Suan Cai Recipe: Dongbei Sour Napa Cabbage and the Four-Week Wait
Suan cai is Northeast China's sour cabbage: napa cabbage, usually blanched in boiling water, weighed down with a stone in salted water and fermented for about a month.…
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Fermented Foods From Around the World
135 fermented foods and drinks, grouped by region: what each one is, how it is made, and whether it is safe to make at home. Articles marked "Updated" have been rewritten with checked sources.
East Asia
Fermented foods and drinks from China, Japan and Korea: soybean pastes, koji, pickles, rice wines and fermented tea.
Zha Cai: Fuling’s Pressed Mustard Tuber, and a Kohlrabi Version to Make at Home
Zha cai is the salted, pressed and fermented stem of tuber mustard (Brassica juncea var. tumida) from Fuling, Chongqing, dated to 1898. Industrially it's pickled three times in…
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Kasuzuke Recipe: Japanese Sake Lees Pickles, From Quick Vegetables to Nara-zuke
Kasuzuke are Japanese foods cured in sake kasu, the lees pressed from sake mash, which contains about 8% alcohol. Nara-zuke, the best-known kind, is salted melon or other…
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Jiu Niang (Lao Zao): Chinese Sweet Fermented Glutinous Rice, and How to Make It
Jiu niang (lao zao in Sichuan) is Chinese sweet fermented glutinous rice: steamed sticky rice mixed with a jiuqu starter and kept warm for about two days, until…
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Hong Qu (Red Yeast Rice): The Chinese Red Mould Rice, and Why It’s Not a Home Project
Hong qu, or red yeast rice, is cooked rice fermented with the mould Monascus purpureus until it turns deep red; it colours char siu, red-braised pork and Fujian…
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Cheonggukjang Recipe: Korean Fast-Fermented Soybeans for Stew
Cheonggukjang is Korea's fast soybean ferment: soft-cooked soybeans held at about 40–42°C for 48–72 hours, fermented by Bacillus bacteria like natto, then mashed – often with a little…
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Umeboshi Recipe: How to Make Japanese Salted Ume Plums at Home
Umeboshi are Japanese ume (Prunus mume) packed in 15–18% salt for about a month, colored with red shiso and sun-dried. Traditional salt-pickled umeboshi contain 18.2 g salt per…
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Natto Recipe: How to Make Japanese Fermented Soybeans at Home
Natto is Japanese fermented soybeans: soft-cooked whole soybeans inoculated with Bacillus subtilis var. natto and held at about 40–42°C for 18–24 hours, then refrigerated. Per 100 g it…
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Doenjang: How Korean Soybean Paste Is Made, and Doenjang vs Miso
Doenjang is Korea's fermented soybean paste. Cooked soybeans are formed into meju blocks and fermented for weeks by Bacillus bacteria and molds, then soaked in strong salt brine:…
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Makgeolli Recipe: How to Brew Korean Rice Wine at Home With Nuruk
Makgeolli is Korea's milky, lightly fizzy rice wine: steamed rice is fermented with water and nuruk – a starter cake of molds, yeasts and lactic acid bacteria –…
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Doubanjiang: Sichuan Chili Bean Paste – How It’s Made and a Home Recipe
Doubanjiang is Sichuan's fermented chili bean paste, best known from Pixian near Chengdu. Broad beans are made into a koji with Aspergillus oryzae, fermented in brine and mixed…
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Pao Cai Recipe: Sichuan Pickled Vegetables in a Reusable Brine
Pao cai is Sichuan's fermented pickle: firm vegetables such as radish, cabbage and long beans submerged in a 6–8% salt brine with Sichuan pepper, chilies and a little…
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Sikhye Recipe: Korean Sweet Rice Punch Made With Barley Malt
Sikhye is a sweet Korean rice drink: cooked rice steeped in barley-malt water at about 55–65°C for 3–5 hours until the grains float, then sweetened, boiled and chilled.…
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How to Make Gochujang at Home: Korean Fermented Chili Paste
Gochujang is Korea's fermented red pepper paste: glutinous rice porridge sweetened by barley-malt enzymes, mixed with meju (fermented soybean) powder, gochugaru and salt, then aged for at least…
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Shio Koji Recipe: How to Make and Use Japanese Salt Koji
Shio koji is a Japanese seasoning of rice koji, salt and water, left at room temperature and stirred daily for 7–14 days until thick, sweet and savory. Enzymes…
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How to Make Miso at Home: Soybeans, Koji and Salt, Aged for Months
To make miso, mash cooked soybeans with rice koji and salt – about 900 g dried soybeans, 900 g koji and 400 g salt, roughly 12% salt overall…
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Pu-erh Tea: Sheng vs Shou, How It’s Fermented, and How to Brew It
Pu-erh is a post-fermented tea from Yunnan, China. Raw (sheng) pu-erh is pressed and aged naturally for years; ripe (shou) pu-erh is fermented in piles for weeks to…
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Sufu (Fermented Bean Curd): White, Red and Grey Furu, and How to Use It
Sufu (furu, fermented bean curd) is tofu fermented by a mold such as Actinomucor or Mucor, then aged in salt and rice wine until creamy, salty and intensely…
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Nukazuke: How to Make and Keep a Japanese Rice Bran Pickling Bed
Nukazuke are Japanese pickles made by burying vegetables in a nukadoko – a fermenting bed of rice bran, salt and water that's stirred daily and kept going for…
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Amazake: How to Make Japanese Sweet Rice Koji Drink (Rice Cooker Method)
Koji amazake is a sweet, non-alcoholic Japanese drink made by holding cooked rice, rice koji and water at 50–60°C for several hours, until the koji's enzymes have turned…
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Southeast Asia
Fermented fish and shrimp, rice wines, pickles and fermented cakes from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Pa Daek (Pla Ra): Lao Fermented Fish, How It’s Used, and Why You Should Cook It
Pa daek (pla ra in Thailand) is the fermented fish paste of Laos and Isan: small freshwater fish salted with roasted rice or rice bran and fermented for…
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Rượu Cần: Vietnam’s Jar Rice Wine Drunk Through Bamboo Straws
Rượu cần is the jar rice wine of Vietnam's highland peoples: cooked glutinous rice is mixed with a dried men starter, sealed in an earthenware jar to ferment,…
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Basi: The Ilocano Sugarcane Wine, and Why Tree Bark Goes Into It
Basi is the fermented sugarcane wine of the Ilocano people of northern Luzon, Philippines. Cane juice is boiled down, dried bark – usually two or three of samac,…
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Lahpet Thoke: Burmese Fermented Tea Leaf Salad, What Lahpet Is and How to Make the Salad
Lahpet is Myanmar's fermented tea leaf: steamed tea leaves packed tightly and fermented until soft, sour and savoury, mainly by Lactobacillus and Acetobacter with yeasts. It's eaten as…
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Dưa Muối (Dưa Cải Chua): Vietnamese Fermented Mustard Greens and When They’re Ready to Eat
Dưa muối, or dưa cải chua, is Vietnamese mustard greens fermented in salt brine until golden-yellow, sour and crunchy, eaten beside rich braises and cooked into sour soups.…
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Oncom: West Java’s Mold-Fermented Cake, and How to Make It Safely
Oncom is a mold-fermented cake from West Java, Indonesia, made from by-products such as okara (soy milk pulp) and peanut press cake. Red oncom is grown over by…
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Tapuy Recipe: Rice Wine From the Philippine Cordillera, Made With Bubod
Tapuy is the rice wine of the Philippine Cordillera (Benguet, Ifugao, Mountain Province): steamed glutinous rice fermented in a closed jar with bubod, a dried starter of rice,…
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Tempoyak Recipe: Malaysian Fermented Durian and How to Cook With It
Tempoyak is fermented durian from Malaysia and Indonesia: durian flesh with about 2% salt, fermented at warm room temperature (about 27°C) for 4–6 days until sour, then refrigerated.…
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Balao-Balao (Burong Hipon): Filipino Fermented Shrimp and Rice, Safety-First Recipe
Balao-balao (burong hipon) is a Kapampangan ferment of fresh shrimp, cooked rice and salt, soured by lactic acid bacteria over about a week and sautéed before serving. Because…
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What Is Prahok? Cambodia’s Fermented Fish Paste, How It’s Used and Is It Safe
Prahok is Cambodia's salted, fermented freshwater fish paste – grey-brown, very salty (17–27% salt) and pungent – used by the spoonful to give Khmer soups, curries and dips…
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Naem (Nham): Thai Fermented Pork Sausage – What It Is, Safety, and How to Cook It
Naem (nham) is Thai fermented pork sausage: minced pork, pork rind, cooked sticky rice, garlic and salt fermented for a few days until sour. Lactic acid bacteria lower…
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Tapai Recipe: How to Make Indonesian Fermented Sticky Rice (Tape Ketan)
Tapai (tape ketan) is steamed glutinous rice fermented with a ragi starter. Soak the rice for 4–8 hours, steam it for about 30 minutes, cool it to lukewarm,…
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Atchara Recipe: Filipino Pickled Green Papaya (and Is Atchara Fermented?)
Atchara is the Filipino sweet-sour pickle of shredded green papaya, carrot, ginger, onion and pepper in a boiled vinegar-and-sugar brine. It's a vinegar pickle, not a fermented food,…
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Burong Isda: Filipino Fermented Rice and Fish (Safety-First Recipe)
Burong isda is a Filipino ferment of cooked rice, fish and salt from Luzon, soured by lactic acid bacteria over about 3–7 days and usually sautéed before serving.…
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South Asia and the Himalayas
Fermented batters, pickles, dairy drinks, greens and grain beers from India, Nepal and the Himalayan region.
How Kinema Is Made: Nepal’s Sticky Fermented Soybeans and a Home Starter Version
Kinema is a sticky, umami fermented soybean food from eastern Nepal, first made by the Limboo people and now eaten across the Darjeeling Hills, Sikkim and southern Bhutan,…
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Wadi Recipe: North Indian Sun-Dried Fermented Lentil Dumplings (Urad Dal Wari)
Wadi (wari, bori) are small balls or cones of soaked, ground black gram (urad dal) paste, fermented for about 10 hours, spiced, shaped and sun-dried for 2–3 days…
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Koozh Recipe: Tamil Nadu’s Soured Ragi or Kambu Millet Porridge
Koozh is a Tamil fermented millet porridge made from finger millet (ragi) or pearl millet (kambu), soured, cooked, then thinned with buttermilk or water and drunk cool with…
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Judima Recipe: The GI-Tagged Rice Wine of the Dimasa People of Assam
Judima is the GI-tagged rice wine of the Dimasa people of Assam, Northeast India. Cooked rice is fermented for 5–7 days with humao, a starter cake of rice…
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Gundruk Recipe: How Nepali Fermented Greens Are Made (and Gundruk Soup)
Gundruk is Nepal's fermented, sun-dried leafy vegetable. Wilt mustard, radish or cauliflower leaves for a day or two, shred them, pack them very tightly into a jar without…
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Chhurpi: The Himalayan Cheese, Soft and Hard – and How to Make Soft Chhurpi
Chhurpi is a Himalayan cheese from Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet, made from cow or yak milk – traditionally from the buttermilk left after churning butter, heated until…
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Handia (Haria): Eastern India’s Rice Beer and Its Herbal Ranu Starter
Handia (haria) is the rice beer of Adivasi communities in Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh: cooked rice fermented for 2–4 days with ranu, dried herbal starter tablets…
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Soibum: Manipur’s Fermented Bamboo Shoots, and How to Prepare Shoots Safely
Soibum is fermented bamboo shoot from Manipur, Northeast India: thinly sliced tender shoots soured by lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus brevis, L. plantarum and Leuconostoc species, then…
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Jalebi Recipe: Crisp Syrup-Soaked Spirals From an Overnight Fermented Batter
Jalebi are spirals of fermented wheat batter, deep-fried at about 175–180°C and soaked briefly in saffron-cardamom sugar syrup. The batter is left overnight (12–24 hours at 25–30°C) to…
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Idli Recipe: South Indian Steamed Rice Cakes From a Fermented Batter
Idli are South Indian steamed cakes made from rice and urad dal, soaked, ground and fermented overnight at about 28–32°C, then steamed for about 10–12 minutes. The batter…
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Dhokla Recipe: Fermented Khatta Dhokla With Chana Dal and Rice
Traditional (khatta) dhokla is made by soaking chana dal and rice, grinding them with a little yogurt, fermenting the batter overnight at 25–30°C until sour and bubbly, steaming…
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Chang (Chhaang): Tibetan Barley Beer and How to Make It at Home
Chang (chhaang) is the home-brewed grain beer of Tibet and the Tibetan-speaking Himalaya: cooked barley – or rice or millet at lower altitudes – fermented for a few…
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Dosa Batter Recipe: Fermented Rice and Urad Dal for Crisp South Indian Dosa
Dosa batter is rice and urad dal – about 4:1 by volume, with a little fenugreek – soaked, ground and fermented overnight (8–12 hours at about 25–32°C) until…
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Kanji: North India’s Fermented Black Carrot Drink (Recipe and How It Works)
Kanji is North India's fermented black carrot drink: carrot sticks, ground mustard seed and salt in water, fermented for 3–5 days until sour and deep purple. In one…
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Achaar: How Indian Pickles Work, With a Salted Lemon Achaar Recipe
Achaar is South Asia's everyday pickle: lemons, raw mango, chilies or vegetables preserved with salt, spices and often oil. Salt and acid do the preserving – the oil…
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Lassi Recipe: Salted, Sweet and Mango Lassi (With Homemade Dahi)
Lassi is a North Indian and Pakistani yogurt drink: whisk plain yogurt (dahi) with a little cold water until frothy, then season it with salt and roasted cumin,…
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Tongba: How to Make and Drink Nepal’s Hot-Water Millet Beer
Tongba is eastern Nepal's traditional millet drink: cooked finger millet is fermented with a dried marcha starter for about a week, packed into a tall vessel, topped with…
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Central Asia and the Caucasus
Fermented milks, dried yogurt and qvevri wine from Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Matsun Recipe: Armenian Fermented Yogurt — The Caucasus Original
Matsun is Armenia's ancient cultured milk — fermented at room temperature using heirloom starter cultures. Lighter than Greek yogurt, tangier than commercial yogurt, and rich in 25 distinct…
Dovga: Azerbaijan’s Yogurt and Herb Soup, and How to Keep It From Curdling
Dovga is an Azerbaijani soup of sour yogurt cooked with rice, often chickpeas, and plenty of fresh herbs such as dill, coriander, mint and spinach, served hot or…
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Qvevri Wine: Georgia’s Buried Clay-Jar Winemaking and Amber Wine
Qvevri wine is made in Georgia's large, egg-shaped clay jars: pressed grapes go in with their skins, stalks and pips, and the sealed, buried qvevri ferments the wine…
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Qurut (Kurut): Central Asia’s Dried Sour Yogurt Balls and How to Make Them
Qurut (kurut) is Central Asian and Afghan dried yogurt: sour yogurt strained thick, salted, shaped into small balls and dried hard. It's eaten as a salty snack or…
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Matsoni (Matsun): The Caucasus Fermented Milk – What It Is and How to Make It
Matsoni (Georgian) and matsun (Armenian) are the same fermented milk of the South Caucasus. Traditional matsoni is dominated by the yogurt bacteria S. thermophilus and L. bulgaricus, so…
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Shubat: Kazakhstan’s Fermented Camel Milk – What It Is and How to Make It Safely
Shubat is Kazakhstan's fermented camel milk: thin, tangy and lightly fizzy, fermented by lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. Its vitamin C and protein vary widely (28–417 mg vitamin…
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Middle East and North Africa
Yogurt drinks and cheeses, grain-and-yogurt ferments, pickles and aged butter from Turkey, Iran, the Levant, Iraq, Egypt and Morocco.
Fesikh: Egypt’s Fermented Mullet and Its Botulism Record
Fesikh (feseekh, faseikh) is whole fish, usually grey mullet, salted without gutting and left to ferment for 15 days to 3 months, eaten in Egypt at Sham el-Nessim…
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Amba Recipe: Fermented Green Mango Sauce With Fenugreek and Turmeric
Amba is a tangy green-mango sauce with fenugreek, turmeric and chilli from Iraqi cooking, now the classic sauce of the Israeli sabich sandwich. To ferment it, salt sliced…
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Bouza Recipe: Egypt’s Thick, Sour Wheat Beer From Lightly Baked Loaves
Bouza is Egypt's thick, sour, yellowish wheat beer. Three-quarters of the wheat is made into thick, very lightly baked loaves, a quarter is sprouted for 3–5 days, dried…
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Shanklish Recipe: Fresh Herb-Coated Cheese Balls From Lebanon and Syria
Shanklish is a Lebanese and Syrian cheese made from fermented yogurt curd, rolled into balls and coated in dried thyme or za'atar and chili. Aged shanklish is mold-ripened…
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Torshi Recipe: Persian Mixed Vegetable Pickle (Torshi Makhloot)
Torshi is the Persian family of sour pickles. Torshi makhloot, the everyday mixed version, combines cauliflower, carrots, celery, eggplant and other vegetables with garlic, tarragon, mint, nigella and…
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Labneh: What It Is and How to Make This Strained Yogurt Cheese at Home
Labneh is yogurt strained until thick and spreadable, between Greek yogurt and cream cheese – no rennet involved. Make it by salting plain live yogurt and draining it…
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Raib: Morocco’s Room-Temperature Fermented Milk (and How It Differs From Yogurt)
Raib is Morocco's fermented whole milk: soft, spoonable and mildly tangy. Studies of traditional raib found mesophilic lactic acid bacteria – Lactococcus lactis and enterococci – so it…
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Smen: North Africa’s Aged Fermented Butter – What It Is and a Careful Home Version
Smen is the salted, aged fermented butter of Morocco and Algeria, used by the spoonful to season couscous and tagines. Traditionally it is churned from spontaneously soured raw…
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Ayran Recipe: How to Make Turkey’s Salty Yogurt Drink
Ayran is Turkey's cold, salty yogurt drink. Whisk equal parts plain yogurt and cold water with a pinch of salt until frothy, and serve it very cold with…
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Doogh Recipe: Iran’s Salty, Minty Yogurt Drink (Still or Sparkling)
Doogh is Iran's cold, savory yogurt drink: blend equal parts plain yogurt and cold water (still or sparkling) with a pinch of salt and crushed dried mint, and…
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Boza Recipe: The Balkan and Turkish Fermented Millet Drink
Boza is a thick, sweet-sour, lightly fizzy fermented grain drink from Turkey and the Balkans. Cook millet (or maize, wheat or rice) into a thin porridge, blend and…
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Kishk: Lebanon’s Fermented Bulgur and Yogurt – What It Is, How to Make It, Kishk Soup
Kishk is a Lebanese staple of bulgur fermented with yogurt for about a week, then sun-dried and rubbed into a sour, savory powder that keeps for months. It's…
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Tarhana: How to Make Turkish Fermented Yogurt and Grain Soup Base
Tarhana is a Turkish pantry food made by fermenting a dough of wheat flour, yogurt, vegetables and spices for one to seven days, then drying and grinding it.…
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West and Central Africa
Fermented cassava, maize and millet, locust beans and oil seeds, and palm wine from West and Central Africa.
Ugba (Ukpaka): Nigerian Fermented African Oil Bean Slices, How They’re Made and Used
Ugba (ukpaka) is the Igbo fermented African oil bean: the seeds of Pentaclethra macrophylla are boiled for hours, dehulled, sliced, cooked again, soaked overnight and washed, then wrapped…
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Gari: How West Africa’s Fermented Cassava Granules Are Made, and Why Every Step Matters
Gari is a West African staple made from cassava that is peeled, grated, fermented, pressed and roasted into dry granules with no more than 12% moisture (Codex). The…
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Pito: West Africa’s Sorghum Beer, How It’s Brewed and What Ferments It
Pito is the malted sorghum beer of northern Ghana, called dolo in Burkina Faso. Sorghum malt is mashed, then the wort is soured overnight at 30–33°C by lactic…
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Fura da Nono: The Fulani Millet and Fermented Milk Drink, and a Safer Home Version
Fura da nono is a drink from northern Nigeria and the Sahel: fura (millet dough balls spiced with ginger, cloves and pepper, cooked to set) crumbled into nono…
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Kunu Recipe: Northern Nigeria’s Fermented Millet Drink (Kunun Zaki)
Kunu is a family of non-alcoholic grain drinks from northern Nigeria; kunun zaki, the most popular, is made by steeping millet (often with sorghum), wet-milling it with ginger…
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Palm Wine: How West Africa’s Tapped-Sap Wine Ferments, and a Home Version
Palm wine is the naturally fermented sap of palm trees such as oil, raffia, palmyra and coconut palms, drunk across West and Central Africa and South and Southeast…
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Ogiri: Nigeria’s Fermented Seed Seasoning (Ogiri Isi and Melon-Seed Ogiri)
Ogiri is a pungent fermented seed paste used to season soups in southern Nigeria and West Africa. Cooked seeds – castor (ogiri isi), melon or sesame – are…
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Kenkey Recipe: Ghana’s Fermented Corn Dumplings (Ga and Fante Styles)
Kenkey is southern Ghana's fermented maize dumpling: maize is soaked, ground and fermented for about 2–3 days, part of the dough is cooked into aflata and kneaded back…
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Dawadawa (Iru, Soumbala): West Africa’s Fermented Locust Bean Seasoning and How to Make It
Dawadawa (iru, soumbala) is a West African seasoning of fermented African locust beans (Parkia biglobosa). The seeds are boiled, dehulled, boiled again and fermented 2–4 days by Bacillus…
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Fermented Cassava: How Gari, Fufu and Attiéké Are Made Safely
Gari, fufu and attiéké are West and Central African staples made by fermenting cassava. Raw cassava contains linamarin, which can release cyanide; grating, fermenting, pressing and toasting or…
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Ogi (Pap, Akamu): How to Make Nigerian Fermented Maize Porridge
Ogi (pap or akamu) is a West African fermented porridge. Maize, sorghum or millet is soaked for one to three days, wet-milled and sieved, and the settled starch…
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East and Southern Africa
Sorghum, maize and banana beers, fermented milks, injera and other ferments from Ethiopia to South Africa.
How to Make Ting, the Fermented Sorghum Porridge of Botswana
Ting is a fermented sorghum porridge from Botswana, also eaten in South Africa, where it is called ting ya mabele: sorghum meal is mixed with water and a…
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Urwagwa Recipe: Rwanda’s Banana Beer, How It’s Made and How Strong It Gets
Urwagwa is Rwanda's traditional banana beer. Bananas are ripened under grass and leaves for about six days, peeled, and kneaded with spear grass to release their juice, which…
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Thobwa Recipe: Malawi’s Sweet-Sour Fermented Maize Drink
Thobwa is a non-alcoholic fermented drink from Malawi. Maize porridge is cooled to about 45°C, mixed with ground malted grain (in central Malawi, malted maize), left overnight to…
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Maheu (Mahewu): South Africa’s Fermented Maize Drink and How to Make It
Maheu (mahewu, amahewu) is a Southern African non-alcoholic drink made by fermenting thin cooked maize porridge. Cook maize meal with water for 15–20 minutes, cool it, stir in…
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Umqombothi: South Africa’s Traditional Sorghum and Maize Beer and How It’s Brewed
Umqombothi is a traditional South African opaque beer made from maize meal and sorghum malt. The malt's enzymes turn cooked maize starch into sugar, and wild lactic acid…
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Hwahwa: Zimbabwe’s Traditional Opaque Sorghum Beer, and the Iron Question
Hwahwa (Shona for beer, also doro) is Zimbabwe's traditional opaque beer of sorghum or finger millet malt, often with maize, soured by lactic acid bacteria and then fermented…
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Kisra: Sudan’s Fermented Sorghum Flatbread, and How to Make It
Kisra is Sudan's thin fermented sorghum flatbread. Sorghum flour mixed with twice its weight of water ferments in about a day at 30°C, its pH falling from about…
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Busaa: Kenya’s Traditional Maize and Finger Millet Beer and How It’s Brewed
Busaa is the traditional opaque beer of western Kenya: maize grits are soured in water for 2–3 days, roasted into a crumb, then brewed with finger millet malt…
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Tonto: Uganda’s Banana Beer, How It’s Made, and Why Ripe, Peeled Bananas Matter
Tonto is Uganda's traditional banana beer. Ripe beer bananas are peeled and squeezed with grass, and the juice is diluted, mixed with roasted sorghum and fermented by wild…
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Mbege: The Chagga Banana and Finger Millet Beer of Kilimanjaro
Mbege is the traditional beer of the Chagga people of Mount Kilimanjaro, brewed from cooked bananas and finger millet malt and fermented by wild yeasts and bacteria. Tanzanian…
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Tella: Ethiopia’s Gesho-Bittered Home Beer and How It’s Brewed
Tella is Ethiopia's traditional home-brewed beer: barley malt (bikil) and ground gesho leaves are fermented, then kita flatbread and dark roasted grain flour (asharo) are added over two…
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Mursik: Kenya’s Charcoal-Lined Fermented Milk and What the Research Shows
Mursik is the fermented milk of Kenya's Kalenjin communities: boiled milk fermented for 3–5 days in a gourd lined with fine charcoal from selected trees, which makes it…
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Togwa: Tanzania’s Sweet-Sour Fermented Grain Drink (Recipe and Research)
Togwa is a Tanzanian sweet-sour fermented drink made by cooking a maize (or sorghum or millet) flour porridge, sweetening it with finger-millet malt and fermenting it for about…
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Injera Recipe: Ethiopian Fermented Teff Flatbread With Ersho and Absit
Injera is Ethiopia's and Eritrea's spongy, sour teff flatbread. Teff flour and water ferment for about 2–3 days with ersho, the yellow liquid saved from the last batch;…
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Tej Recipe: How to Make Ethiopian Honey Wine with Gesho
Tej is Ethiopian honey wine: roughly 1 part honey to 3 parts water, fermented with gesho (Rhamnus prinoides) sticks for about two to three weeks at 20–28°C, then…
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Amasi Recipe: How to Make South African Fermented Milk (Maas) at Home
Amasi (maas) is Southern Africa's thick, tangy fermented milk, soured at room temperature by lactic acid bacteria such as Lactococcus and Leuconostoc. To make it safely at home,…
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Eastern Europe and the Balkans
Kvass, fermented milks, sheep cheese, sour soups and whole-vegetable pickles from Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
How to Make Kiseli Kupus: Whole Sour Cabbage Heads for Sarma
Kiseli kupus is Balkan sour cabbage: whole cored heads of white cabbage fermented in brine and used leaf by leaf, above all for sarma. Use salt equal to…
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Borș Recipe: Romanian Fermented Wheat Bran for Souring Ciorbă
Borș is a Romanian and Moldovan sour liquid made by fermenting scalded wheat bran in water for 2–4 days (1–2 days with some old borș as starter). Lactic…
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Trahanas Recipe: Greek Sour Milk and Cracked Wheat for Soup
Trahanas is the Greek and Cypriot pantry crumble of fermented milk (sour trahanas) or fresh milk (sweet) and cracked wheat: the milk is fermented, the wheat added, the…
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Turšija: Balkan Fermented Whole Vegetables, and How to Brine Them
Turšija is the Balkan tradition of pickling whole or large-cut vegetables – peppers, cucumbers, green tomatoes, cauliflower, carrots and cabbage – for winter. The fermented kind is made…
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Ryazhenka: Russia’s Fermented Baked Milk and How to Make It at Home
Ryazhenka is an Eastern European fermented milk made from baked milk: whole milk is held just below boiling for several hours until caramel-tan, cooled to about 42°C, mixed…
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Kiselo Mlyako: How to Make Bulgarian Yogurt at Home
Kiselo mlyako is Bulgarian yogurt: milk fermented with Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus at about 42–45°C until it sets into a firm, sour, unstrained curd, usually…
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Żurek Recipe: Polish Sour Rye Soup and How to Make the Żur Starter
Żurek is Poland's sour rye soup, soured with żur – rye flour and water fermented for about 4–5 days, then strained. A Kraków study found the best rye…
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Bryndza Cheese: Slovakia’s Sheep Cheese, Bryndzové Halušky and a Homemade Version
Bryndza is Slovakia's soft, spreadable, salty sheep's cheese, made by ripening fresh ewes' milk lump cheese and grinding it with salt. Slovenská bryndza is an EU-protected PGI (2008)…
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Kvass Recipe: How to Make Traditional Rye Bread Kvass at Home
Kvass is a traditional Eastern European drink made by fermenting dark rye bread (or rye malt) with water, sugar, yeast and lactic acid bacteria. To make it, toast…
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Western and Southern Europe
Fermented foods and drinks from Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal.
How to Brine-Cure Olives at Home: Greek-Style Black Olives
Brine-cured olives are made Greek-style: ripe olives go straight into salt brine and ferment for months while the bitterness leaches out. University of California extension uses a brine…
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Sidra Natural Recipe: How Asturian Cider Is Made, With a Wild-Fermented Home Version
Sidra natural is the traditional cider of Asturias, Spain: dry, sharp and faintly sparkling, made from blends of local cider apples with no added sugar. The DOP Sidra…
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Colatura di Alici: Cetara’s Fermented Anchovy Sauce, How It’s Made and How to Use It
Colatura di alici is a clear, amber anchovy sauce from Cetara on Italy's Amalfi Coast, with PDO status. Gutted anchovies are layered with salt in wooden barrels and…
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Brovada: Friuli’s Turnips Fermented in Grape Pomace (and How to Cook Them)
Brovada is a Friulian dish of white, purple-collared turnips fermented whole in red grape marc (pomace), then grated and cooked – traditionally served with musetto sausage or in…
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Nordic countries
Fermented milks, skyr, fermented fish and shark, sima, and Greenland's kiviaq, from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Greenland.
What Is Kiviaq? Little Auks Aged in Sealskin, and the Botulism Risk
Kiviaq is an Inughuit food from northwest Greenland: a few hundred little auks packed whole, feathers and all, into a sealskin, sewn shut with the air pressed out…
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Sima Recipe: Finland’s Fizzy Lemon Drink for Vappu (May Day)
Sima is Finland's traditional drink for Vappu (1 May): water, sugar and lemon fermented with a pinch of yeast in sealed bottles for one to two days, with…
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Viili: How to Make Finland’s Stretchy Fermented Milk at Room Temperature
Viili is Finland's ropy fermented milk, made at room temperature: stir 1 tablespoon of viili starter into each cup (250 ml) of pasteurized whole milk and leave it…
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Filmjölk Recipe: Swedish Room-Temperature Fermented Milk
Filmjölk is Sweden's mild fermented milk, set at room temperature by mesophilic lactic acid bacteria such as Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc. Stir a few tablespoons of plain filmjölk…
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Surströmming: Sweden’s Fermented Herring – Why It Exists, Is It Healthy, How to Eat It
Surströmming is lightly salted Baltic herring fermented over the summer in northern Sweden and canned while still fermenting, so the cans bulge. Salt-loving bacteria and the fish's own…
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Hákarl: How Iceland’s Fermented Shark Is Made (and Why Not to Try It at Home)
Hákarl is Icelandic Greenland shark that's fermented for several weeks and then dried for weeks to months before being eaten in small cubes, usually with brennivín. Fresh Greenland…
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Rakfisk: Norway’s Fermented Trout – What It Is, How It’s Eaten, and the Safety Facts
Rakfisk is Norwegian trout or char, lightly salted and matured in brine at 3–7°C for 3–12 months, then eaten raw on flatbread with sour cream and onion. Half-fermented…
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Skyr: How Icelandic Skyr Is Made, Is It Fermented, and a Homemade Skyr Recipe
Skyr is Iceland's thick, high-protein cultured dairy food, and yes, it's fermented: skimmed milk is fermented with skyr cultures, then strained of its whey. It takes 3–4 times…
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Latin America and the Caribbean
Corn, cassava, agave and fruit ferments from Mexico to the Andes and the Amazon, and Caribbean drinks.
Chicha de Quinoa Recipe: The Andean Quinoa Beer, From Washing to Fermenting
Chicha de quinoa is an Andean chicha brewed from quinoa instead of maize. Like other chichas, its starch is turned into sugar by malting (or, traditionally, chewing) and…
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Guarapo: Fresh and Lightly Fermented Sugarcane Juice, and How to Make It Safely
Guarapo is freshly pressed sugarcane juice from Latin America and the Caribbean, called caldo de cana or garapa in Brazil. It's usually drunk fresh over ice with lime;…
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Caribbean Ginger Beer: How to Make a Ginger Bug and Brew It Safely
Caribbean ginger beer is fresh ginger, sugar, lime and spices fermented with a ginger bug – a starter of grated ginger, sugar and water fed daily until it…
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Cauim: Brazil’s Indigenous Fermented Cassava Drink
Cauim is a thick, sour fermented drink made by Indigenous peoples of Brazil from cooked cassava (and sometimes rice, maize or peanuts); traditionally some of the cassava was…
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Balché: The Maya Honey and Bark Ceremonial Drink – and Why We Don’t Give a Recipe
Balché is a Maya ceremonial drink of honey and water fermented with bark of the balché tree (Lonchocarpus), drunk in group ceremonies in Yucatán and among the Lacandon…
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Tesgüino Recipe: Sprouted-Maize Beer of Northern Mexico
Tesgüino is a thick, mildly alcoholic sprouted-maize beer of northern Mexico, made by the Rarámuri (Tarahumara) and by Yaqui, Pima, Guarijío and Tepehuán communities. Maize is germinated in…
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Tejate Recipe: Oaxaca’s Maize and Cacao Drink (Ingredients and Method)
Tejate is a cold, foamy maize and cacao drink from the Zapotec Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico. Nixtamalized maize is ground with toasted cacao beans, mamey sapote seed…
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Tejuino Recipe: Mexico’s Cold Fermented Corn Drink With Lime and Salt
Tejuino is a cold fermented maize drink from western Mexico (Jalisco, Nayarit and neighboring states). Street tejuino is nixtamalized maize dough cooked with piloncillo and water, fermented for…
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Curtido Recipe: Salvadoran Cabbage Slaw, Fermented or Quick-Pickled
Curtido is El Salvador's tangy cabbage slaw, served with pupusas: shredded cabbage with carrot, onion, oregano and chili. It's made two ways – as a quick vinegar pickle…
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Tepache Recipe: How to Make Mexico’s Fermented Pineapple Drink
Tepache is a Mexican drink made by fermenting pineapple peel and core with piloncillo, cinnamon and cloves in water for 2–3 days at room temperature. Wild yeasts and…
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Masato: The Amazon’s Fermented Cassava (Yuca) Drink and How to Make It
Masato is a thick, sour, lightly alcoholic Amazonian drink made by fermenting cooked cassava (yuca). Traditionally some of the cassava is chewed so saliva's amylase turns starch into…
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Pozol: Southeast Mexico’s Fermented Corn and Cacao Drink (What It Is and How to Make It)
Pozol is a non-alcoholic drink from Tabasco and Chiapas, Mexico: nixtamalized corn dough, often mixed with ground cacao, is shaped into balls and fermented for half a day…
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Pulque: Mexico’s Fermented Agave Drink – How It’s Made and How to Drink It
Pulque is a traditional Mexican alcoholic drink (4–7% alcohol) made by fermenting aguamiel, the fresh sap of maguey agaves, seeded with actively fermenting pulque. Leuconostoc and other lactic…
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Mauby Recipe: How to Make the Caribbean’s Bittersweet Bark Drink
Mauby (mabí) is a bittersweet Caribbean drink made by simmering mauby bark with cinnamon, clove and star anise, sweetening it and serving it cold. In Trinidad and Barbados…
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Chicha de Jora Recipe: How to Make Peruvian Fermented Corn Beer
Chicha de jora is an Andean corn beer made from jora – sprouted, dried and ground maize. The jora is mashed in hot water (about 65–70°C) so its…
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Pacific Islands
Poi and pit-fermented breadfruit from Hawaiʻi and Polynesia.
Fermented Breadfruit: How Pacific Islanders Fermented Breadfruit in Pits
Pacific Islanders traditionally fermented breadfruit in pits, turning it into a sour, pungent paste that was cooked and eaten – in the Marquesas and Chuuk mixed with fresh…
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Poi: Hawaii’s Fermented Taro – What It Is, How It Tastes and How to Make It
Poi is Hawaiian taro that's cooked, pounded and thinned with water into a smooth paste. It's eaten fresh (mild and slightly sweet) or fermented for a day or…
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