We’re getting to the end of our month focused on fermentation! I’ve heard from a number of people that they’ve really gotten into this method of food preservation and transformation.
To that end, I’ve pulled together a collection of books to help you move forward and continue to learn and explore. While this cannot be considered a complete list of great fermentation books, these are all volumes that I keep on my shelves and reference often.
Artisan Sourdough Made Simple by Emilie Raffa – More than a few Mastery Challenge participants decided to tackle sourdough during fermentation month. I’ve seen a wide range of loaves and for those folks who are still at the start of the sourdough journey, there’s no better book than this one. Amazon | Powell’s
Fermented Vegetables by Kirsten and Christopher Shockey – This book does exactly what it says in the title. It teaches you how to ferment vegetables, with step-by-step imagery and helpful recipes. I find that I often use the information in this book as a starting place to make smaller batches of very delicious things. Amazon | Powell’s
Fiery Ferments by Kirsten and Christopher Shockey – This book is great both for basic fermentation techniques and for products that walk the spicier side of things. Amazon | Powell’s
Traditionally Fermented Foods by Shannon Stonger – This book focuses on a wide spectrum of classic fermented foods. Shannon writes the blog Nourishing Days from her family’s small Texas farm and her book feels very much like an extension of her site. It’s friendly, helpful, and comes from a place of deep experience and expertise. Amazon | Powell’s
Yogurt Culture by Cheryl Sternman Rule – Cheryl spent years researching and experiencing the ways in which yogurt is made, used, and eaten all over the world, and then compiled that knowledge. If you discovered a love of homemade yogurt this month, make sure to get this book. Amazon | Powell’s
Ferment Your Vegetables by Amanda Feifer – This book focuses on vegetable ferments and includes a wide assortment of recipes for kraut, kimchi, kvass, sauces, and pickles. You’ll find small batch recipes, larger ferments made in crocks, ferments made without additional salt, and other ways to culture your veg. Amazon | Powell’s
The Kimchi Cookbook by Lauryn Chun and Olga Massov – For those of you who have fallen in love with kimchi this month, this is the book for you. There are traditional recipes as well as more modern takes. You’ll also find recipes to help you use up what you’ve made. Amazon | Powell’s
Asian Pickles by Karen Solomon – This book digs into the pickle cultures of Japan, Korea, China, India, and Southeast Asia. You’ll find ferments galore (as well as a nice assortment of quicker pickles), all featuring interesting and delicious flavors. Amazon | Powell’s
Weck Small-Batch Preserving by Stephanie Thurow – Though on the surface, this book is about preserving in Weck jars, it also contains are lots of ferments, including recipes for kvass, kimchi, and pickles. Amazon | Powell’s
The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz – If you only have space for one book on the topic of fermentation, this is the one to have. You could spend your entire life working through this book and you might never uncover all its wisdom. It can be dense at times, but as long as you approach it with patience, it will never let you down. Amazon | Powell’s
Sourdough by Sarah Owens – For those of you who want to take your sourdough explorations further, there’s no better guide than Sarah Owens. She’ll show you how to include whole grains, sprouted grains, and seasonal ingredients. Amazon | Powell’s
What a great collection to help me dive into fermentation. Thanks for the compilation.