Sandor Katz, Nov. 2013, Fermented Food

Sandor Katz

Sandor Katz, the well known and prolific speaker, author, and food fermentation guru, will speak at the Gardening Partners of Dickson County monthly meeting Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Tennessee Technology Center at Dickson.

Sandor has presented workshops in more than half the states in the U.S., as well as Canada, Australia, England, Scotland, and Italy, and  added Ireland and Denmark to the mix this year. His latest book, The Art of Fermentation, is over 500 pages of how-to info, troubleshooting, scientific information, resources, photos, and a foreword by Michael Pollan.

In Sandor’s words: “My interest in fermentation grew out of my overlapping interests in cooking, nutrition and gardening. It started with sauerkraut. I found an old crock buried in our barn, harvested cabbage from our garden, chopped it up, salted it, and waited. That first kraut tasted so alive and powerfully nutritious! Its sharp flavor sent my salivary glands into a frenzy and got me hooked on fermentation. I have made sauerkraut ever since, earning the nickname Sandorkraut, even as my repertoire has expanded.”

Fermentation makes foods more nutritious, as well as delicious. Microscopic organisms – our ancestors and allies – transform food and extend its usefulness. Fermentation is found throughout human cultures. Hundreds of medical and scientific studies confirm what folklore has always known: Fermented foods help people stay healthy.

Sandor at a class in Ireland in 2013.

Many of your favorite foods and drinks are probably fermented, including bread, cheese, wine, beer, mead, cider, chocolate, coffee, tea, pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, salami, miso, tempeh, soy sauce, vinegar, yogurt, kefir, and kombucha.

Sandor is a native of New York City, a graduate of Brown University, and a retired policy wonk. In 1993, he moved from New York City to Cannon County, Tennessee.

Learn more about Sandorkraut on his website, wildfermentation.com.

Get a report from his Ireland tour here.