In the old days, before you could hop in a car and head to the supermarket, winter meant hunger. Everything you needed to survive the cold, dark days of winter when fields lay fallow had to be harvested in the fall and preserved. There was no takeout, no frozen food section, no meal kits delivered…

Fresh salsa is delicious, but it can be leveled up by fermenting it to create another layer of flavor. The process of fermentation melds the ingredients together and gives the salsa an effervescence that otherwise wouldn’t exist. I’ve been told by some people lacking fermentation experience that when they think about fermentation, they often think…

By Kat Odell From Bloomberg News Chefs generally want to keep mold out of their kitchens, but they make an exception for koji. For around a decade, the fungus has been a secret weapon for trailblazing chefs like Rene Redzepi at Noma in Copenhagen, used to ferment grains, cure proteins and impart umami to dishes…

Australian researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) are attempting to industrialize the fermentation of cocoa beans to make the production of chocolate more controllable and less expensive. Chocolate has become a staple in the pantries of most households in which it is consumed quite regularly, particularly around, the upcoming holiday, Easter. Despite…

Beloved by health-conscious hipsters and yoga moms, kombucha skyrocketed from relative obscurity to a health food staple in the early 2000s.  Now, in 2022, it’s become so popular that you can buy it by the case at Costco, and you might even be able to find it at your local gas station. If you’re unfamiliar,…

In the early days of human civilization, before there were canning jars, refrigeration, and freezer bags, fermentation was the most common way to preserve food. To this day, many of our favorite delicacies, including booze and chocolate, depend on the process. But a lot of home cooks and food savers, myself included, feel intimidated by…