Stacy Bruner
Sponsored-Madison-College
Chef Kevin Appleton of Madison College.
Fermentation is one of the oldest food preservation and preparation methods in the world, dating back at least 12,000 years. Records from ancient Mesopotamia found laborers were paid with beer. Experts believe the first fermented food may have been mead, a beverage created from honey.
Early civilizations discovered fermentation as a way to preserve food without refrigeration or canning. Fermentation allows natural yeast and bacteria to feed on sugars and preserve food, and can also make it more nutritious and easier to digest.
Today, old is new again, according to Chef Kevin Appleton, food and beverage program director at Madison College’s School of Professional and Continuing Education. With increased interest in artisanal foods, fermentation has re-emerged as a leading food trend.
Many popular foods and beverages — not just beer and wine — evolve from fermentation, including cheese and yogurt, coffee, tea, vinegar, pickles, chocolate and many condiments (such as hot sauce, soy sauce and Worcestershire). “Fermented foods have wonderfully complex and intense flavors,” says Appleton, a fermentation fan.
If you’re looking for an introduction to the fascinating world of fermentation, Madison College can help. The School of Professional and Continuing Education is offering a Sourdough and Fermented Breads class on Wednesday evenings, April 25 – May 9, at the Madison College West Campus, 8017 Excelsior Drive. Students will create their own sourdough starters —thick, soup-like pre-doughs that ferment over time and are used to make sourdough bread. They will leave with starters for future baking at home, as well as a loaf of freshly baked sourdough bread from each evening’s class.
Sourdough is a very accessible example of a fermented food, and it’s a perfect way to begin understanding the process of fermentation. The class also will provide tips and tricks while helping students develop a deeper connection to, and appreciation of, the foods they prepare and eat.
Making sourdough bread and other fermented foods can also be a terrific way to introduce food preparation techniques to children, who are able to actually see the changes that take place during the fermentation process. “It can be a wonderful family activity,” Appleton says. Sourdough bread is just the beginning. Specific classes focusing on fizzy fermented beverages (think kombucha), fermented vegetables (including kimchi and pickles) and dairy products (make your own mozzarella!) are all available through Madison College.
The Madison College School of Professional and Continuing Education invites all Isthmus readers to explore their numerous professional and continuing education classes in baking, fermentation and craft brewing — all of which are open to the public.