Fermentation is as old as food itself. It is the method for making, among other things, miso, hot sauce, beer, salami, yoghurt, sourdough, cheese and coffee. Many chefs love the hypercharged flavour of fermented foods, but it is their health benefits that are increasingly taking centre stage.
Sandor Katz, the author of The Art of Fermentation, has been coaxing readers into fermenting food since the 1990s. More recently, the epidemiologist Tim Spector (the co-founder of the Zoe health app), has homed in on what he calls “the four Ks” – kefir, kombucha, kimchi and kraut (sauer) – as being vital to keeping our microbiome healthy.
