Contents
Foreword by Michael Pollan . . . . . xi Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . xv Introduction . . . . . . . . . . xvii Chapter 1. F ermentation as a
Coevolutionary Force . . 1 Bacteria: Our Ancestors and Coevolutionary Partners . . . . . Fermentation and Culture . . . . . . Fermentation and Coevolution . . . . Fermentation as a Natural Phenomenon The War on Bacteria . . . . . . . . Cultivating a Biophilic Consciousness .
. 1 6 10 12 13 . 14
Chapter 2. P ractical Benefits of
Fermentation . . . . 17 The Preservation Benefits of Fermentation, and Their Limits . . . . . . . . 18 The Health Benefits of Fermented Foods . 21 Fermentation as a Strategy for Energy Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . 32 The Extraordinary Flavors of Fermentation . . . . . . . . . 33 Chapter 3. B asic Concepts and
Equipment . . . . . 37 Substrates and Microbial Communities . . . . . . . . . Wild Fermentation Versus Culturing . . Selective Environments . . . . . . . Community Evolution and Succession . Cleanliness and Sterilization . . . . . Cross-Contamination . . . . . . . Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . Salt . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37 38 39 41 41 43 44 44
Darkness and Sunlight . . . . . . . 46 Fermentation Vessels . . . . . . . . 47 Jar Method . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Crock Method . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Crock Lids . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Different Crock Designs . . . . . . . 52 Metal Vessels . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Plastic Vessels . . . . . . . . . . 53 Wooden Vessels . . . . . . . . . . 54 Canoa . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Gourds and Other Fruits as Fermentation Vessels . . . . . . 55 Baskets . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Pit Fermentation . . . . . . . . . 56 Pickle Presses . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Vegetable Shredding Devices . . . . . 58 Pounding Tools . . . . . . . . . . 59 Alcohol-Making Vessels and Air Locks . . 59 Siphons and Racking . . . . . . . . 60 Bottles and Bottling . . . . . . . . 61 Hydrometers . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Thermometers . . . . . . . . . . 63 Cider and Grape Presses . . . . . . . 63 Grain mills . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Steamers . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Incubation Chambers . . . . . . . . 64 Curing Chambers . . . . . . . . . 66 Temperature Controllers . . . . . . . 66 Masking Tape and Markers . . . . . 67 Chapter 4. F ermenting Sugars into
Alcohol: Meads, Wines, and Ciders . . . . . 69 Yeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Simple Mead . . . . . . . . . . . 72
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