Hello! Fermented food is literally everywhere. Why do we love fermented foods so much? When did we start making them intentionally and crucially are they good for us? Today's special guest on the podcast is James Read, author of the book "Of Cabbages & Kimchi" James Read is on a mission to smuggle bacteria into our kitchens. In Of Cabbages & Kimchi, he takes the ten greatest ‘living’ ferments – fermented foods that are neither cooked nor pasteurized – and places them under the microscope, before cooking with them in all their delicious versatility. From the fiery funk of kimchi to the velvet tang of kefir, James describes the microbial process, then shares his recipes for recreating these wonders in your own kitchen. Alongside his recipes, James investigates the extraordinary cultural and historic backgrounds of fermented foods, exploring how the microbes that bring them to life have developed alongside our culinary evolution. So I went into his house yesterday and had a lovely chat about his favourite fermented foods. We also tried some lovely home-made kimchi, soy sauce and tepache drink the Mexican slightly sweet slightly sour fermented beverage! Find out more about James and order his book here: https://jamesreadwriter.com/ He is also on Instagram as @jamesreadwrites Enjoy our conversation and if you have any questions or recommendations do let me know! The Delicious Legacy Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-delicious-legacy. If you love to time-travel through food and history why not join us at https://plus.acast.com/s/the-delicious-legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.