Mini Review: Kombucha, Kefir, and Beyond by Alex Lewin

Title: Kombucha, Kefir, and Beyond: A Fun and Flavorful Guide to Fermenting Your Own Probiotic Beverages at Home
Author: Alex Lewin
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: February 15th 2017
Source: Fair Winds Press


Book Description:

Saying "Cheers!" Never Felt Better

Fermented foods have taken the world by storm, largely due to their health and real food benefits. They help improve digestion, enable us to better assimilate vitamins and minerals, and strengthen the immune system.

Of all fermented foods, drinks are some of the most versatile--and tasty! Think kombucha, kefir, and real ginger ale. Many of these items you can buy in the store, but making them at home is simple, economical, and even better for you. With just a few ingredients and materials, you can start brewing your own delicious beverages for your family. Ferment Your Drinks is packed with innovative drink recipes, from healthy homemade sodas to traditional kvass and cider, that you can make in your home kitchen and enjoy all year long!

Inside, you'll learn:
--Why to ferment your drinks
--The history of fermentation and the value of traditional foods
--The benefits of fermented drinks to your health
--All the basics: the process, the tools, and how to get started
--Five-minute recipes for lassis, fermented lemonade, and more
--How to use starters to make kombucha, kefir, root beer, wine, and others again and again
--Age-old recipes for kvass, switchel, vinegar, and mead
--Everything you need to know about why the recipes work, why they are safe, what to do if they go wrong, and how to modify them to suit your taste

Raise a glass to good health with Ferment Your Drinks!

Review:

★★

Oh dear. I do so very much hate giving bad reviews. Let's get this over with quick, okay?

There's a long history about fermented drinks and some soapbox-y type stuff about health benefits and American obesity and how these drinks are the answer. There's long, complicated, boring sections on this as well as in chemistry and beverage science. I'm not going to say I don't care, because I understand the importance of food science and knowing how your actions produce the food/drink you're making. But this was the majority of the book, which is not what I expected (or wanted).

The title has "flavorful" right in the name. But unfortunately, the few recipes that were included were either very basic, or not appetizing to me personally in the least. I wasn't inspired by any new tastes. There's also some that have pretty hard to find (at least, if you're not using the internet) ingredients, like worm salt.

The "resource" guide included Craigslist and Reddit.

Maybe you'll have better luck with this book than I did. For me, I didn't take anything away from this. The second star is because I appreciated the effort of the science and history parts, even if it's not what I wanted from this book.

I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.