FERMENT REVOLUTIONNew to the world of fermenting? InFerment for Good
($39.99, hbk, Hardie Grant), Sharon Flynn offers a step-by-step guide to exactly
what’s needed to dive in, along with recipes, anecdotes and detailed notes.TRENDS
BIT OF A PICKLE
Adam James’s
fermenting trials.gourmet NEWS
FOOD CULTURE DINING DESIGN
EDITED BY MAGGIE SCARDIFIELDGlobal preservation
A self-taught chef sets off on a world tour to master the art of fermentation.
Fermenting is by no means a new concept, but in the past few years the age-old
preserving tradition has seen a revival like nothing else, with fermented
ingredients popping up on restaurant menus and supermarket shelves worldwide.
You may already have a well-thumbed copy of Sandor Katz’s bible The Art
of Fermentation on the shelf, but our own home-grown king of live cultures is
undoubtedly Adam James of Hobart’s Tricycle Café and his off-shoot fermenting
company, Rough Rice.
The self-taught chef knows his gochujang from his doubanjiang. For the past
four years he’s been making everything from Sichuan chilli paste to genmai miso
in his laboratory-style kitchen. “I’m intrigued by how fermenting can heighten
umami,” he says. “With just a little time and salt, you can get incredible results.”
James has been awarded a Churchill Fellowship this year, a travelling
scholarship that will allow him to study fermentation techniques around the
world. The eight-week trip kicks off in July in the Jura, where he’ll learn about the
making of Comté cheese and vin jaune. He’ll also investigate culatello and
Parmigiano-Reggiano in Emilia-Romagna, and colatura di alici, “the world’s first
fish sauce”, on the Amalfi Coast before travelling on to China, Korea and Japan.
While there’s been plenty published on the health benefits of fermentation,
James says his research and experiments always put flavour first. The ferment-
fanatic supplies a small number of restaurants with goods, and his goal after
this trip is to set up a “fermentery”, possibly as part of the Agrarian Kitchen’s
expansion later this year.PHOTOGRAPHY RODNEY MACUJA