Recently there was a short film made with Sandor Katz called “FERMENT” created by Joe Zork, presented by the Southern Foodways Alliance, in association with the Southern Documentary Project. There are many videos of Sandor Katz but this one has a very personal, relaxed feel where you just see Sandor in his home element.
The video shown on Vimeo is a profile of Sandor Katz, winner of the 2014 Craig Claiborne Lifetime Achievement Award, and author of The Art of Fermentation and Wild Fermentation. It shows him chopping hot peppers and making a Chili Garlic Sauce while talking about fermentation and how fermentation relates to culture.
He explains how he grew up in New York City in Manhattan and later found a queer, rural commune in Tennessee that he lives near now in Woodbury, Tennessee. He also tells the story of how he came to discover fermentation, the process, and the many flavorful things you can create.
Later as he’s chopping and squeezing cabbage for sauerkraut into a large ceramic crock, he talks about how the practice of fermentation is very ancient and pre-dates prehistoric times since there is no written record of the first practices of fermentation.
Culture and community play an important role when thinking of fermentation extending to the microorganisms in and on our bodies and also even culture in terms of communities forming ideas and “fermenting”.
