Introduction -- About This Book -- Foolish Assumptions -- Icons Used in This Book -- Beyond the Book -- Where to Go from Here -- Part 1 Getting Started with Fermenting -- Chapter 1 In the Beginning: Fermenting Roots -- Getting Familiar with Fermentation -- Fermentation throughout History -- Mesoamerica: Calling all chocolate lovers! -- Africa: Turning toxins into edible tubers -- Asia: Thirst-quenching and candied culture -- Eastern Europe and Russia: Bubbly fruit kvass -- Japan: The sensational soybean -- North Africa and Morocco: When life gives you lemons -- How Can Something Rotten Be Good for Me? -- Fermenting Essentials -- Pickling (and How It Differs from Fermenting) -- A Quick and Easy Intro to Fermenting: Making Sauerkraut -- Chapter 2 The 4-1-1 on Fermenting -- Why Ferment? -- Getting Acquainted with the Good and Bad Guys -- Mold -- Yeast -- Bacteria -- Enzymes -- The Mechanics of Fermenting -- Salt curing and drying versus fermenting -- Vinegar and acids versus fermenting -- Canning versus fermenting -- Refrigerating fermented food -- Freezing fermented food -- Fermenting foods and drinks -- Avoiding spoilage -- Chapter 3 The Benefits of Fermenting -- The Lowdown on Lacto-Fermentation and How It Helps Your Body -- Boosting your health with vitamins and minerals -- Loading up on enzymes -- Aiding pre-digestion -- Activating your foods -- Promoting probiotics -- Strengthening your immunity -- How Fermentation Can Make You a Better Cook -- Keeping it simple and easy -- Following the seasons -- Figuring Out How Much and How Often -- Chapter 4 Getting It All Together -- Assembling Your Equipment and Tools -- Basic containers -- Essential tools and utensils -- Special equipment for meat fermenting -- Special brewing equipment and tools -- Keeping Everything Clean.

Cleaning, sanitizing, and sterilizing: Three different and important procedures -- Developing a cleaning work flow -- Getting Familiar with Common Ingredients -- Water -- Salt -- Sweeteners -- Sourcing the Best Foods for Fermentation -- Whole, organic, and local -- Considerations for meat and dairy -- Part 2 Vegetables, Fruits, Condiments, and Salsas -- Chapter 5 Vegetables -- Picking Produce for Fermenting -- Identifying ideal veggie choices -- Finding your garden delights -- Sourcing the healthiest produce -- Selecting Starters for Vegetable Ferments -- Mastering the Basics -- Preparing your vegetables -- Salting -- Packing the jars -- Waiting and tasting (and waiting some more!) -- Chapter 6 Fun with Fruits -- Fermenting Fruit for Long-Term Storage -- Selecting Ideal Fruits -- Nondairy Starters for Fruit Fermentation -- To Add Sugar or Not to Add Sugar? That Is the Question -- White sugar versus alternative sugars -- How do I know what amount of sugar to replace? -- Chapter 7 Spreads, Dips, Condiments, and Salsas -- Reaping the Health Benefits of Homemade Condiments -- Experimenting with Flavor -- Exploring Vinegars -- The process -- It's all about your mother -- Part 3 Grains, Seeds, Nuts, and Beans -- Chapter 8 Grains -- Getting to Know Your Grains -- Ancient grains -- Pseudo-grains (seeds) -- Soaking and Sprouting Grains -- Infamous Sourdough and Its Starter -- Feeding your sourdough starter with tender loving care -- Choosing the type of sourdough starter to use -- Chapter 9 Beans -- Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit -- Buying and storing beans -- Preparing beans -- Cooking beans -- Sprouting beans -- Fermenting beans -- Soy and Fermented Soy Foods -- Comparing tofu and tempeh -- Making the most of miso -- Chapter 10 Nuts, Seeds, Coconuts, and Tubers -- Nuts and Seeds: Great Nutrition in Small Packages -- Selecting seeds -- Getting nutty.

Sprouting Nuts and Seeds -- Learning how to sprout -- Drying or storing your sprouts -- Using sprouted nuts and seeds -- Making Nondairy Ferments -- Making yogurt without the moo -- Culturing nondairy cheese -- Cracking into Coconuts -- Fermenting Potatoes and Other Roots -- Preparing cassava -- Talking about taro -- Part 4 Meat, Dairy, and Eggs -- Chapter 11 Got Milk? -- The Basics of Fermenting Milk -- Making lactose tolerable by fermenting -- Choosing pasteurized or raw milk -- Separating milk -- Sourcing Your Starter Cultures -- Serving and Storing Fermented Dairy Products -- Chapter 12 Making Cheese -- Understanding Cheese Making Ingredients and Techniques -- Choosing milk -- All about rennet -- Turning milk to cheese -- Fermenting -- Colorings -- Salting -- Ripening -- Storage -- Making Soft and Semisoft Cheeses -- Making Hard Cheeses -- Serving Cheese -- Chapter 13 Meat, Fish, and Eggs -- Choosing Meat and Ingredients for Fermentation -- Selecting spices, herbs, and flavorings -- Selecting starters -- Nitrates or not? -- Choosing Casings -- Natural casings -- Artificial casings -- Meat Fermentation Techniques -- Grinding and mixing meat -- Stuffing sausages -- Brining -- Curing -- Smoking -- Making Food Safety a Priority -- Choosing a Spot to Ferment Meat -- Determining space needs -- Controlling the environment -- Storing Fermented Meats -- Part 5 Beer, Wine, and Other Beverages -- Chapter 14 Healing Beverages -- Choosing Starters -- Finding starter cultures -- Using starter cultures -- Understanding the differences between alcoholic and nonalcoholic brews -- Making Natural Carbonated Drinks -- Ginger soda -- Lacto-lemonade -- Beet, apple, and ginger kvass -- Root beer -- Kefir -- Amasake -- Kombucha -- Chapter 15 Making Wine from Water and Fruit -- Getting Yourself Ready to Make Wine -- Getting supplies -- Choosing grapes.

Understanding Wine Fermentation -- Primary fermentation: From juice to wine -- Knowing when it's done and what to do then -- Post fermentation: Completing the process -- Storing and Aging Your Wine -- Finishing and Bottling -- Tasting and Talking about Wine -- Chapter 16 Brewing Basics -- Gathering Your Ingredients -- Malt: Going with grain -- Hops heaven -- Yeast: The key to fermentation -- Don't forget the water -- Cleaning Up Your Act: Sanitation -- Practicing safe sanitation -- Bottle cleanliness is a virtue -- Ready, Set, Brew: Beginners -- Assembling your tools -- Brewing your first batch -- Taking hydrometer readings -- A Primer on Priming -- Getting ready to prime -- Making primer decisions -- Bottling Your Brew -- Picking out bottles -- Preparing to bottle -- Pouring a cold one: Getting your beer into bottles -- Intermediate Homebrewing -- Using better ingredients -- Conditioning for better beer with secondary fermentation -- Chapter 17 Brewing Beer -- Looking at Beer Types -- Ales -- Lagers -- Mixed beers -- Exploring Specific Types of Ales, Lagers, and More -- Irish red ale -- American pale ale -- Brown porter -- Stout -- English India pale ale -- American premium lager -- Märzen/Oktoberfest -- Traditional bock -- Herb, spice, and vegetable beer -- Christmas/winter/spiced beer -- Trying a Few Beer Recipes -- Part 6 The Part of Tens -- Chapter 18 More Than Ten Troubleshooting Tips for Fermented Creations -- My Fermented Food Is Too Salty. What Do I Do? -- Why Is the Fermentation Taking So Long? -- Why Are My Fermented Creations Different throughout the Year? -- Why Is My Ferment Too Soft or Mushy? -- Why Isn't My Ferment Working? -- Why Is My Fermented Creation Too Dry? -- What Do I Do about Yeast or Mold on the Surface of the Ferment? -- What Should I Do about a Ferment Jar That's Bulging? -- Why Did the Color Change?.

Why Is My Ferment Leaking or Overflowing? -- Why Does It Stink? -- Chapter 19 Top Ten Benefits of Eating Fermented Foods -- A Much-Needed Nutritional Boost -- Digestion, Enzymes, and Probiotics -- Immunity Boost -- Unique Flavor -- Money Savings -- Time Savings -- Ecological Impact -- Slow Food Movement -- Control over Your Food -- The Satisfaction of Doing Something Good for Yourself -- Chapter 20 More Than Ten Food and Equipment Resources -- Cultures for Health -- Yolife -- Water Kefir Grains -- Wildwood Foods -- Miso Master -- Leeners -- Homesteader's Supply -- The Sausage Maker -- New England Cheesemaking Supply -- The Sausage Source -- Adventures in Homebrewing -- Chapter 21 More Than Ten Tips for a Long and Healthy Life -- Food Is Medicine, So Eat to Enhance Your Health -- Use Alternative Sugar -- Reduce Plastic Use and Go BPA-Free -- Choose Organic -- Get to Know Your Farmer -- Be Conscious about Your Condiments -- Eat Whole Grains -- Choose GMO-Free Foods -- Get Protein from Plants -- Find Vegan Milk, Butter, and Dairy Options -- Learn to Love Water -- Index -- Supplemental Images -- EULA.