The Fermented Man, Derek Dellinger
The Fermented Man, Derek Dellinger
List: $17.99 | Sale: $12.59
Club: $8.99

The Fermented Man
A Year on the Front Lines of a Food Revolution

Author: Derek Dellinger

Narrator: Sean Crisden

Unabridged: 9 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/14/2017


Synopsis

On January 1, 2014, homebrewer and writer Derek Dellinger began a journey that would change nearly everything he thought he knew about fermented food and beverage—and as a beer expert, he knew a lot. For an entire year, Dellinger would eat or drink only products that had been created by microbes. Exploring the vast world of fermentation, Dellinger became the living embodiment of its cultural and nutritional power—he became the Fermented Man.

In this entertaining and informative narrative, Dellinger catalogs his year spent on this unorthodox diet, revealing insights about the science of fermentation, as well as its cultural history, culinary value, and nutritional impact along the way. He goes beyond yogurt and sauerkraut to show us how fermentation occurs in a wide range of foods we might never have expected, and is at the root of many unique delicacies around the world. From foraging for living bacteria in the modern American grocery store, to sampling mucousy green Century Eggs in Chinatown, to an epic winter quest to Iceland for rotten shark meat, Dellinger investigates a realm of forgotten foods that is endlessly complex and surprisingly flavorful.

About Derek Dellinger

Derek Dellinger is a writer, brewer, and fermentation enthusiast based in the Hudson Valley. He is the brewmaster at Kent Falls Brewing Company, the first farmhouse brewery in the state of Connecticut (and undoubtedly the only brewery in the area spontaneously fermenting beers outside of a barn in an old milk chiller). Derek also writes about homebrewing, fermentation, food, and beer for a number of publications, including his blog, bear-flavored.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Matt on June 12, 2017

This was fairly disappointing. Great concept but bizarre execution. If you're thinking about reading this because you want to hear about all the interesting fermentation he does and how he managed to get through a year, well... Be warned, he lives on grilled cheese and pizza. This is hardly the book y......more

Goodreads review by Chris on December 09, 2016

Fairly decent information and a novel "for a year" challenge. I liked that Derek kept to a synopsis of his endeavors rather than filling in all the day to day drudgery. Even with that, I felt that the author did a lot of repeating the same information over and over again. For example, the introducti......more

Goodreads review by Aaron on June 19, 2018

As a project documenting a guy eating only fermented food for a whole year, this book is a failure. As a collection of essays loosely tied together by the subject of fermentation presented by an affable fellow, it's just fine. I would visit this guy's website to see what he had to say about fermente......more

Goodreads review by Kelsey on August 17, 2016

I never would have thought fermentation could keep me captivated for 200 pages. this book is fun, easy to read, and thoughtful. since finishing it, I now think more about what I'm eating and more importantly, I no longer feel bad when I eat nothing but bread and cheese.......more

Goodreads review by mart-e on September 29, 2020

Fun to read. The book doesn't pretend to be the solution to every diet problem and it is refreshing, just a weird experiment. Now I want to make sauerkraut.......more