Real Food Fermentation: Preserving Whole Fresh Food with Live Cultures in Your Home Kitchen

Alex Lewin

Jul 2012 · Quarto Publishing Group USA

About this ebook

Discover how to preserve your favorite foods in every season with the easy techniques and recipes in this comprehensive guide (includes photos).

Learn the process of fermentation from start to finish, and stock your pantry and refrigerator with delicious fruits, vegetables, dairy, and more. Fermenting is an art and a science, and Alex Lewin expertly takes you through every step, including an overview of food preserving and the fermentation process. Get to know the health benefits of fermented foods, and learn the best tools, supplies, and ingredients to use. Then start making wholesome preserved foods and beverages with step-by-step recipes for sauerkraut, kombucha, kefir, yogurt, preserved lemons, chutney, kimchi, and more, getting the best out of every season’s bounty.

The book is filled with beautiful photos and clear instructions help you build your skills with confidence. It’s no wonder people are fascinated with fermenting—the process is user friendly, and the rewards are huge. Inside you’ll find:

·An overview of the art and craft of home preserving

·Why fermented foods are good for you

·How to troubleshoot recipes, and how to modify them to suit your taste

·Which vegetables and fruits are best for fermentation

·The best seasonings to use

·How to ferment dairy products to create yogurt, kefir, and buttermilk

·How to create fermented beverages, including mead, wine, and ginger ale

With this book as your guide, you’ll feel in control of your food and your health. See why so many people are discovering the joys of fermenting!

Ratings and reviews

I haven't read enough of the book to really comment on the content, but so far I like everything I've read. Good recipes, nice step-by-step processes and explanations. But the formatting is terrible! Lots of great pictures, but many of them have text over them. The captions on the pictures also seem off, like a child writing a report that doesn't know how to use MS Word. For $15 I'd like this to look a little better. Edit: After playing around with it for a big, I figured out it's because of the "flowing text" feature. Changing it back to the original text makes it look much better, although the next is a little small. Since it's not really a book I'm going to sit down and read for hours I don't see this being much of a problem.

About the author

Alex Lewin—a graduate of the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and author of Kombucha, Kefir, and Beyond and Real Food Fermentation—seeks to create a healthier and tastier world by spreading the word about fermentation and real food. He teaches fermentation classes and workshops and serves on the board of the Boston Public Market Association, working to create a year-round indoor market selling local food. He lives in Boston and San Francisco.