Tangy with a salty hit, Turkey’s national drink is often enjoyed
as an accompaniment to meat. It’s found across central Asia in
various forms too, from
Iran (where it’s known as doogh) to Afghanistan, Armenia
(called t’an),
Kyrgyzstan and Syria. Blitz natural yoghurt with ice-cold water
and salt (to taste) in a blender until foam forms on top.
Delightfully refreshing.

Fishy condiments have been prepared since the pre-Roman period –
unsurprising given that they require just fish, salt and time, and
give any dish an umami kick. Recipes are regional, with the fish
used varying from anchovies (bagoong monamon) to shrimp (bagoong
ginisang). Use it as a marinade for steak or to jazz up fried rice.

Sugars (usually from malted barley) are converted by yeast into
alcohol and carbon dioxide to give us beer – a process used since
8000 BCE. A Mesopotamian tablet depicts people drinking the nectar
through straws from a communal bowl, much like our plans to
celebrate lockdown lifting. With a bit of kit, you can brew your
own at home in two to three weeks.

Thought fermented foods were just for hipsters and “wellness
warriors”? Think again. It’s estimated that the world knocks back
around 1.4 billion cups of coffee daily – each of which starts life
with a ferment-and-wash method that helps to clean the coffee
cherries and give our cup o’ Joe a deep, complex flavour.

It’s a no-brainer that most meat left at room temperature will
spoil. Yet thanks to the introduction of good bacteria, cured
sausages such as salami, saucisson, pepperoni and chorizo need
neither to be stored in the fridge or cooked before eating. Need a
lockdown project? You can get your hands on starter cultures online.

Ever ordered mapo tofu or beef in black bean sauce? Then you’ve
probably tasted douchi, black soybeans that have been salted and
left to ferment. Look in an Asian supermarket (or online) for beans
that are dried and whole; they’ll keep in your cupboard for ages.
For best results when cooking, let them rehydrate in rice vinegar
or soy sauce before use.

Especially popular in Nigeria,
garri is made from cassava root that has been crushed to a pulp
then dried and fermented. The flakes are then consumed as part of a
cold drink, in a porridge with milk, sugar and groundnuts or made
into a dough called eba.

Chef Anthony Bourdain once described hákarl as “the single
worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing” he had ever
eaten. It’s made by burying the meat of basking shark for 12 weeks
before it is then cut and dried for a further five months. Brave
enough to try? This pungent, ammonia-rich snack is typically eaten
during Þorrablót, Iceland’s midwinter festival.

Across the world, there are many variations of grains and
legumes being ground and fermented and then either steamed in a
cake or fried into a pancake. Idli (a steamed cake made from rice
and lentils) are a staple breakfast in southern
India. Dosa follows a similar preparation but is cooked like a
crêpe, while appam (also known as hoppers) adds coconut milk into
the mix. Like this? Try injera, a sour teff-based flatbread from

Ethiopia.

It was in the Song dynasty (somewhere between 960 and 1279 BCE)
that descriptions of vegetable fermentation first appeared. Today,
kimchi recipes range from the traditional to the more accessible (and, in this case, vegan). When ready to eat, try
using it to spice up veggie fritters or dollop atop homemade
bibimbap and spirit yourself to Seoul.

You’d be forgiven for thinking this voguish tipple was the
creation of Brooklynites,

Portlanders or East
Londoners. Yet way before it was commercialised, people in
Eastern Europe and China were using SCOBYs (a symbiotic culture of
bacteria and yeast; it looks a bit like an alien) to convert
sweetened tea into this naturally fizzy ‘booch. Beg, borrow or buy
a SCOBY and use that extra lockdown time to brew your own.

Dahi, a yoghurt-esque fermented milk product was mentioned
around 5000 BCE in the Rig Veda, the oldest sacred Hindu book.
Still going strong today, India’s love for fermented dairy
manifests in lassi, which you can recreate by blending yoghurt with
water, spices and fruit – we love ours with mango, cardamom and a
flourish of lime juice.

This probiotic powerhouse is ubiquitous, being served everywhere
from Pret to Noma. Basic ingredients include soybeans, a grain
(often rice or barley), salt and koji (a type of fungus). Stir it a
little in warm water for a nourishing drink, amp up stews and
marinades with a spoonful or use the sweet shiro miso to give fudgy
brownies a little something-something.

Vietnam’s answer to charcuterie, nem chua is eaten as a snack
with raw garlic. It’s made with raw pork (typically thigh) that has
been ground, mixed with powdered rice, salt, herbs and spices then
tightly wrapped in banana leaves and left to ferment for three to
five days. Regional variations use guava or fig leaves, and throw
chilli and lemon into the equation.

Among the world’s most commonly consumed fermented vegetable,
olives have been being preserved since ancient Rome.
Not only do they treat us to a good dose of healthy fats, but also
some gut-loving bacteria too. Win, win.

While sauerkraut reigns supreme on the Russian dining table,
cabbage is far from the only vegetable in the country’s long
tradition of pickling produce to last through harsh winters. The
process of lacto-fermentation involves submerging veg in a brine
for a few days (or weeks or months) – typically using 1-3 tablespoons of salt for every litre of
water. Try it with cucumbers, carrots or cauliflower, and
experiment with adding spices.

Our avo-topped sourdough addiction may be the reason we can’t
afford to buy a house, but at least it’s got some health benefits
and tastes great. Priorities. Bread leavened with baker’s yeast has
only been around for the last 150 years, so many traditional loaves
use wild fermentation, including Danish rugbrød, Mexican birote,
Amish friendship bread, Ethiopian injera and a
San Fran-style boule. Go with the grain of many stuck-at-home
millennials and nurture your own starter.

You’ve probably got a bottle this kicking about at the back of a
kitchen cupboard. The flavour of the hot sauce is developed through
lacto-fermentation, in which tabasco peppers, vinegar and salt are
aged in barrels for months – and sometimes up to three years.

A lovechild of soybeans and fungus (rhizopus oligosporus, to be
exact) which have been left to get cosy for a few days, tempeh
originated in Java in the 1600s and has since worked its way onto
our supermarket shelves. Like this? Try natto, a sticky fermented
soybean popular in the Kantō, Tōhoku, and Hokkaido
regions of Japan (and available in most Asian grocery stores).
Warning: it’s an acquired taste, best masked with mustard.