When most of us think of fermented foods, we think of pickles. Maybe, for some of us, beer, wine and other distilled beverages or sourdough bread come to mind, but for the most part, our minds wander to all of the things we could possibly pickle, like in that “WE CAN PICKLE THAT” sketch from Portlandia.
But to
, food historian, fermentation specialist, teacher and social science researcher, ferments are a time capsule that not only preserves time and place, but also culture. Her latest book, Our Fermented Lives A History: How Fermented Foods Have Shaped Cultures & Communities, explores humanity’s history of wrangling up bacteria to feed communities, preserve foods, provide nutrition and how generations of cultures around the world have been able to maintain their culinary traditions through “cultivating culture” (both biologically and anthropologically).
Follow Julia Skinner on Substack over at Root Kitchens, @RootKitchens on Instagram and @BookishJulia on Twitter. And be sure to follow me, Kae Lani Palmisano at @KaeLaniSays on TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram.
The Power Dining Podcast digs into the power structures, power moves, and power dynamics in the world of food. Every other week a new guest joins host, Kae Lani Palmisano, in a conversation about how the complex relationships we have with food, its impact on us and the world, and the unexplainable beliefs about food we just can’t seem to shake.
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The Power of Ferments with Julia Skinner