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THE FERMENTED MAN

Name: THE FERMENTED MAN
Author: Derek Dellinger
ISBN: 978-1-4683-0901-0

A YEAR ON THE FRONT LINES OF A FOOD REVOLUTION

by Derek Dellinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 19, 2016

The author hopes his intriguing experiments will open eyes and palates to the culinary and health benefits of fermented...

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A quest to live for a year on “100 percent…fermented meals and fermented drinks.”

Most people would quickly abandon the idea of eating only one type of food for a year. Writer and brewer Dellinger first contemplated eating only fermented foods for a year as a thought experiment rather than an achievable challenge. Like many, the author was vexed about the American diet and knew that there was something wrong at the core of the food system. However, he was also confused about what made for a truly healthy diet. Dellinger began reading about the roles of microbes living in our bodies and the environment they create. He also had a solid foundation for starting his yearlong project: for several years, he had been absorbed with the home-brewing of cider, beer, and kombucha and was “enamored of fermentation and the myriad transformational possibilities it represented.” Dellinger ably explains the wide range of fermented foods, the role flavor plays, health benefits, and the basic processes, and he includes a few recipes. Citing his passion for craft beers as the impetus for his experimentation with fermented foods, the author offers a theory called the “Triangle of Simple Complex Foods.” The most recognizable foods within this concept are beer, bread, and cheese. All are fermented and require numerous steps in their preparation. Now mass-produced and marketed, the most crucial component of their being, fermentation, has been marginalized. Throughout the book, the author delves into the strangeness of the American system of nutrition—e.g., the demonization of butter and the promotion of margarine as a viable substitute or the confusion regarding cholesterol and heart health. Dellinger notes his year of consuming fermented foods was not without psychological ups and downs, but the journey was tempered by the knowledge he gained concerning microbes and gut health.

The author hopes his intriguing experiments will open eyes and palates to the culinary and health benefits of fermented foods.

Pub Date: July 19, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4683-0901-0

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Overlook

Review Posted Online: May 4, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.