Fermentation guru Sandor Katz to give lecture

July 31, 2015

Marmian Grimes

Fermentation expert Sandor Katz will give a lecture Aug. 17 from 6-9 p.m. in the Murie Building auditorium at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Sandor Katz is a self-proclaimed fermentation revivalist.
Sandor Katz is a self-proclaimed fermentation revivalist.


Tickets for the lecture are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Katz is the author of three books on fermentation — “Wild Fermentation,” “The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved” and “The Art of Fermentation,” which received a James Beard award in 2012.

Katz calls himself a fermentation revivalist. His website says he got interested in fermentation after making sauerkraut for the first time. His obsession led to the nickname “Sandorkraut” and a wide culinary interest in fermented foods.

The New York Times has described Katz as “one of the unlikely rock stars of the food scene.” Since 2003, when “Wild Fermentation” was released, Katz has given hundreds of workshops around the world “demystifying fermentation and empowering people to reclaim this transformational process in their kitchens.” The Southern Foodways Alliance gave him its Craig Claiborne Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

Marsha Munsell, a program assistant for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, arranged for Katz’s visit to Fairbanks. Munsell, who has been fermenting foods for six years, credits Sandor for resurrecting an interest in fermentation, which is one of the oldest forms of food preservation.

“He stirred the pot and got it going again,” she said.

Katz is delivering lectures or workshops in Kenai, Kodiak and Homer before coming to Fairbanks. Extension is hosting his Fairbanks visit. Register at http://bit.ly/ces-workshops. For more information, contact Munsell at 907-474-5414 or mkmunsell@alaska.edu