4.5, but dinged for a ridiculous anti-science statement near the end.

This book is full to the brim of great information about fermentation - both theoretical and practical - and recipes. If you are at all interested in home cooking, indigenous or traditional cooking or even just the history and geography of food and cooking, you'll find this book interesting.

The hippiness of it might turn some off, but, while I found it a little distracting it didn't detract significantly from the book.

The statement that really irked me was near the end as was something to the effect that scientifically gained knowledge of the microscopic world had drained it of wonder. Variations of this have been flogged by many people. This is a demonstrably false and ridiculous statement - doubly since since the author draws on this same scientific knowledge throughout the book. Plenty of people find wonder in exactly these same scientific details about how life at all scales functions.

If knowledge robs something of its wonder, Mr. Katz, it does so for you and not in general. And that's an indication of your inability to choose to see the wonder from a different angle and in a different light, not the fault of science or scientists. ( )

This seems like quite an outstanding resource. I read enough to know that I will probably never find time to do any of it. ( )

Fascinating look at a wide variety of fermentation, not just for eating and drinking but things like compost too. Sometimes felt that the research or information wasn't thorough enough, for example for ginger beer, Katz says you can use kombucha as a starter - however it is a different culture entirely to the ginger beer plant. ( )

I love Sandor Katz. Love. His writing is engaging, familiar, and yet pushes you ever so subtly towards new truths. This is not a cover-to-cover book; I'm jumping all over the place in it. But if you liked his first book, "Wild Fermentation," you'll love this one too. ( )

Work article:

Over the last couple years there are several books on fermentation that I have quite enjoyed.

• Wild Fermentation, by Sandor Katz

• The Art of Fermentation: an in-depth exploration of essential concepts and processes from around the world, by Sandor Katz

• True brews : how to craft fermented cider, beer, wine, sake, soda, mead, kefir, and kombucha at home, by Emma Christensen

• Fermented Foods for Health, by Deirdre Rawlings

• Real Food Fermentation : preserving whole fresh food with live cultures in your home kitchen, by Alex Lewin



Sandor Katz’s titles are extremely thorough; he is a well-known expert in the field, so it is good to know about him if you want to really delve into the subject. If you want a quicker, prettier introduction to fermentation, I recommend either of the last two titles as they have a lot of good information and beautiful photos.



bottled and brewing kombuchaUsing Lewin’s text as a jumping-off point, I have been brewing Kombucha for a year. A member of my household can’t bear to look at the jar, much less taste it; however, this individual kindly assists me with sterilizing my jars and equipment for new batches if I ask. I first tried Kombucha on a whim, wondering what it was when I saw it on the grocery shelf. After Googling it at home, I quickly decided to learn to make it since it’s quite pricey to purchase.



I have also made and liked Rawling’s Ginger-Carrot Kraut, and at some point would like to try my hand at Kimchi as there are few things so good as real, fermented Kimchi! Even if you aren’t up for trying your hand at fermenting, if you like learning new things and reading new recipes, these are some great titles on a topic that is growing in popularity. ( )