118 fermented recipes

Old-fashioned brined dill pickles fermented in a crock with pickling spices, vinegar, and fresh dill. Crunchy, tangy homemade pickles worth the three-week wait.

Sourdough silver dollar hotcakes with an overnight fermented batter, baking soda for lift, and a tangy flavor no regular pancake can match. Makes 30 mini pancakes.

Watercress salad with a Chinese-style bean curd cheese and tahini dressing. Blanched watercress tossed in a creamy, savory fermented bean curd dressing with chili flakes and lemon.

Homemade elderberry wine fermented with fresh berries, sugar, lemon juice, and yeast. A traditional country winemaking recipe that needs just five ingredients and three months of patience.

Traditional fermented beet kvass, the tangy ruby-red base for authentic borscht. Just beets, water, and a slice of bread create this Old World staple in 4 to 5 days.

Stuffed eggplant pickles filled with minced cabbage, red bell pepper, garlic, and dill, tied with softened celery ribs and fermented in vinegar brine. A traditional Middle Eastern style pickle ready in 2 to 3 weeks.

Liquamen, an ancient Roman fish sauce made from anchovies, oregano, salt, and grape juice. A quick stovetop recreation of the fermented condiment that flavored nearly every dish in ancient Rome.

Grape starter for sourdough bread uses wild yeast from red grape skins to build a tangy, fruity base with just flour and water. A 6-day fermentation process creates a living starter you can maintain for months.

Gruel bread: a rustic whole-wheat loaf built from leftover rice-and-vegetable gruel, no commercial yeast, risen overnight and baked dark. A zero-waste bread with deep, fermented flavor.

Simple homemade kimchi with napa cabbage, garlic, ginger, scallions, and red pepper flakes. Salt-brined overnight and packed into jars for quick fermentation.

Herman milk sourdough starter: a sweet, milk-based fermented batter that becomes the base for Amish friendship bread, cinnamon coffee cakes, and quick breads. Pass cups along to friends; the starter never runs out.

Overnight yeasted pancakes with pure maple syrup and chopped walnuts. The fermented batter gives these a tangy, sourdough-like depth that regular pancakes can only dream about. Worth the wait.

Two-ingredient brown rice flour griddle cakes, naturally gluten-free. Ferment the batter overnight for tangy flavor or cook them right away like crepes.

Spicy Korean kimchi: napa cabbage salt-brined overnight then fermented two days with garlic, ginger, green chilies, and scallions. A simplified home kimchi you can start tonight.

Myong's kimchi ferments napa cabbage, daikon, carrots, ginger, and garlic in rice vinegar and sea salt for weeks in the fridge. A crisp, bright Korean-style relish that builds more depth the longer it sits.

Indian rava dosa style griddle breads made with semolina, yogurt, fresh ginger, jalapeno, curry leaves, and cilantro. Crispy on the outside, soft inside, no fermentation required.