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By Nancy Lindahl Correspondent ChiCo » If you've ever eaten bread or cheese, had a beer or a glass of wine, seasoned your stir-fry with soy sauce or eaten a pickle, you've had fermented food. Exper - imenting with the flavors of fermentation is a relatively new trend with upper eche- lon chefs and their culinary labs like David Chang from MOMOFUKU, New York, and Rene Redzepi from NOMA, Copenhagen, and local entrepreneur, Car - los Gonzales, who are fasci- nated with the process and the creative expression to be found in the flavors of fermentation. Fermentation is an an - cient method of preserv- ing food. The taste and tex- ture of fermented goods are transformed by the intro- duction of beneficial bac- teria or yeast says Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fer- mentation, and a fermen- tation revivalist who con- siders it part of his mis- sion to remind us that the tangy delights of that meta- morphosis surround us — and always have, if you look back at the arc of human evolution. According to Katz, "Ag - riculture doesn't make sense without ways of stor- ing the harvest." Food pres- ervation through fermenta- tion meant that food could be harvested, preserved, and saved. It was no longer necessary to roam for sur - vival. All cultures Fermented food is found in almost all cultures: "Imagine a table topped with the absolute best of French, Italian, and Span - ish cuisine, then take away the wine, and any dish with cheese. Try again with Jap- anese food only this time take away any soy sauce, miso and pickles. Try In- dian food without the yo- gurt and raita, German food without the sauer- kraut, Korean food without the kimchi, and the United States without beer." Fer- mentation has always been at the heart and soul of cui- sine, according to Kathleen Culliton, Harnessing the Power of Fermentation. Carlos Gonzales, a Chi - coan and business gradu- ate from USC, came home to start a business with a strong background in en- trepreneurship fostered by his father, Dan Gonzales, owner of Fifth Sun Cloth- ing. At first he was intrigued with the fermentation that occurs in sourdough bread and pizza crust, and did an internship at Tin Roof Bak - ery and a stint at Grana, a wood-fired pizza restaurant to learn more about the process and possible busi - ness opportunities of bread or pizza dough. In the end, it was veg- etables and their lactic- acid producing bacteria (the same kind found in sourdough) that captured his imagination. He liked the idea of preserving lo - cal produce — the season's bounty — in a natural way. The science and experi- mentation drew him to the fermenting idea. Bioavailability His carefully annotated experiments produced un- expected flavors, some "shocking to the senses." Producing food that is en- vironmentally sustainable, enjoyable to eat and healthy at the same time was also key. The fermenting pro - cess increases the bioavail- ability of certain nutrients in produce, and Katz be- lieves that fermented foods help replenish a diverse va- riety of probiotic bacteria in our guts. Inspired in part by Katz's "Wild Fermenta - tion," Gonzales realized the flavors of fermentation were a trending idea with- out limits; he could spon- taneously ferment almost anything. Initially he began experimenting by ferment- ing the traditional and deli- cious cucumber pickle. After a couple of sum- mers of branching out to spicy fermented carrots and green beans he began making sauerkraut. Currently you can find him working on various sauerkrauts, fermented carrots, pickle (when in season) tonics, and beet kvass, a salty, earthy fer - mented beet drink with a possible use as a flavor base for cocktails. The shop, at 1266 Hum - boldt Ave is well on its way. Pacific Culture Sau- erkraut's first account is Chico Natural Foods, which will carry four different sauerkrauts and fermented carrot sticks beginning in early April. Watch for Pacific Cul - ture's small retail coun- ter to open sometime in April.I watched as he cre- ated a new Curry Kraut with cabbage, golden beets, coriander, ginger and garlic that made the short list for Chico Natu - ral Foods. My favorite was batch No. 72, a bright pink/red kraut made with red and green cabbage, carrot, bur - dock root, coriander and lots of cumin. The flavor, the squeaky-teeth crunch, and the brilliant natu - ral color were something I hadn't experienced be- fore and had to limit my- self to just a fork-full a day to make the jar last. I could imagine it with any kind of roast meat, in tacos or on a salad. It was great, and slightly addictive — I wanted to taste that flavor every day. The process The process was amaz- ingly simple. The cabbage was cleaned, cored, shred- ded and then salted, at ap- proximately 2.25 percent by weight with sea salt. Af- terwards the cabbage is put into a large bin and mas- saged, which is when a pro- cess called osmosis takes over. The plant cells release their water content to re- duce the salinity of their en- vironment until equilibrium is achieved. Thus, the brine in which the vegetables fer- ment and are stored is cre- ated. The salted cabbage is then loaded into fermenta- tion tanks which produce a clean and anaerobic envi- ronment for the sauerkraut to ferment for often over a month or more. The finished ferment, or sauerkraut is jarred in ster - ile jars and refrigerated to almost halt continuing fer- mentation. Unlike pres- sure-canned produce, fer- mented foods are alive — the lactic acid produce gasses and aids digestion. Lactic acid, a by-product of fermentation can deepen flavors, and create flavor layers. It's the flavors created by fermentation that produce complexity in beer, cheese, and wine, and fermented foods and beverages pair well with each other. In Al - satian cuisine, for example sauerkraut is paired with off-dry Reisling, as well as beer. A flavor trend bub - bling up from gastro-pubs and food trucks as well as down from the chefs-on- high, the funky, tangy, tart flavors of fermented foods add a touch of umami that even Dave Woolley, exec - utive chef of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers can't ig- nore. Experiment with some of these great new fer- mented flavors to wake-up your palate and treat your gut to the beneficial mi- crobes. Because according to Carlos, "a quality sauer- kraut or traditionally fer- mented pickle is the best way to add a healthy zing to any meal." sweet BasiL aNd the Bee The fermentation wave finds an advocate in Chico Pacific Culture Food Fermenters is doing things with 'kraut that will surprise Photos courtesy of NaNcy LiNdahL carlos Gonzales shredding cabbage at the sauerkraut shop kitchen for curry Kraut. carlos Gonzales prepping the golden beets and cabbage for curry Kraut. tasting: (le to right) red Kraut with cumin; pickled carrots with dill, mustard and red chile flake; classic Kraut with apples; Kimchee sea salt Kraut. "a gri cu lt ur e doesn't make sense without ways of storing the harvest." — S an do r K at z, a ut ho r of " Wi ld Fermentation" By Mary Clare Jalonick The Associated Press washiNGtoN » Those "Nu- trition Facts" labels that are plastered on nearly ev- ery food package found in grocery stores are getting a new look. Ca lor ies would be in larger, bolder ty pe, and consumers for the f irst time would know whether foods have added sugars under label changes being proposed by the Obama administration. Ser v ing sizes would be updated to make them more realistic. A serving of ice cream, for example, would double to a full cup, closer to what peo - ple actually eat. The proposed overhaul comes as science has shifted. While fat was the focus two decades ago when the labels first were created, nutrition - ists are now more concerned with how many calories we eat. And serving sizes have long been misleading, with many single-serving pack - ages listing multiple serv- ings, so the calorie count is lower. The idea isn't that peo- ple should eat more; it's that they should understand how many calories are in what they are actually eating. The Food and Drug Administra - tion says that by law, serving sizes must be based on ac- tual consumption, not ideal consumption. "Our guiding principle here is very simple, that you as a parent and a consumer should be able to walk into your local grocery store, pick up an item off the shelf and be able to tell whether it's good for your fam - ily," said first lady Michelle Obama, who was to join the Food and Drug Administra- tion in announcing the pro- posed changes Thursday at the White House. Mrs. Obama was mak- ing the announcement as part of her Let's Move ini- tiative to combat child obe- sity, which is celebrating its fourth anniversary. On Tuesday, she announced new Agriculture Depart - ment rules that would re- duce ma rketi ng of u n- healthy foods in schools. The new nutrition labels are likely several years away. The FDA will take comments on the proposal for 90 days. Final rule could take an - other year. Once it's final, the agency has proposed giving industry two years to com- ply. CoNsuMers New food labels would highlight calories and sugar We interpret food values differently FOOD » redbluffdailynews.com wednesday, March 19, 2014 » More at FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS aNd TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4