Fermentation Nation

How did something as old as the hills become the next new thing? When I first noticed that fermentation was being celebrated as the current culinary highlight, I had to quell the “eww” reaction. I thought that fermentation resulted in the fuzz growing inside the mystery jar in the back of the fridge—soup or cheese or who-knows-what? Wasn’t it about bulging tin cans and dangerous or even deadly changes to foods left out in the sun at a picnic? Negative images and adjectives were linked in my mind with fermentation.

Obviously, I had a lot to learn and as I opened my mind to this fermentation revolution. I recall childhood images of the odorous foods relished by my Russian grandfather, who smacked his lips over jars of pickled herring in sour cream and tubs of sauerkraut, washed down by a glass of beer and followed by a few puffs of a cigar that rested moistly in an ashtray between uses. Clearly, while harboring strong aromas, fermented foods did not have to be dangerous: Grandpa thrived until age 90 on his chosen diet.

I’ve now discovered that a variety of foods and beverages I’ve been savoring for years would not exist without fermentation. Sourdough bread, soft brie cheese, delicious wines, tamari sauce, chocolate, coffee, yogurt, balsamic vinegar—some of my favorites are all produced through fermentation. This creative process can change difficult-to-digest, raw materials into something highly delicious, or safely preserve the nutrients of easily perishable fresh foods, extending their usefulness well beyond their season.

Fermentation is naturally occurring. After being harvested, our food continues to change. Societies around the world use fermentation to transform fresh vegetables, grains, meats and fish safe for storage. Salt, yeasts, molds, enzymes and bacteria acting on these foods are the fundamentals of fermentation, defined by French chemist Louis Pasteur—the first zymologist—as “respiration without air.”

The fermentation of fish, meat and vegetables allowed civilizations with long hard winters to survive until the spring yielded fresh food. On his lengthy sea voyages in the 1700s, Captain Cook fed his crew sauerkraut, with its preserved essential vitamins, to prevent scurvy. The addition of salt and grain to hard-to-digest soybeans, fermented with Aspergillus oryzae mold, turns them into miso, a fundamental of Japanese cuisine.

Adding acids and enzymes to heated milk initiates the processes that will result in cheese or yogurt, changing the lactose in the milk (which can trigger allergies in many folks) into more digestible lactic acid, altering flavors and adding shelf life. The fruit pods of cacao and the cherry of coffee are fermented to release the seeds from the pulp, which are then dried, roasted and ground to give us the chocolate and coffee we savor.

The addition of yeast turn grains into bread and beer, and grapes into wine.
Imagine our adventurous ancestors discovering a fermented brew of honey and water inside a hollow tree eons ago. Mead, formed of honey diluted by water, its sugars changed by airborne yeasts into alcohol, has long been revered as the drink of the gods. The use of fermented ciders, ales, beers, wines, and spirits, made from whatever fruits, vegetables and grains were at hand, is found in records and relics of ancient civilizations around the world. As industrialization progressed, human carelessness or natural mishaps have polluted fresh water supplies. Many cultures (including the Puritan settlers of our country) drank less-risky fermented beverages instead of water. And today, of course, brewing and winemaking are fundamental to our Sonoma County culture and economy.

With our local breweries, wineries and bakeries, Sonoma County is a fermentation destination. Many wineries offer tours to educate you on how wines are made. A favorite of mine is the tour at Korbel Champagne Cellers, followed by tastings of their signature sparkling wines. Bear Republic Brewery offers public tours every Saturday at their Healdsburg Brewpub and private tours of their main brewing facility in Hopland by appointment.

Our local farmers markets are a great place to sample artisanal fermented foods like the naturally fermented varietal wine vinegars from Vivo, or the Apple Kraut, gingery Kimchi and Salvadorean-style Cortido varieties of crunchy pickled vegetable blends from Wild Rose Ranch. There are dozens of unique cheeses from our local creameries made with milk from locally raised goats, cows and sheep; and sausages from healthy, grass-fed animals, available at our local markets. But why not try to make your own?

While fermentation is both an art and a science, it’s not rocket science. I recently attended a mozzarella cheese class, hosted by two local companies, Relish Culinary Adventures and The Beverage People, and learned how easy it is to make delicious fresh cheese by the addition of some acids and enzymes into heated milk. Inexpensive and readily available supplies (which may already be in your kitchen), along with instructions and recipes, can be found at The Beverage People located on Piner Road in Santa Rosa.

My generous friend Tom Shula routinely makes wine as a hobby with friends in a garage, experimenting with different blends of grape varietals, to create unique and delicious wines. Local olive aficionado Don Landis gives classes in home curing of olives, using only water and kosher salt. You can contact him at olivedon@hotmail.com to find out about his upcoming seminars. I’ve tried his simple method with some olives from my tiny tree and they are delicious. Time, temperature, use of non-reactive utensils and scrupulous attention to cleanliness are some of the keys to fermenting foods at home.

Fermented foods are live foods—care needs to be taken when the original plant or animal product continues to metabolize when combined with a living yeast, mold, bacteria or enzyme, whether from wild sources or through controlled addition by humans. Carbohydrates are turned into vinegar and alcohol, liquids become solids, the chemical composition changes, and the indigestible becomes delicious.       •

SIDEBAR
Sandor Ellix Katz, self-described “fermentation fetishist,” celebrates the health aspects and culture of fermentation in his entertaining and informative book, Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods. You can read about his personal journey, along with the history of fermentation and the healing benefits of fermented foods. He offers many simple recipes for the home fermenter, encouraging personal creativity.

Sandor shares his passion at various fermentation festivals which are popping up around the country. He was a presenter last year at the Freestone Fermentation Festival (FFF) where Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary, Wild Flour Bread, and Freestone Vineyards Guest Center form a fermentation triad. The first FFF took place in 2009 on the lawn at Osmosis—the only spa in the country offering warming enzyme baths, where a mixture of finely shredded fragrant wood chips and rice bran is naturally heated by plant enzyme activity to surround you in cozy comfort.

The festival has expanded over the years, and has outgrown last year’s venue at Salmon Creek School where over 1,000 people watched demonstrations, sampled sauerkraut, bread, cheese, yogurt, beer, wine, kombucha, pickles and more. They also enjoyed enzyme foot baths, listened to fermentation experts, danced to live music, mingled with fellow zymologists, and joyously celebrated all things fermented. The expanding popularity of fermentation education has necessitated a move to a larger venue—this year’s festival will be a high-level symposium in the fall, in collaboration with Ceres Community Project, at a location to be determined.

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