The Art of Fermentation (Review and Giveaway)

Be sure and check out our GIVEAWAY while you're here.

Sandor Ellix Katz has changed my life. Katz is a fermentation genius who has made it his life's work to spread the joys, wonders, and art of fermentation to people all around the world. His first book, Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods contained recipes and step-by-step instructions for how to ferment. His second work is something entirely different.

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Katz has written a veritable tome of fermentation knowledge. Katz's most recent book, The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from around the World is a chef d'oeuvre if ever such a thing existed. 

Katz has written the most comprehensive work on fermentation ever published.

In 2013 this work was on the New York Times bestseller list, as well as winning the James Beard Foundation Book Award for Reference and Scholarship. Scholarship is an excellent word choice. Not only is this book about an art, but this book is itself a work of art. Katz has spent decades studying fermentation and he relates his wisdom in an approachable, absolutely fascinating, and digestible manner. 

I am convinced that no one alive knows as much about fermentation as Sandor Ellix Katz. This book will take your understanding of the science, history, and cultural importance of fermentation to a whole new level. I had absolute no idea just how fascinating the history of fermentation across cultures could be until reading this book.

This book has a little bit of everything. It is a science, history, anthropology, and cooking lesson all rolled into one. What this book doesn't have, interestingly enough, is recipes. Yes, it contains some recipes, but that is not the primary purpose of this work. In truth, this book helps you understand how recipes, in many ways are a new invention, while fermentation has been around for thousands of years. 

This is the book for anyone interested in truly understanding fermentation. The Art of Fermentation is essentially your reference guide, dictionary, and fermentation encyclopedia all rolled into one. It is, after all, just a few pages shy of FIVE HUNDRED pages. And it weighs a ton. And it has beautiful illustrations and a cover jacket to boot. Some times I just sit and stare at it, that's how much I love it.

Just joking on that last part. (Or maybe I'm not...)

All that to say, this book is absolutely, stunningly, mind-blowing-ly amazing. If you are at all interested in fermentation, I cannot more highly recommend having a copy in your home so you can reference it whenever you have questions. It is like having your own, personal fermentation genius to talk to whenever you need. 

Read what others are saying about this book.

Or, if you are feeling lucky, enter to win the GIVEAWAY below. A big thank you to Sandor Elliz Katx and Chelsea Green Publishing for providing a copy of this book to giveaway to one lucky reader. Good luck!

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Further Recommended Reading

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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fermenting Foods by Wardeh Harmon is a book I would recommend to anyone seriously interested in fermentation. It has hundreds of recipes for fermenting everything from fruit, dairy, grains, meat, vegetables, beer, wine, natural sodas and more. It makes an excellent addition to any fermenters kitchen whether they are an experienced veteran or a newbie.

Buy it on Amazon.

Real Food Fermentation by Alex Lewin is the perfect introduction to fermentation. This book contains some of the most gorgeous pictures of fermented food I have ever seen. It contains a great variety of recipes with step-by-step directions and a pinch of science, history, and cultural information to boot.






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