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The Fermentation Tree
Every fermented food on earth is the work of a microbe doing what it must to survive. Sort them not by country or by flavour but by the organism living in the jar and a hidden map appears. Six branches. One tree. Follow whichever one is bubbling in your kitchen right now.


:MAP
37.5665,126.978,Korea koji and kimchi
35.0116,135.7681,Japan miso and shoyu
51.5074,-0.1278,Britain ale and cheddar
60.1699,24.9384,Nordic rye and viili
-13.532,-71.9675,Andes chicha
9.082,8.6753,West Africa ogi and garri

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Koji mold
Aspergillus oryzae breaks starch into sugar and protein into savour, the quiet engine behind miso, soy sauce, sake and sweet amazake.
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Lactic acid bacteria
Lactobacillus turns sugar into sour with no air at all, building kimchi, sauerkraut, yoghurt and the tang of a sourdough crumb.


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Acetic acid bacteria
Acetobacter needs oxygen and finishes what yeast begins, turning alcohol into acid to make vinegar of every kind and a sharp mature kombucha.
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Wild yeast
Saccharomyces eats sugar and breathes out gas and alcohol, leavening bread and powering the first rise of almost everything before the bacteria arrive.


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Mold ripened
Penicillium and its relatives grow on the outside, ripening blue cheese, brie and dry cured salami into something soft and pungent.
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Mixed culture
A kombucha SCOBY or a kefir grain is a whole community where bacteria and yeast trade work and shelter each other through the ferment.


:GALLERY

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:NOTE
Salt here is not flavour. It is a gatekeeper. The right brine holds back the microbes you do not want just long enough for the ones you do want to take over.
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:QUOTE [quotetype:plain, subtitle:Sandor Katz]
Fermentation is everywhere, always. It is an everyday miracle, the path of least resistance for life itself.