Two years ago, chef Jeremy Umansky and his partners opened Larder Delicatessin and Bakery in Ohio City’s Hingetown neighborhood. The Eastern European-style deli, which features local and foraged foods (a passion of Umansky’s) made an immediate splash and was nominated for a James Beard award for Best New Restaurant in 2019.
Somehow, he found time to co-author a book devoted to another passion of his, fermented foods, called Koji Alchemy: Rediscovering the Magic of Mold-Based Fermentation, which he rote its New York-based food preservation consultant Rich Shih. The newly released book is said to be the first English-language book devoted to fermentation using koji, the fungus that adds umami to soy sauce, miso and sake. The book explains how it works and provides more than 35 recipes for trying it yourself.
“Using it to rapidly age charcuterie, cheese and other ferments, they take the magic of koi to the next level, revolutionizing the creation of fermented foods and flavor profiles for book professional and home cooks,” the promotion for the book tells us.
Read more about it here, and then order the book from a local independent bookstore!
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