What can you learn to ferment at home?
Fermentation covers a wide range of foods and drinks. With the Fumami Courses Bundle, you can learn three different areas of fermentation and baking: lacto-fermented vegetables, fermented drinks and sourdough.
The bundle brings together the Lacto-Fermentation course, The Fizz Lab and Sourdough Bread & Beyond.
What is lacto-fermentation?
Lacto-fermentation is a fermentation method in which naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria convert sugars into lactic acid. It can be used to ferment vegetables and create foods with distinctive tangy, complex flavours.
What are fermented drinks?
Fermented drinks are beverages transformed through microbial fermentation. Depending on the method, fermentation can produce acidity, distinctive flavours and natural carbonation.
The Fizz Lab covers several approaches to making fermented drinks at home, including kombucha, water kefir, ginger bug and wild soda.
What is sourdough fermentation?
Sourdough uses a fermented starter containing yeasts and bacteria to ferment and leaven bread dough. The fermentation process contributes to the flavour, texture and rise of sourdough bread.
Can I learn fermentation at home?
Yes. Many fermentation techniques can be practised in a normal home kitchen. You don't need a professional kitchen or extensive specialist equipment to begin learning.
The important part is understanding the principles behind fermentation and learning how to recognise what is happening during the process.
Do I need previous fermentation experience?
No. The courses are designed to be approachable for beginners. You can start with the fundamentals and gradually build your understanding across different types of fermentation.
What is the difference between lacto-fermentation, fermented drinks and sourdough?
They are different applications of microbial fermentation.
Lacto-fermentation focuses primarily on foods such as vegetables. Fermented drinks use microorganisms to transform beverages such as sweetened tea or sugar-water preparations. Sourdough uses a fermented starter to leaven bread.
The microorganisms, ingredients and processes differ, but all three involve controlled microbial activity.
Why learn different types of fermentation?
Learning different fermentation methods helps you understand fermentation as a process rather than treating every recipe as an isolated technique.
Once you understand concepts such as microorganisms, temperature, time, ingredients and fermentation conditions, you can approach different fermented foods and drinks with greater confidence.
Can I learn fermentation without fancy equipment?
Yes. The courses are designed around practical home fermentation and baking using everyday kitchen equipment wherever possible.
Is fermentation difficult to learn?
Fermentation can seem unpredictable when you don't understand what is happening. Temperature, time, ingredients and microbial activity all affect the outcome.
Learning the underlying principles makes it easier to understand why a ferment behaves differently from one batch to another.
