the idea of so many projects that need babysitting, and I'm definitely not going to give up counter space for it. It was an interesting read, but, for me, not a useful one.

[Salliewt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive. This is a great resource for anything cultured or fermented. Learn to make your own almond milk, kefir, kimchi, vinegar, shrub, kvass, olives, buttermilk, kombucha, leaven, sourdough, yogurt, tofu, feta cheese, pickles, sauerkraut, and more. Includes tips, recipes, suggested equipment, and a resource guide on where to find the equipment, along with a helpful glossary of terms and ingredients.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick, inspiring read about the interesting history on fermentation, the benefits and practical how-to tips as to not get overwhelmed and recipes. It inspired me to easily incorporate fermented foods into my diet on a regular basis.

After a month of intentional fermentation incorporation, I can easily detect positive changes in my digestive system. This book also gave me the confidence to try my hand at a simple ferment, that I'm happy to report was a success!

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fermented foods/beverages are a means of preserving foods in a simple effective and safe way that has been around since before recorded history. People born 80 years ago knew how to not only make fermented foods but consumed them regularly but these foods and this knowledge is not as mainstream today.

Fermented foods are a key part of gut health and more and more and more studies are coming out on the benefits of fermented foods and their probiotics good bacterial every day.

Enter Holly Davis, the book's author. Holly has been working with ferments (both personally and professionally) for 44 years and her book is the best source of information I have found on ferments to date. The book is divided up by fermenting method (activate, capture, steep, infuse, leaven, incubate, and cure) which I admit seemed a tad weird at first, but when you read the recipes and advice of those methods together you are left with an almost intuitive knowledge of how to do these types of ferments. While Holly provides plenty of recipes and instructions her overall goal is to provide us with a depth of information (done in an easy and readable way) so you can go off on your own and safely create your own ferments and recipes.

I have been playing around with ferments for a bit...and so many of the issues I have encountered (example below) are clearly addressed and explained in the book. I enjoyed reading about the history of various ferments and understanding WHAT and WHY things are happening and this has greatly increased my own knowledge and confidence when it comes to fermenting.

For example, when I fermenting milk Keefer, my milk was fermenting too fast which meant I had too much product, too quickly, and the milk was too bitter for my taste. After reading the book I understood that I should have been using about 1 tablespoon of grains to 2 cups of water.. and I had about 8 times too many keefer grains in my milk (milk keefer grains multiply a lot faster than bunnies!) which was causing my issues. She also provides great advice on how to take a break from keefer (giving options for short to long breaks) and great information on ways to use keefer that sound absolutely wonderful. Secondary milk fizz ferments, cultured clotted cream, creme fraiche, cultured butter & buttermilk, and compound butters, filjolk.. Oh my!

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous from start to finish. A work of art in the world of cookbooks. This is the fermentation bible and I loved the way she put it together. The titles and sections were brilliantly done. I bow to her greatness.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book, beautiful recipes with very interesting information, easy to follow and seems very accessible with basic ingredients for anyone to do. I read the whole book front to back (who knew cookbooks could be so enthralling?) and am incredibly excited to try these recipes. Also has a great section on sourdough - one of the nicest I've read for not being a specific sourdough/bread cookbook. Highly recommend this one.

[l · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a good trove of recipes, will definitely be rereading when i have more kitchen space

herbed cashew and pepper spread
ginger bug
natural sodas
hot tumeric+lime+pepper ginger bug
apricot and peach fruit wine
fiery tumeric tonic
raw berry shrub
water kefir
strawberry+cinnamon booch
hot chili paste
black bean tempeh

[Leanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that provides the basics to fermenting and lots of recipes. I liked that the steps are simply stated with ingredients I already have and there is coaching to get me correctly started. The pictures are beautiful. I'm intending to give many of the recipes a try and I also was pleased to see the kindle version on sale, so I purchased my own copy and will move on to the kitchen now.

[Quinton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excited to start fermenting

I actually read this book from cover to cover, which I don’t think was the intent, but I really enjoyed it. I’m already an active fermenter, but I haven’t tried most of what is in here, and I’m excited to give it a go.

[CJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful book to have for home fermenting enthusiasts. Best as a resource, solid information.
Some of it rather basic for long time fermentation 'scientists' but refreshing on old knowledge and having some new on hand is great.
Glad I added it to my library.

[Kimberlee Feick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best kombucha recipe I've ever tried! This was a gift from my older sister a few years ago, and I hadn't really given it a good enough read until this summer. Lots of wonderful recipes, history, methodology and gorgeous photos.

[Kenda Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great recipes

[A. Reiter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive! I love that it spans so many cultures. Makes me want this on my shelf and try some.

[Kelsey Hurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way that this book is written makes fermenting seem way more difficult than it actually is..

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous, thorough unusual book. I have never read a book like it. I was mesmerized.

[Honest Mabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

it’s interesting

I am brand new to it and I don’t know if I like this for an intro book. I feel more comfortable with this book after trying varying beginner recipes

[Neha Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

epic

[Susan Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing resource. I read an ebook from my library but this is a tempting purchase as a paper book

[Glenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading that good bacteria is necessary for good health and that fermented foods feed good bacteria, I decided to learn about fermenting. Holly Davis summarizes the history of fermented foods and how to make them. She includes a broad range of fermented foods from many cultures with over 120 recipes. Brewing, infusing, dehydrating, and baking for the home is easy and possible. 100 photos, how to's, and charts are included. It is a wonderful reference book as well.

See the highlights and notes from the book itself.

[Gracewellworn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures, great ideas.

[Mills College Library]

664.024 D2622 2019

[OvercommuniKate · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was pretty comprehensive!

Knocking some stars as I'm not interested in wild yeast or unpasteurized milk for safety reasons..