Fermented Foods

Christine Baumgarthuber is creator of The Austerity Kitchen, a one-of-a-kind culinary history blog, and author of Fermented Foods (Reaktion Books, 2021). She lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

"Reading Fermented Foods was a lovely accompaniment to the hands-on fermentation projects I’ve been cultivating in my house . . . this book is not a how-to guide for fermentation projects but rather an overarchingnarrative of the history of fermentation, considered alongside the rise of hygienic or Pasteurian practice. As withmicrobes, there is an immense amount of history on fermentation if you know where to look . . . this book addresses the whole of our food system: how we can balance embodied, historical, cultural knowledges with the sterile environments and scientific mindset in which we live, and how we acknowledge that we are not the only actors in the process." - Molly McConnell, Gastronomica"Baumgarthuber’s new book adds to the considerable output of the past 20 years on fermented food and drinks. It’s a field admitting of many perspectives: regional, scientific, how-to and cultural, social, and even intellectual history . . . In sum, the book gathers and synthesizes, with useful figures, a tremendous amount of historical, scientific, and technical information on how gangs of microbiota produce provender for our daily delectation. The riot of resultant flavors and their associated traditions are fascinating, and the book is a welcome addition to the fermented-food canon." - Digestible Bits and Bites"Main streets and farmers’ markets show off sourdough bakers, craft brewers, small winemakers, cheesewrights, soy sauce makers, and more. Such artisans reclaim fermented foods, which modern industry appropriated, compromised, and made mysterious. Now Christine Baumgarthuber fascinatingly renews our acquaintance with the long list of ancient microbiological wonders achievable domestically." - Michael Symons, author of 'Meals Matter: A Radical Economics Through Gastronomy'"How did the very foods that nourished and sustained humans for thousands of generations become increasingly feared and almost forgotten? Christine Baumgarthuber shines a light on the nascent scientific understanding of microbiology and germ theory as it collided with the underpinnings of the early industrialization of our food system." - Kirsten K. Shockey, co-author of 'Fermented Vegetables' and 'Miso, Tempeh, Natto and Other Tasty Ferments'