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Edible Missoula: Wild Fermentation

By Sandor Ellix Katz Edible Missoula, 8-19-08

“The science and art of fermentation is, in fact, the basis of human culture: without culturing, there is no culture. Culture begins at the farm, not in the opera house, and binds a people to a land and its artisans.”
--Sally Fallon

Fermentation is everywhere, always. It is an everyday miracle, the path of least resistance. Microscopic bacteria and fungi (encompassing yeasts and molds) are in every breath we take and every bite we eat. Try -- as many do -- to eradicate them with antibacterial soaps, antifungal creams, and antibiotic drugs, there is no escaping them. They are ubiquitous agents of transformation, feasting upon decaying matter, constantly shifting dynamic life forces from one miraculous and horrible creation to the next.Tiny beings, invisible to us, bring us compelling and varied flavors.

Fermentation gives us many of our most basic staples, such as bread and cheese, and our most pleasurable treats, including chocolate, coffee, wine, and beer. Cultures around the globe enjoy countless exotic fermented delicacies. The process of fermentation makes food more digestible and nutritious. Live, unpasteurized, fermented foods also carry beneficial bacteria directly into our digestive systems, where they exist symbiotically, breaking down food and aiding digestion.

Fermentation is easy. Anyone can do it, anywhere, with the most basic tools. Humans have been fermenting longer than we’ve been writing words or cultivating the soil. Fermentation does not require vast expertise or laboratory conditions. You can do it in your kitchen. Fermentation can be lowtech. These are ancient rituals that humans have been performing for many generations. They make me feel connected to the magic of the natural world, and to our ancestors, whose clever observations enable us to enjoy the benefits of these transformations.

Fermented foods and drinks are quite literally alive with flavor and nutrition. Their flavors tend to be strong and pronounced. Think of stinky aged cheeses, tangy sauerkraut, rich earthy miso, smooth sublime wines. Humans have always appreciated the distinctive flavors resulting from the transformative power of microscopic bacteria and fungi.

Simple Sauerkraut Adapted from Nourishing Traditions Ingredients: 1 medium cabbage, cored and shredded 1 tablespoon caraway seeds (optional) 1 tablespoon sea salt 4 tablespoon whey* (if not available, use an additional 1 tablespoon salt) Directions: In a bowl, mix cabbage with caraway seeds, sea salt and whey. Pound with a wooden pounder or meat hammer for about 10 minutes to release juices. Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouthed mason jar and press firmly until juices come to the top of the cabbage. The top of the cabbage should be at least one inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about three days before transferring to cold storage. The sauerkraut may be eaten immediately but gets better with age. Makes 1 quart. *Whey cannot be purchased, but can be easily made by straining organic yogurt through a papertowel and strainer. Many cultures have their own recipe for sauerkraut using local flavors. Here are a few examples: Latin American Cortido uses carrots, onions, oregano and red pepper flakes; Korean Kimchi uses Napa cabbage, green onions, carrots, daikon radish, fresh ginger and chile flakes. Experiment and make your own family flavor, using a combination of you favorite vegetables and spices.

One major benefit of fermentation is that it preserves food. Fermentation organisms produce alcohol, lactic acid, and acetic acid, all “bio-preservatives” that retain nutrients and prevent spoilage. Vegetables, fruits, milk, fish, and meat are highly perishable, and our ancestors used whatever techniques they could discover to store foods from seasons of plenty for later consumption.

Captain James Cook, the eighteenth-century English explorer who extended the far reaches of the British Empire, was recognized by the Royal Society for having conquered scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) among his crews by sailing with large quantities of sauerkraut. On his second round-the-world voyage, in the 1770s, sixty barrels of kraut lasted for twenty-seven months, and not a single crew member developed scurvy, which previously had killed huge numbers of the crews of long sea voyages. Among the many lands Cook “discovered” and delivered into the Crown’s realm were the Hawaiian Islands (Cook called them the Sandwich Islands in honor of his patron). I find it an interesting parallel that the Polynesian people who crossed the Pacific Ocean and populated Hawaii more than a thousand years before Captain Cook also sustained themselves through the long voyage with fermented food, in this case poi, a thick starchy taro root porridge still popular in Hawaii and throughout the South Pacific.

Fermentation not only preserves nutrients, it breaks them down into more easily digestible forms. Soybeans are a good example. This extraordinarily protein-rich food is largely indigestible without fermentation. Fermentation breaks down the soybeans’ complex protein into readily digestible amino acids, giving us traditional Asian foods such as miso, tempeh, and tamari (soy sauce), which have become staples in contemporary Western vegetarian cuisine.

Milk, too, is difficult for many people to digest. Lactobacilli (a type of bacteria present in fermented dairy products and many other types of ferments) transform lactose, the milk sugar that so many humans cannot tolerate, into easier-to-digest lactic acid. Likewise, wheat that has undergone fermentation is easier to digest than unfermented wheat.

Bill Mollison, author of the Permaculture Book of Ferment and Human Nutrition, calls the action of fermenting foods “a form of pre-digestion.” Fermentation also creates new nutrients. As they go through their life cycles, microbial cultures create B vitamins, including folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, and biotin. (Ferments have often been credited with creating vitamin B12, otherwise absent from plantsource foods; however, this bubble has now been burst by improved assaying techniques that show that what had been identified as B12 in fermented soy and vegetables are actually inactive “analogues.” B12 is only found in foods from animal sources, suggesting that a vegan diet is deficient in B12 without supplementation, the efficacy of which is quite controversial.)

Fermentation also removes toxins from foods. This is vividly illustrated by the case of cassava, an enormous tuber native to the tropical regions of the Americas that has also become a staple food in equatorial regions of Africa and Asia. Certain varieties of cassava contain high levels of cyanide and are poisonous until they have undergone a soaking fermentation. The fermentation process eliminates the cyanide, rendering the cassava edible and nutritious.

Eating fermented foods live is an incredibly healthy practice, directly supplying your digestive tract with living cultures essential to breaking down food and assimilating nutrients. Not all fermented foods are still alive when you eat them. Certain foods, by their nature, cannot contain live cultures. Breads, for instance, must be baked, thereby killing the organisms present in them. However, many fermented foods can be consumed live, especially those involving Lactobacilli, and alive is the most nutritious way to eat them.

SALSA (FERMENTED) Adapted from Nourishing Traditions 4 medium tomatoes, peeled and seeded 2 small onions, quartered 2 chili peppers, hot or mild, seeded 5–6 cloves of garlic 1 bunch cilantro juice of 2 lemons 1 tablespoon sea salt 4 tablespoons whey 1/4 cup filtered water Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until desired consistency, chunky or smooth. Pour into a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar. Leave at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for 2 days before transferring to cold storage.

The methods of fermentation are many and varied; it is practiced on every continent, in thousands of different ways.

Wild fermentation is a way of incorporating the wild into your body, becoming one with the natural world. Wild foods, microbial cultures included, possess a great, unmediated life force, which can help us adapt to shifting conditions and lower our susceptibility to disease. These microorganisms are everywhere, and the techniques for fermenting with them are simple and flexible.

There is a mystique surrounding fermented foods that many people find intimidating. Since the uniformity of factory fermentation products depends upon thorough chemical sterilization, exacting temperature controls, and controlled cultures, it is widely assumed that fermentation processes require these things. The beer- and winemaking literature tends to reinforce this misconception.

My advice is to reject the cult of expertise. Do not be afraid. Do not allow yourself to be intimidated. Remember that all fermentation processes predate the technology that has made it possible for them to be made more complicated. Fermentation does not require specialized equipment. Not even a thermometer is necessary (though it can help).

Fermentation is easy and exciting. Anyone can do it. Microorganisms are flexible and adaptable. Certainly there is considerable nuance to be learned about any of the fermentation processes, and if you stick with them, they will teach you. But the basic processes are simple and straightforward. You can do it yourself.

Do-it-yourself fermentation is a journey of experimentation and discovery. Rediscovery really, because, like fire or simple tools, these are some of the most basic transformative processes that our ancestors used and that form the basis of human culture. Every ferment yields unique results, influenced not only by ingredients but by environment, season, temperature, humidity, and any other factors affecting the behavior of the microorganisms whose actions make these transformations possible. Some fermentations are complete in a few hours. Some require years. Fermentation generally requires only a little preparation or work. Most of the time that elapses is spent waiting.

Do-it-yourself fermentation is about as far as you can get from fast food. Many ferments get better the longer you leave them. Use this time to observe and ponder the magical actions of invisible allies. The Charoti people of South America view the time of fermentation as “the birth of the good spirit.” They attract the good spirit with music and singing, exhorting the spirit to come settle into the home they have prepared. You too can prepare a comfortable environment for the spirit, the organisms, the process, however it suits you to think about it. The force is with you. It will come.

And remember that the prized cultures of a San Francisco sourdough or the finest bleu cheese have their roots in wild fermentations that took place in someone’s kitchen or farmhouse long ago. Who knows what compelling healing flavors could be floating around in your kitchen?

Sandor Ellix Katz is a fermentation revivalist and author, who travels widely teaching and sharing fermentation skills. His passion for fermentation developed out of his overlapping interests in food, nutrition, and gardening. His books are Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements. For more information visit www.wildfermentation.com

This excerpt is adapted from Sandor Ellix Katz Wild Fermentation. It is printed with permission by the publisher (Chelsea Green–www.chelseagreen.com).

This piece is from the summer issue of Edible Missoula , a publication designed to celebrate the culinary heritage and abundance of local foods, season by season. Filled with engaging editorial and enticing photography, we will tell the stories of local farmers, vintners, brewmasters, food artisans, chefs, and food related businesses in a manner that inspires consumers to actively seek local alternatives. The magazine will also have recipes, resources and other succulent surprises.

At the heart of the magazine is a commitment to sustaining the unique local flavors and economic viability of the region, showcasing the people and places that make the food from Western Montana distinctive. Edible Missoula will endeavor to transform the way we shop for, cook, eat, and relate to the food that is grown and produced in our foodshed.

Published quarterly with each season Edible Missoula will be available at no cost in restaurants, grocers, wine shops, farmers’ markets, bakeries and coffee shops in Missoula, Ravalli, Sanders and Mineral counties, as well as, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and other locations across Western Montana.

Yearly subscriptions are available for $28.00 per year and available online at www.ediblemissoula.com.

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