Fermentation as Metaphor

Bestselling author Sandor Katz–an “unlikely rock star of the American food scene” (New York Times) with over 500,000 books sold–gets personal about the deeper meaning of fermentation. In 2012, Sandor Ellix Katz published The Art of Fermentation, which quickly became the bible for foodies around the world, a runaway bestseller, and a James Beard Book Award winner. Since then his work has gone on to inspire countless professionals and home cooks worldwide, bringing fermentation into the mainstream. In Fermentation as Metaphor, stemming from his personal obsession with all things fermented, Katz meditates on his art and work, drawing connections between microbial communities and aspects of human culture: politics, religion, social and cultural movements, art, music, sexuality, identity, and even our individual thoughts and feelings. He informs his arguments with his vast knowledge of the fermentation process, which he describes as a slow, gentle, steady, yet unstoppable force for change. This audio edition of Fermentation as Metaphor offers 45 minutes of bonus content in the form of an exclusive interview between Sandor Ellix Katz and Jeff Gordinier, food & drinks editor of Esquire magazine and the author of Hungry: Eating, Road-Tripping, and Risking It All with the Greatest Chef in the World. In addition to this exclusive interview is a sample of the 50 mesmerizing, original images of otherworldly beings from an unseen universe – images of fermented foods and beverages that Katz has photographed using both a stereoscope and electron microscope – exalting microbial life from the level of “germs” to that of high art. When you see the raw beauty and complexity of microbial structures, Katz says, they will take you “far from absolute boundaries and rigid categories. They force us to reconceptualize. They make us ferment”. These images are available in the included supplementary material.