Traditionally Fermented Foods and Kombucha, Kefir, and Beyond

Over the last couple of months I’ve done a poor job staying on top of the precarious stack of review copies teetering on my desk. In order to give these books the love they deserve, I’m planning on grouping them in sets of two or three (always trying to remain thematic) and blogging about those little collections throughout the next several weeks.

The first book in today’s pair is Traditionally Fermented Foods by Shannon Stonger. As you might guess from the title, the book focuses on a wide spectrum of classic fermented foods. It is divided into chapters that delve into the process of fermenting vegetables, grains, dairy, beverage, and condiments. As someone who recently revived a sourdough starter, I’m spending a lot of time with the grain section.

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.

The second book in today’s short stack is Kombucha, Kefir, and Beyond from Alex Lewin & Raquel Guajardo. Alex is the author of Real Food Fermentation and Raquel has a school in Monterray, Mexico where she teaches fermentation classes (among other things).

This book offers an array of approaches to fermented drinks. In 13 wide-ranging chapters, they hit on everything from kombucha to fermented cocktails. There are sodas, vegetable drinks, and even traditional Mexican fermented drinks that date back to the pre-Hispanic era. The recipes are relatively simple, intriguing, and entirely approachable.

I plan on starting with the salty lemonade on page 73, as it starts with salt-preserved lemons. I’ve got plenty of those in the back of the fridge!

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