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Welcome back to this eigth installment in my essay series about fermentation – and what it has to offer you, both in edible and in non-edible ways…

Last time, we enjoyed the wonderful tale of the Mead of Poetry, and we touched on quite a few of its aspects: The role of scholars and poets, for example, or how fermentation can turn a person into one of these. Divine aspects of fermentation. The difference between the base product of fermentation and its end product. And the missing fourth element, Water, which had been hiding in plain sight within the process of fermentation all along.

But there is also something else hiding in plain sight within that tale of the Mead of Poetry, and it’s something we’ll get back to later in today’s essay. First, though, there is some other glaring gap to fill – and filling it will keep us well busy for the next few essays.

Looking back at our work in the last couple of essays, we have had a closer look at fermentation’s base product first, i.e. whatever it is which is going to be fermented. We then turned towards the other end of the equation, and had an equally close look at its end product.

The glaring gap is, quite obviously, right between the two. What happens to turn a nice, normal, bland base product (like, say, a head of cabbage) into a tasty, zingy, and interesting fermented end product (like, say, sauerkraut)?

Or, in other words: How do we get from here to there? And what happens in between?

As I said, these questions are going to keep us busy for the next few weeks. There are several different aspects to this middle part of the fermentation equation, and they are all well worth looking at individually.

For today, we’ll start out with what is, in a way, the most important one of these aspects – as for without it, fermentation couldn’t even happen…

[Read more…] about Food for Thought

Welcome back to this seventh installment in my essay series about fermentation – and what it has to offer you, both in edible and in non-edible ways…

Last time, we had a close look at the starting point of fermentation, i.e. at the base material which is going to be fermented. Today, we’re going to approach things from the other end and have an equally close look at the other side of the equation – at fermentation’s end product, the ferment.

During the course of our exploration, we will poke and prod at the question: “What is the end product of fermentation? What is a ferment, and how does it differ from the starting material?”.

That seems to be a pretty straightforward question, with a pretty straightforward answer. If this really is the case remains to be seen, though… 😉

To add some spice to the mix, today’s essay will also touch on other topics. Like, say, the fourth element which we have ignored so far, and of how it connects to fermentation. And there will be some awesome Homework on top, too!

In order to lay the groundwork for all this, though, we’ll have to take a few steps back in time again… [Read more…] about Hidden in Plain Sight

Welcome back to this sixth installment in my essay series about fermentation – and what it has to offer you…

I hope you have been able to stretch your back after our travel back to the Middle Ages in that cramped time capsule! (I also hope you’ve gotten over any potential hangover from the beer we enjoyed in medieval Nürnberg… 😉 ).

During said time travel, we explored some of the roots of brewing (i.e. fermenting) beer, of its traditions and of the culture of drinking beer. And one thing which stood out to us (well, to me, but as you were along for the ride…) is just how much the tradition of brewing beer has changed over time – but then on the other hand, just how amazingly stable it has been.

Just the fact that nowadays, people still share a beer with their friends, just like people did in the early Middle Ages, and people (presumably) did way back in the Stone Age, gives proof of a stable core in this tradition – of a firm and unshakeable basis on which it is built.

This solid ground is one expression of yet another element which plays a crucial role in fermentation. [Read more…] about A Solid Ground To Root In

Welcome back to this fifth installment in my essay series about “Fermentation and Inner Work”, where we explore the world of fermentation – both the edible one and the one inside of you…

In the preceding essay, we talked about the “why” – as in both “Why have people throughout the ages and in all cultures made use of fermentation?”, and “Why an essay series about fermentation in the first place?”. We also mulled over the roots of the words “ferment” and “leaven”, and about fermentation’s close relationship to the elements of air and fire.

While today’s essay starts out where we left off, it will lead us far from here – and will also give us our first glimpse of another element’s importance for fermentation… [Read more…] about A Journey Back in Time

Welcome back to this fourth installment in my essay series about fermentation, and how it can transform your food – and your life…

In the previous essays, we talked about what fermentation is, from two different angles. What we haven’t answered yet, though, is the question “Why” – as in “Why am I writing a full essay series about fermentation in the first place?”, and even more importantly “Why should you read it and follow along?”

In order to answer this (very valid) question, we’ll first need to talk about why people throughout the ages have been making copious use of fermentation in all its forms… [Read more…] about A History of Air and Fire