The Art of Fermentation: New York Times Bestseller Hardcover – Illustrated, May 14, 2012

First off: this book is beautiful. Hardcover, with a series of full-color plates 1/3rd and 2/3rds through. For only twice the price of a flimsy paperback, you're investing in five hundred solidly-constructed pages that will last.And a good thing, because this book is destined to be a classic.You don't need to have read Katz' other work, Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods, to understand, appreciate, and use this book - it stands alone. If you already own Wild Fermentation, don't be put off by the duplication of some recipes in the Table of Contents. Yes, sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickles are in here, but every section is greatly expanded with much more information and many more references. (Ever thought of using a layer of cooking oil as an airlock? Neither had I, but I'm going to try it!)Speaking of references... the Resources, Glossary, and Works Cited chapters could keep you busy for a few years.And yes: you will use this book. As Michael Pollan states in the well-written foreword, this is not one of those cookbooks you buy for the nice pictures and keep on your coffee table. This is a project manual. Fermentation is something you have to experience to understand, and Katz give you absolutely everything you need to get started. The first 67 pages are devoted entirely to the beginner, focusing not on specific recipes but on answering the inevitable questions: "WHY would I want to ferment food? is it safe? what equipment and general expertise do I need?"Again from Pollan: "Katz writes about the transformative power of fermentation with such infectious enthusiasm that he makes you want to try things just to see what happens." This is so true. Even if you don't initially intend to, many of these 'recipes' are so simple and unintimidating (hard apple cider, mead, sauerkraut and its derivatives, sourdough) that it's hard to resist the urge to pick up a box of Mason jars and some fresh produce the next time you're at the grocery store. Many of us are experimenters at heart, and fermentation is the perfect mix of art and science to tap into this nature and inspire all kinds of crazy projects.Already the neighborhood King of Kraut? I guarantee that this book will still have something for you. Chapter 12 - "Fermenting Meat, Fish, and Eggs" isn't enough? Turn to Chapter 13, for a short but serious discussion of what it takes to turn a fermentation hobby into a small business. Notes about scaleup, HACCP plans, and licensing are cool to read about, though I have no plans to open a tempeh factory anytime soon. Or how about Chapter 14 - "Non-Food Applications of Fermentation"? Again, I don't live on a farm, but it is neat to read about compost, silage, and bioremediation. (Surprise: Katz doesn't buy into corn ethanol biofuels)While this is by no means a biology textbook, the scientific content is much improved over Wild Fermentation. Chapter 1 - "Fermentation as a Coevolutionary Force" is, in general, accurate and well-referenced. Katz is not a formally-trained scientist, but he does not shy away from technical details when they are helpful for understanding, and he shows respect for the scientific method and its results. See, for instance, his discussion of 'homofermentative' and 'heterofermentative' organisms in vegetable fermentation (pg 96), or of commercial starter cultures (pg 132).If you subsist on white bread and margarine and bleach your cutting boards after every use, fermentation may not be the hobby for you. The first time I skimmed some strangely-textured yeast off of a crock of fermenting beets, I have to admit I was a little skeptical what those beets would look like when I pulled them out (they were absolutely delicious). While some of my more imaginative fermentation adventures have yielded delicious results, a few have been downright terrible (yep, ate them anyway!). If you don't see any issue with carving a bit of mold off some cheese or a piece of fruit instead of throwing it out, then you probably have what it takes.Many (most?) of the poor reviews on Wild Fermentation are from people taking issue with Katz' lifestyle or philosophies. Many of his philosophical discussions in this book are backed up with hard science and references, so even those who found Wild Fermentation to be overbearing may find this new book to be more palatable. If you have some problem with the fact that Katz has HIV (he states this outright in the new book, and includes a sidebar about how fermented foods may be helpful but they are not a disease cure), do the rest of us a favor and keep it to yourself.I've been experimenting with fermentation for about a year, relying mostly on Wild Fermentation and a substantial collection of online resources. I've only had this book for a week, and I've already had tons of fun and learned a lot. When I'm finished with my read-through, this book will definitely be making its rounds among my friends. A great reference and a worthwhile investment - highly recommended.

Very informative book.

Great book to learn fermentation.

Simply put, this book changed my life.

I have used Sandor Katz's Wild Fermentations for several years and his latest book is a greatly expanded book on the same topics with largely the same enthusiastic experimental approach to the subject. I would not recommend either book for anyone interested in fermented milk or cheese information as The Art of Fermentation contains only 30 pages on yogurts, fermented milks and cheesemaking in total. I was hoping Sandor would have indulged us with more information on brined cheeses as they are the cheese world's version of pickles and brined feta style cheeses are still rather a scarce topic for most home cheese makers. Sandor has also elected to not focus on bread making or baking as the book has only 15 pages devoted to breads including pancakes and Indian dosas and idli's with only the briefest mention on the topic of Ethiopian sourdough Teff grain based Injeera, even though Idaho grows a significant amount of the Teff grain for consumption by the Ethiopian community here in the USA . I was also surprised to find nothing on the very diverse topic of homemade Indian Achar and Pachadi making traditions and the diversity of fermented Indian pickles is very large. I love the Achars I find at some Indian restaurants and they are all housemade products with no recipe available in my Indian cookbooks. Only a brief mention is made of chili based fermented sriracha sauces. The book shines on the subject of indigenous wild fermentations involving any and all combinations of vegetables, grains, fish and even red meat. Mr. Katz does not waste space with traditional recipe lists or even exact measurements of spices or salt levels, instead telling us to go forth and multiply our own pickles and drinks. This is both the enthusiastic positive approach likely to create more home pickle fanatics and the Achilles' heal of his writing style. Sandor doesn't use a broad range of descriptive words to describe fermented results and he does appear to have a much more tolerant acceptance of the result of his experimental approach. In other words, he is willing to eat and drink just about everything he ferments at home. If a home cheese maker attempts a blue veined cheese or even a plain yogurt at home, the commercial version already consumed (for instance a Maytag Blue cheese or commercial Yoplait yogurt) is likely to strongly influence her expectations of the desired outcome. Same with a Korean radish Kimchi or a salted fish or preserved shrimp purchase at an Asian market. I would think most of us would want to have tried some version or another of these products before attempting to re-create it at home. If the result is unpleasant or not worth the energy and time to make it at home, do we make changes to the recipe or just give up after the first failure? But for many of the fermented products described between these 500 pages, we may not have a reference point to guide us in the desired outcome and Sandor does not build a language of descriptive flavor and taste to help guide us towards a successful outcome. His discussion of Kosher Dill pickle softness is very helpful and has been a problem for some of my homemade pickles but not others. Perhaps that is because he has not succeeded in making the products uniform from batch to batch (I know I haven't) but I would prefer a more culinary approach to this subject with more profiles presented to compare one version and style versus another. That is also the charm in his hands-on approach and is perhaps inevitable with using native microflora present on the surface of many foods to ferment them. In any case, his microscopic world of friendly bugs is just waiting to help us enrich our hand made prickles and bubbly grain and fruit drinks. I highly recommend this text to anyone with a willingness to explore foods and tastes that may be foreign at first sip and bite. It contains a wealth of information and ideas that may require further investigation before success is acheived but it is the most complete reference on this topic designed for a general reader with a strong ethnology bent and interest in indigenous cultures!