Jill Ciciarelli

The first thing I noticed was just how full of herself the author is. A six page introduction, a last page recap of the same, and three pages of acknowledgements, including Quincy the cat. In tiny print, not even on the title page, are the names of the photographers, Bill Staley and Hayley Mason. And the photos are GEORGEOUS!

That was the second thing I noticed. Third, there is a complete lack of pictures and descriptions of the messy kitchen work involved in making fermented foods. That may be the largest fault of the book. You do get a good basic discussion of how to ferment, considerations and variations. You get wonderful photos of ingredients, finished products and then recipes for using them.
But nothing is ever discussed or presented that is not perfect and picturesque. Judging from what I’ve seen in my daughter’s kitchen, this book lies by omission about the in-between parts – the fermenting itself.… (meer)