Fermentation Recipes

Few foods are as familiar as pickles. That crunch when you bite into them, bracing yourself before your senses get doused with a bright acid, savory and herbaceous cucumber tidal wave. it’s unforgettable and infinitely satisfying. What is it that makes pickles so irresistible and how do you achieve it?

Every major metropolitan city has its famous food item that begs to be enjoyed in an almost infinite amount of circumstances. San Francisco has its Mission burritos, Chicago has deep dish pizza, Philadelphia has cheesesteak. One of my favorite things about living in New York City is enjoying the simplicity of a bagel with vegan cream cheese. It doesn’t matter if you’re getting ready to go out and in need of a quick meal, you’re on your way home from the bar and need something to snack on, or it’s a Sunday afternoon and you’re just too lazy to do any cooking. A bagel and cream cheese always delivers.

Years ago at Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco I got seriously addicted to an artisanal sauerkraut made by a company called Cultured. I jokingly referred to it as crack as it made it's way on top of my toast, tossed into my salads and stirred into my stews. When I introduced my friends to this amazing sauerkraut they too would promptly get addicted. I then moved to Brooklyn and sadly found that this sauerkraut was unavailable in my area. Soon after, I ended up reading Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix-Katz which had a recipe for sauerkraut. I figured I'd give it a go and I was rewarded by deliciously complex kraut that was laughably easy to make and unbelievably affordable. How did it take me this long to make homemade sauerkraut? And why wasn’t this magic condiment more popular? Is it because no one knew how truly amazing it was?

One of the most fascinating things about kimchi is how no other food on Earth has as much of a beloved following by its people. Russia is linked to its love for vodka, Germans spread their love of beer throughout the world in the late 1800s but the obsession of Korea with kimchi goes even deeper. After millions of dollars and years of research, South Korean scientists successfully developed kimchi to be brought to space by their first astronaut in 2008. Koreans like to say that where they go, kimchi goes too.