Cooks & Books: Kenji Morimoto for FERMENT

"Kenji is a fermenting guru and this book is a masterclass in fermentation." Tim Spector

"An open-hearted collection of stories, practical tips and excellent recipes." Ottolenghi Test Kitchen

As a fourth generation Japanese American, Kenji Morimoto's cultural identity has always been grounded in food. As a child, he was in charge of making tsukemono (Japanese pickles) for family gatherings, learning from and surrounded by elders recreating flavours of home.

In 2020, he started his Instagram @kenjcooks to document his interest in fermentation and connecting the dots between diasporic traditions and his own. Since then, he's cooked in kitchens in Poland, led fermentation and Japanese focused supper clubs in London, taught workshops on koji and kimchi and collaborates with Ottolenghi Test Kitchen and Zoe.

In 2023 he was a finalist for the BBC Food & Farming Digital Creator of the Year Award.

FERMENT gives you all that's needed to start on the adventure of fermented foods - whether you want to make simple pickles, prepare miso from scratch or discover flavour-packed recipes to cook with shop-bought ferments.

Pickles and ferments bring so much flavour and variety to meals and are easy to make, but they can seem daunting. Enter third-culture cook and fermenting expert Kenji Morimoto, who shows just how simple it is to introduce homemade kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, miso, super-quick pickles and more into your everyday cooking with delicious, gut-healthy results.

Recent research encourages us to eat thirty plants a week to help our microbiome to thrive. Thanks to Kenji's incredibly inventive and modern recipes, eating fermented foods becomes a pleasure as well as the healthiest choice. Whether it's Kimchi Bhajis served with Miso Coriander Chutney, One Pot Citrus Miso Salmon and Edamame Rice, Kombucha Sorbet or Pickled Rhubarb Pound Cake, this is flavour-forward food that you won't have seen before.

Part one shows how to make ferments and pickles, giving you all the trouble-shooting advice and step-by-step guidance you need. Part two introduces more than 70 exciting recipes to make with them, or if you prefer you can prepare them with your favourite shop-bought varieties instead.

FERMENT is a stylish and practical cookery book that simplifies an ancient technique.