Sandor Katz

Last updated
Sandor Ellix Katz
Sandor Katz Monticello 12 Sep 2015.jpg
Sandor Katz doing a fermentation workshop at the Monticello Heritage Harvest Festival, 12 September 2015
Born (1962-05-20) May 20, 1962 (age 62)
Known forFood writer focusing on DIY fermentation
Notable work Wild Fermentation (2003)
The Art of Fermentation (2012)

Sandor Ellix Katz (born May 20, 1962) is an American food writer and DIY food activist.

Contents

Work

A self-described "fermentation fetishist", Katz has taught hundreds of food workshops around the United States, and his book Wild Fermentation (2003) has been called a classic, [1] "the bible for people embarking on DIY projects like sourdough or sauerkraut", [2] and "especially notorious for getting people excited about fermenting food". [3] He was named one of Chow magazine's top "provocateurs, trendsetters, and rabble-rousers" in 2009. [4]

Personal life

Born to an Ashkenazi Jewish family with origins in Eastern Europe, Katz grew up in New York City on the Upper West Side. His grandparents immigrated from Belarus in 1920, then part of the Soviet Union. [5] He is openly gay, [6] an AIDS survivor, [7] and began his fermentation experimentation while living in a rural, off-the-grid Radical Faerie community in Tennessee. [2] [8]

Katz was the subject of the 2009 punk rock song "Human(e) Meat (The Flensing of Sandor Katz)", a satirical vegan response to Katz's 2006 chapter on "Vegetarian Ethics and Humane Meat" in The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved .

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brewing</span> Process in beer production

Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, at home by a homebrewer, or communally. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BC, and archaeological evidence suggests that emerging civilizations, including ancient Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia, brewed beer. Since the nineteenth century the brewing industry has been part of most western economies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sauerkraut</span> Finely sliced and fermented cabbage

Sauerkraut is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferment the sugars in the cabbage leaves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kombucha</span> Fermented tea beverage

Kombucha is a fermented, lightly effervescent, sweetened black tea drink. Sometimes the beverage is called kombucha tea to distinguish it from the culture of bacteria and yeast. Juice, spices, fruit or other flavorings are often added.

<i>Nattō</i> Traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans

Nattō is a traditional Japanese food made from whole soybeans that have been fermented with Bacillus subtilis var. natto. It is often served as a breakfast food with rice. It is served with karashi mustard, soy or tare sauce, and sometimes Japanese bunching onion. Within Japan, nattō is most popular in the eastern regions, including Kantō, Tōhoku, and Hokkaido.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheesemaking</span> Craft of making cheese

Cheesemaking is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentrated form. Cheesemaking allows the production of the cheese with diverse flavors and consistencies.

Balché is a mildly intoxicating beverage that was commonly consumed by the ancient Maya in what is now Mexico and upper Central America. Today, it is still common among the Maya. The drink is made from the bark of a leguminous tree, Lonchocarpus violaceus, which is soaked in honey and water, and fermented. A closely related beverage, made from honey produced from the nectar of a species of morning glory (Turbina corymbosa), is called xtabentún.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pickling</span> Procedure of preserving food in brine or vinegar

Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is called a pickle, or, if named, the name is prefaced with the word "pickled". Foods that are pickled include vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, meats, fish, dairy and eggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayran</span> Yogurt-based, salted drink

Ayran, dhallë, dew, avamast, mastaw, shaneena, or xynogala is a cold savory yogurt-based beverage popular across Central Asia, West Asia, Southeastern Europe, North Asia and Eastern Europe. The principal ingredients are yogurt, water and salt. Herbs such as mint may be optionally added. Some varieties are carbonated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fermentation</span> Metabolic process producing energy in the absence of oxygen

Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substances through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, fermentation is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen, while in food production, it may more broadly refer to any process in which the activity of microorganisms brings about a desirable change to a foodstuff or beverage. The science of fermentation is known as zymology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nukazuke</span> Japanese pickle made by fermenting vegetables in rice bran

Nukazuke (糠漬け) is a type of Japanese preserved food, made by fermenting vegetables in rice bran (nuka), developed in the 17th century.

<i>Wild Fermentation</i>

Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods is a 2003 book by Sandor Katz that discusses the ancient practice of fermentation. While most of the conventional literature assumes the use of modern technology, Wild Fermentation focuses more on the practice and culture of fermenting food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rejuvelac</span> Kind of grain water

Rejuvelac is a kind of grain water that was invented and promoted by Ann Wigmore, born in Cropos, Lithuania. The beverage is closely related to a traditional Romanian drink, called borș, a fermented wheat bran that can be used to make a sour soup called ciorbă or as the basis for Vegan cheeses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roadkill cuisine</span> Preparation and consumption of roadkill

Roadkill cuisine is preparing and eating roadkill, animals hit by vehicles and found along roads.

<i>The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved</i>

The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements is a 2003 book by food activist Sandor Katz that examines how contemporary food production differs drastically from our recent past. The author challenges the corporate food industry as well as the way we think about food. He suggests how traditional cultural practices of sustainable agriculture might subvert the corporate farm system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apo (drink)</span> Indian rice beer

Apo, apong, or poka is an alcohol drink commonly found among the tribes in the Northeast India states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. It is prepared by fermentation of rice. It is known by various names across different tribes in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

Jun, or Xun, is a fermented drink similar to kombucha, differing only in that its base ingredients are green tea and honey instead of black tea and cane sugar. Jun is brewed by fermenting green tea with a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). Fruits, sweeteners, spices, and other flavor enhancers are also commonly added to make the taste of the beverage more appealing. Though Jun bears similarities to other fermented drinks like kombucha, water kefir, and kvass, it has enough differences to be considered a distinct drink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turnip water</span> Fermented carrot beverage from Turkey

Şalgam or Şalgam Suyu, pronounced "shal-gam", is a popular Turkish traditional fermented beverage from the southern Turkish cities of Adana, Hatay, Tarsus, Mersin, Kahramanmaras, İzmir and the Çukurova region. The name of the fruit is a Persian loanword meaning turnip. It is either called turnip juice, turnip water, shalgam juice, or shalgam water. The French traveler, naturalist and writer Pierre Belon described its production method in the 16th century. Şalgam is produced by lactic acid fermentation. Studies have shown that the juice of the purple carrot used in Şalgam reduces the effects of high-carbohydrate, high-fat diets in rats. It is one of the most popular beverages during winter in Turkey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelsea Green Publishing</span> American book publisher

Chelsea Green Publishing is an American publishing company which specialises in non-fiction books on progressive politics and sustainable living. Based in Vermont, it has published over 400 books since it was founded in 1984, and now releases between 25 and 30 titles each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beer in Egypt</span>

Beer in Egypt has long held a significant role, and its presence in the country is thought to date back to the Predynastic period. In ancient Egypt wine was preferred by the upper class, whereas beer was a staple for working class Egyptians and a central part of their diet. Despite religious restrictions and conflicting views on alcohol after the Muslim conquest of Egypt, the consumption of beer did not cease, and it still remains the most popular alcoholic beverage in the country by far, accounting for 54 percent of all alcohol consumption.

References

  1. "An interview with underground foodie hero Sandor Katz". Grist Magazine. 17 May 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  2. 1 2 "On the Hunt for Wild Yeast: Chatting with home fermentation expert Sandor Ellix Katz". CHOW Magazine. 18 March 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  3. "The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: An Interview with Sandor Ellix Katz". Healing the Earth radio. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  4. Lessley Anderson (2 November 2009), The CHOW 13: Sandor Katz, p. 10, archived from the original on 21 October 2012, retrieved 2 July 2013
  5. "Pickling Pioneer Preaches Gospel of Fermentation". The Scroll. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  6. Sandor Katz (2006), The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved , Chelsea Green Publishing, p.  95, ISBN   1-933392-11-8
  7. Katz, Sandor. "Who Is Sandorkraut?".
  8. Winborn, George (30 May 2008), "Fermentation Fervor" (PDF), Just Out, p. 43[ permanent dead link ]