Wildcrafted Fermentation: Exploring, Transforming, and Preserving the Wild Flavors of Your Local Terroir

by Pascal Baudar

Pascal Baudar is a culinary visionary...I am in awe of this book. Get ready to be inspired. Sandor Ellix Katz, author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Art of Fermentation

The perfect DIY guide to make your own fermented hot sauce, wild green pesto, plant-based cheese and so much more!

Professional forager Pascal Baudar expanded the wild food frontier with his path breaking works, The New Wildcrafted Cuisine and The Wildcrafting Brewer. Now the acclaimed “culinary alchemist” combines his curiosity, research and in-depth understanding of terroir to put forth recipes that explore root-to-stem fermentation of wild ingredients in his latest book on foraging.

In Wildcrafted Fermentation, Pascal Baudar describes in detail how to create rich, flavourful foods at home from the wild and cultivated plants in your local area or garden. Baudar includes more than 100 easy-to-follow, plant-based, vegan-friendly recipes:

• Fennel sauerkraut
• Wild food kimchi
• A section on fermenting mushrooms
• Fermented leaf chips
• Fermented wild greens pesto
• Fermented hot sauce
• Dehydrated spice blends
• Plant-based cheeses and so much more!

The recipes are accompanied by step-by-step photos illustrating foraging, preparation and fermentation techniques for both wild and cultivated plants. 

For foodies, foragers, fermentation enthusiasts and adventurous home cooks alike, Wildcrafted Fermentation is an indispensable field-to-kitchen guide to crafting cuisine unique to you and your environment. 

• ISBN10: 1603588515
• ISBN13: 9781603588515
• Publish Date: 16 April 2020 (first published 12 March 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Chelsea Green Publishing Co
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Wildcrafted Fermentation is a tutorial guide with encyclopedic coverage of the technical process of lactofermentation of edibles with an emphasis on foraged foods. Due out 12th March 2020 from Chelsea Green Publishing, it's 304 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats (paperback available now).

Author Pascal Baudar has written several solid books on wildcrafting along with fermentation previously and this one is a good addition to the library for both wildcrafters/self-sufficiency fans as well as explorers of diets based on natural foods and probiotics. The author's writing style is authentic, authoritative, science based, and accessible.

The introduction covers a little bit of history and cultural backgrounds for fermentation of foodstuffs as well as a capsule history of the author's personal fermentation journey, and segues nicely into the following technique and recipe chapters. The rest of the book follows a logical format, starting with basic techniques and a little biochemistry (layman accessible, not too technical), exploring and figuring out local terroir (unique characteristics of climate and ecology which impart a unique 'flavor stamp' on foods and produce from that area). There are chapters covering local ingredients, sourcing and utilizing them, as well as specific recipe tutorials for soups, pastes, spreads, sauces, cheeses and more.

The recipes themselves are clear, concise, and easy to follow. The ingredients are (mostly) easily sourced in any relatively well stocked grocery store. Most of the more difficult to find items have specific easy-to-find substitutes mentioned in the recipes. The ingredients are listed bullet style in a sidebar with both American standard measures and metric in parentheses - yay!). The photography throughout the book is clear, plentiful, and well done. Most all of the recipes and some of the process instructions are accompanied by photos.

The book also contains a cross referenced index and resource links list for further reading.

A competently written and useful niche book which would make a good selection for wildcrafters, homesteaders, natural foods enthusiasts, preppers, adventurous cooks and foodies.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes