Fermenting Foods: The Complete Idiot's Guide

When people ask me about how to ferment things (which they do, I have no idea why, I'm a total novice!), this is the book I recommend!

Wardeh, of GNOWFGLINS, was asked by the Complete Idiot's Guide people to author a book on fermenting and I think she did a brilliant job!  I love the no-nonsense approach and how she makes it seem so easy to just jump in and get fermenting.  I've used a ton of Wardeh's recipes from her online classes and they always turn out great.  I'm so excited to have a whole book full of them!

There's a great section on the why of fermenting, which is a good read if you need a little pep talk to motivate you to get back into it (or to start!).  Then she breaks it down into the various types and components that go into it, a little bit of science.  And after that it's all recipes, recipes, recipes!  And they're good ones!  She's got a lot of variations, which I love.  Until you get familiar enough with the process, it's nice to have someone else do the recipe tweaking. 

Here are the recipes I plan on trying this summer: garlic sauerkraut (I've already got my sauerkraut method down and we've always got a batch brewing, so I'm excited to try something a little different), Ginger-Zucchini Relish (I can always use another idea for what to do with late-summer zucchini!), Cherry-Walnut-Mint Chutney, Cinnamon Peach Chutney, Fig Butter, and Ginger-Rhubarb Soda.   And there are SOOO many more fantastic-sounding recipes.  This has definitely earned a spot on my most-used cookbook shelf!

Have you tried any crazy ferments?  I think the weirdest (and grossest- it stank to high heaven and we threw it out!) was pickled daikon radish- blech!  Some of our successes were spiced, pickled beets and gingered carrots, plus our favorite sauerkraut.