I. The Beginning In 2018, in a scattered village in Hong Kong’s New Territories that was facing imminent demolition, I baked my first sourdough loaf using a jar of fermented starter I’d just received from a friend. Looking back, it hadn’t really risen properly; it could hardly be called bread.…
Torrential rain, flooding, typhoons, droughts… under the threat of climate change, farmers are always the first to suffer. Yet, it is often overlooked that they are also the most proactive in taking measures to mitigate these losses. Last year, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the Farmer Seed…
Those who have studied permaculture will likely be familiar with the name Sepp Holzer. As a pioneer of permaculture in practice, Holzer is almost a household name in Austria, and his book, *Permaculture*, has served as an introductory guide for enthusiasts across the globe. This June, I travelled deep into…
Foodthink says Foodthink has hosted several reading groups focused on fermentation. During the process of selecting books, we noticed something: while fermentation culture is booming among foodie circles abroad, why hasn’t it taken off in China? This is a sentiment shared by the publishing professionals featured in this article: China…
A Word from Foodthink Sour chillies are a traditional Chinese fermented delicacy, particularly popular in the south. While each region has its own unique flavour and slightly different supporting ingredients, the method and principles of fermentation remain largely the same: salt is used to create an ideal environment for lactic…
I’ve lived in Eren Valley for over two years now, and the annual cost of labour and farmyard manure for the fields is quite a substantial sum. The locals I hire often can’t resist doing the sums for me, pointing out that growing things this way is far more expensive…
The “Fermentation Awakening Life Festival”, co-hosted by Foodthink and the Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market, opened its doors two weeks ago! Episodes on kombucha, mozzarella, and ricotta from “The Alchemy of Food” video series have been released in succession, while the “Art of Fermentation” book club has just concluded its second…
In this episode of Food Talk, we are joined by two guests with academic backgrounds in fermentation engineering, Mary and Liu Xinzheng, to discuss how their passion for home-brewing led them down the path of fermentation. While studying fermentation engineering at university, their shared love for beer—and a feeling that…
Foodthink Says Cheese is a profoundly traditional fermented food. Before the Industrial Revolution enabled mass production, the vast majority of cheese was handmade by farmers and small-scale producers. The flavour of the cheese was intimately tied to the season, the climate, and the methods used for producing the raw milk,…
I grew up in New York City, and from a young age, I loved all kinds of pickles. Little did I imagine that those delicious, crunchy, garlicky pickles would one day lead me on a journey of discovery and exploration. In truth, besides pickles, fermented products such as bread, cheese,…
