This is a guide to storing, preserving, and cooking foods using one of the oldest techniques known to man-that of fermentation. But it is much, much more than that. It is a book of nutritional chemistry and traditional folkways, a fascinating window into both what humans around the world have eaten for centuries and how we can learn from this. Recipes range from the expected-beer, pickles, soy products-to the absolutely bizarre, including a recipe for couscous you probably won't be trying at home. Appendices provide agricultural and nutritional information.