For thousands of years fermented foods - bread, wine, beer, pickles, sausage, cheese - have nourished humanity through dearth and famine, the founding of ancient kingdoms and the building of industrial cities. Fermentation, and its preserving effects, gave humans food security. Tiny microorganisms - bacteria, yeasts and mould - do the magic of turning cabbage into kimchi and grapes into wine. Yet fear of contaminants in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries led modern people away from home fermenting and towards mass-produced food. From the scientific drive to brew better beer to the cured meats of Iceland and the piquant, sometimes deadly ferments of Southeast Asia, this fascinating and often whimsical history is a celebration of the world's favourite fermented foods.

Fermented Foods serves up the history and science behind some of the world's most enduring food and drink. It begins with wine, beer, and other heady brews before going on to explore the fascinating and often whimsical histories of fermented breads, dairy, vegetables, and meat, and to speculate on fermented fare's possible future. Along the way, we learn about Roquefort cheese's fabled origins, the scientific drive to brew better beer, the then-controversial biological theory that saved French wine, and much more. Christine Baumgarthuber also makes several detours into lesser known ferments-African beers, the formidable cured meats of the Subarctic latitudes, and the piquant, sometimes deadly ferments of Southeast Asia. Anyone in search of an accessible, fun, yet comprehensive survey of the world's fermented foods need look no further than this timely, necessary work.