The hottest Fermentation Substack posts right now

Cooking at home can be a fun and creative outlet, especially for those who enjoy trying new recipes and dishes. Using fresh ingredients can enhance the experience, like making homemade pasta or fermented sauces.
Fermented foods like hot sauce and sauerkraut are not only tasty but also good for gut health. They can be simple to make at home and can add unique flavors to your meals.
It's often frustrating when dining out, as homemade meals can sometimes taste better than restaurant dishes. This makes cooking at home even more rewarding and enjoyable.

Debra Wink, a sourdough expert, recommends using pineapple juice in the initial starter mixture to create favorable conditions for lactic acid bacteria and yeast growth.
Monitoring and adjusting the pH of sourdough starters can play a key role in activating yeast and preventing undesirable bacteria, leading to successful starter maintenance.
Leaving starters at room temperature instead of refrigerating them for short periods can help retain their robustness and enhance their performance.

Industrial biotechnology aims to transition our economy to more sustainable biomanufacturing.
Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) helps forecast new technology's competitiveness in industrial markets.
Synonym's tool Scaler simplifies TEA for synthetic biologists, potentially changing the financing structure of biomanufacturing.

Enzymatic coagulation involves using rennet from animals like cows and sometimes even pigs, chickens, or armadillos.
Lactic coagulation, like sour milk or yogurt, occurs when milk becomes so sour it coagulates into a gel.
A hybrid category, lactic/enzymatic cheese like chèvre, involves slow coagulation from acidity with a touch of rennet.

Naturally fermented lactic cheese relies on acid/rennet coagulation.
Soft ripened lactic cheeses can develop unique flavors with yeasty or geo rinds.
Using a wood barrel as a source of starter for lactic cheese making can lead to unique microbial development and flavor profiles.

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The author is shifting to shorter, more frequent posts on their project, with full versions available to paid subscribers.
The author is transparent about their funding sources, which include crowdfunding and earning money through various activities related to their cheese research.
Exploring Norway's dairy traditions has led to new insights on diverse dairy food products and techniques.

Natto is a unique fermented soybean food packed with health benefits. It's made using a special bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, which isn't found in many other fermented foods.
It contains important nutrients like vitamin K and PQQ, which can help with energy, stress protection, and overall heart health. Eating natto can enhance the nutrition of other foods you eat it with.
Though its slimy texture might be off-putting, natto has been enjoyed in Japan for centuries and can be delicious when prepared well. Finding it at an Asian grocery store is a good start for trying it out.

India is making strides in food innovation with projects like cultivated fish, halal meat, and microalgae-based human milk.
There is a need to overhaul food tech funding for more systemic change and sustainability.
Consumer preferences are shifting towards labels like 'healthy' and 'sustainable' over 'vegan' or 'plant-based'.

Imagindairy receives US regulatory approval and acquires an industrial-scale production plant for animal-free dairy proteins.
Infinite Roots secures $58M in Series B funding, the largest mycelium investment in Europe, to expand production and launch globally.
Liberation Labs and Ivy Tech Community College partner to launch a biomanufacturing workforce training program, creating new career opportunities.

Animal agriculture has major environmental impacts, is inefficient, and requires vast resources - Precision Fermentation offers a sustainable alternative.
Precision Fermentation uses microorganisms to create specific food components, like proteins, without the need for animals, potentially revolutionizing the food industry.
The shift to Precision Fermentation in food production can significantly reduce land use, energy consumption, and environmental harm caused by traditional agricultural practices.

Fermentation of soy does not neutralize the goitrogenic effect, it can actually make it worse.
Isoflavones in soy, like genistein and daidzein, are the problematic toxins that exist in unprocessed soybeans.
Consuming soy in moderation along with plenty of iodine is recommended to mitigate the goitrogenic effect.