Fuhmentaboudit!

Adam Elabd, author of Fermenting Food Step by Step, joins Mary, Chris & Rachel in the studio to discuss various fermentations, sustainability and his upcoming Tonico cafe and tonic bar in Troy, NY. Adam chats about fermenting while traveling, using/re-using materials in multiple fermentations and international influences. Join us as we dive deeper into tepache, pulque, lahpet and more.

Mary, Chris & Rachel are joined by Rohit Dugar, founder of Young Master Ales, The Ale Project and Second Draft in Hong Kong. Rohit discusses incorporating local and traditional ingredients into his beers while we taste the Cha Chaan Teng Gose, a kettle-soured ale brewed with salted limes. We chat about the explosive growth and evolution of the Hong Kong craft brewery and bar scene, NYC pizza and marrying flavors with quality beer.

This week on Fuhmentaboudit!, hosts Mary, Chris, and Rachel are joined in the studio by Amanda Feifer, author of Ferment Your Vegetables, and the blog Phickle.com. Ferment Your Vegetables covers a variety of lacto-fermented vegetables, including vegetable kvasses, as well as alternative approaches to vegetable fermentation, including Misodoko. Amanda recently spent time in Japan with a family that makes miso in the traditional manner.

Preaching the good word of fermentation science, we bring scientists Elizabeth Landis and Esther Miller from the Tufts University Open Lab. Liz and Esther talk about their research on kombucha and sauerkraut, including strange experiments, education outreach, and Wolfe Lab's ongoing project to collect kombucha cultures from all over the world!

Experienced homebrewers Dailey Crafton and Joey Dehnert are working with Harry Rosenblum (of Brooklyn Kitchen, host of Feast Yr Ears, author of Vinegar Revival) to curate and provide simple recipe kits shipped straight to you. We catch up with Harry about his forthcoming vinegar book, and learn all about Bierbox.co and Dailey's unique and wild homebrewing approach: culturing yeast from logs, rocks, apples and air! Dailey is also the newest member of the local beer centric tonal evangelists, The Homebrewsicians - available for hire at rates of $2k per hour per man...or free beer.

On the season finale of Fuhmentaboudit!, Mary, Chris and Rachel are joined by Madi Holtzman and Devin Hardy of Toast Ale, a beer brewed with surplus bread that would otherwise be wasted. Their special recipe combines toasted bread with malted barley (pale malt, CaraMalt, and Munich Malt), hops (Hallertau, Centennial, Cascade, Bramling Cross), yeast and water. Profits from the sale of Toast Ale will go to Feedback, an environmental organization that campaigns to end food waste at every level of the food system.

This week on Fuhmentaboudit!, Mary, Chris and Rachel are joined by Rich Shih, a mechanical engineer by trade whose passion is kitchen experimentation. When a friend suggested he work with koji, he became interested in playing around with miso flavors. Rich also founded Our Cook Quest, which provides "informative and fun" cooking classes, in-depth analyses, and investigations of cooking techniques to improve and inform culinary adventurers. Some of Rich's unusual misos include peanut butter, ricotta, bacon, and cookie dough.

This week on Fuhmentaboudit!, joining Chris, Mary and Rachel in the studio is Jenny Dorsey, a professional chef and culinary consultant based in NYC. Along with her husband, she also curates I Forgot It's Wednesday, an underground restaurant, or "supper club." Fermented foods are an important part of these dinners, which consist of 7 courses paired with a 4 course cocktail flight.

Today on Fuhmentaboudit, Mary and Chris travel to the far, far kingdom of Bushwick to talk with Sebastian Sauer of Freigeist Bierkultur. We hear from him about his mission to redefine German beer!

This week on Fuhmentaboudit, Mary and Rachel are joined by Suzanne Lee, founder of Biofabricate, director of BioCouture Research Project, and CCO at Modern Meadow. Suzanne tells us about working with SCOBY to create innovative textiles. She also talks about using living microbes, such as mycelium, to create new fabrics and materials. Biofabricate 2016 will take place on November 17 at Parsons School of Design in New York City.

This week on Fuhmentaboudit, it's a Halloween Special! Mary, Chris, and Rachel tell us about "freaky ferments" including hoppy brown ale, homemade candy corn kefir, and Brett brux.

Today on Fuhmentaboudit, the crew talks to Sandor Katz, the man behind the fermentation revolution! The occasion: Katz has recently published a snazzy update on his classic, Wild Fermentation.

Today on Fuhmentaboudit, we talk to Dave Janssen of Hors Catégorie. Dave speaks to the history of grisettes, how to brew your own, and mixed fermentations. He also shares his recommendations for a perfect day in Belgium.

Cuzme and Rachel go into the origins of Fuhmentaboudit’s theme song and Zimbabwe culture, including the making of and the role of “seven-day beer” in traditional Zimbabwean Bira ceremonies. With special guests Musekiwa Chingodza (mbira master) and Nora Balaban (former owner of Tribal Soundz and currently from the world music ensemble Timbila). They speak of their connections through Nora’s store, mbira workshops, Chris Berry and Panjea, and traditional Zimbabwe culture and the role of beer specifically brewed for ceremonies.

Staten Island’s homebrew club, Pour Standards, have challenged their members to brew outside the box…outside boxes of cereal that is! From Lucky Charms, Oatmeal, Cookie Crisp, Grape Nuts, Apple Jacks and beyond, their members pulled delicious beers from skill and ingenuity. Hear here how they formulated and executed the fun, sharing a sneak peek at their annual club fundraiser Pourmania III (featuring music of the Homebrewsicians). Sean Torres and Patrick Wade touch upon the makings of Kills Boro Brewing Company. But wait there’s more! Hear bonus interviews from The Boston Fermentation Festival catching up with Derek Dellinger (The Fermented Man, Episode 161), and Chris Strait (Episode 70) in his new role with Urban Farm Fermentory (Episode 118).

Today on Fuhmentaboudit, Rob Handel calls in from the Bee's Knees Café, a farm to table cafe located on Heather Ridge Farm. Rob tells us all about fermenting with neat ingredients like mushrooms and elderberry, and tells us about how his cuisine is changing as summer turns to fall.

Today on Fuhmentaboudit, Jesse Fergeson of Interboro Spirits and Ale joins the crew, which is back in the studio in full force for the first time this season! Interboro Spirits is the only combined distillery and brewery in New York City ("We're lucky," Ferguson says. "New York State was amenable to both of the permits existing in the same facility."

We had our summer fun fermentation-style! Chris, Mary, and Rachel report from the scene at the Boston Fermentation Festival at the Boston Public Market for lectures, workshops, and all sorts of great fermenters from New England. We're joined by Jeremy Ogusky, Joshua Pablo Rosenstock, Jeffrey Yoskowitz, Matt Scobrack, Doug Schmitt, and Paul Nixon of Independent Fermentations.

Today on Fuhmentaboudit, we talk to nutritionist Cynthia Farris, who tells us about the benefits of feeding fermented foods to not just our human friends, but the four legged kind too! Dogs may enjoy some of the reputed benefits of fermented foods and their probiotics. Then we air an interview with Gordon Strong, who talks about updating the BJCP style guidelines. He also discusses his two books, Brewing Better Beer (2011) and Modern Homebrew Recipes (2015).

Today on Fuhmentaboudit, Chris Cuzme gives a thespian delivery of a poem on the creation of pruno, or prison wine. Then we learn how to make it. Flint Whistler of the Rockaway Brewing Company joins us in the studio to tell us all about how pruno is resourcefully made.