Who is Sandorkraut?

Sandorkraut

My name is Sandor Ellix Katz, and I am a fermentation revivalist.

I created this site and wrote the book Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods, published in 2003 by Chelsea Green Publishing Company.

My interest in fermentation grew out of my overlapping interests in cooking, nutrition and gardening. I am also an herbalist and an activist and a writer and a builder and a craftsperson and a bicyclist and many other things: a generalist. I am a native of New York City, a graduate of Brown University and a retired policy wonk. Seventeen years ago I moved from New York to Short Mountain Sanctuary, a queer intentional community deep in the wooded hills of Tennessee. I have AIDS and consider fermented foods an important part of my healing. (See AIDS Links below.)

See my  YouTube videos at  http://www.youtube.com/user/sandorkraut

Chow.com named Sandor one of the Chow 13 for 2009.

Read a 2009 interview with me on Treehugger.com by visiting http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/sandor-katz-wild-fermentation-experimentalist.php.

You can listen to a 2007 segment of NPR's Science Friday featuring me with authors Michael Pollan and Marion Nestle by visiting http://mediacloud.libsyn.com/sciencefriday/scifri-2007081024.mp3.

You can read a 2008 interview with me from abolitionist online by visiting http://www.abolitionist-online.com/08_revolution.shtml.

You can read a 2007 profile/interview on Grist.org by visiting http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2007/05/17/katz/.

You can read a 2007 profile/interview on Truthout.org, "Food: Alive, Wild and Free: An Interview With Sandor Ellix Katz," by visiting http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082307M.shtml#.

Listen to a talk I gave in Oakland, CA in December 2007 broadcast on KPFA by visiting http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=23903.

Read a 2007 Chicago Reader blog about my workshops here .

Read my 2007 interview with Mark's Daily Apply by clicking here .

Read my 2006 interview with Backwoods Hipster by clicking here .

You can listen to a 2006 radio interview with me on "The Politics of Food" show on KUCI (Irvine, CA) by clicking here.

Listen to a 2007 radio interview with me on "Healthy Planet" on WAIF (Cincinnati, OH) by clicking here.

Another radio interview: Reality Sandwich Radio on KPOO (San Francisco, CA), March 29, 2007, listen by clicking here.

I have been fermenting foods and drinks for fourteen years now. It started with sauerkraut. I found an old crock buried in our barn, harvested cabbage from our garden, chopped it up, salted it, and waited. That first kraut tasted so alive and powerfully nutritious! Its sharp flavor sent my salivary glands into a frenzy and got me hooked on fermentation. I have made sauerkraut ever since, earning the nickname Sandorkraut, even as my repertoire has expanded. I have explored and experimented widely in the realm of fermentation, and I want to share what I have learned.

My mission with this website is to propel more live-culture foods out into our culture. Please feel free to contact me. I am on the lookout for opportunities to demonstrate simple fermentation techniques, and spread the word about the glorious nutritional and healing powers of live fermented foods, in workshop settings and other venues (see upcoming workshops and demonstrations). I am happy to try my best to provide troubleshooting for home fermentation experiments (see Fermentation Troubleshooting Q&A).

I am the author of two biographies for children, of Anne Frank and Whoopi Goldberg. My writing has also been published in The Nation, The Fifth Estate, OutWeek, Communities Magazine, and RFD: A Country Journal for Queer Folks Everywhere.

Read my interview with the ACT UP Oral History Project reflecting on AIDS Activism.

AIDS Links

I've been living with HIV since the 1980's. There's lots of information out there, as well as support resources. Here are a couple of excellent "portal" sites, linking to hundreds of information and networking resources.

• The Body
• AIDS.org

Links to Sandorkraut's friends' websites

Alan Muskat: The Mushroom Man.

Alicia Svigals: A brilliant violinist, linguist, and enthnomusicologist, Alicia is a founder of the Klezmatics.

Carol Queen: Sex activist extraordinaire.

Caroline Paquita : Womanimal World and more. 

Crazy Owl: Crazy Owl (aka Crazy or Dr. Owl) is a plant healer and teacher.

Crunch42: Julian is a web designer. He held my hand and answered my questions as I created my first website. His site has great information about creating your own website.

Eggman: Trained by his mother in the Ukrainian art of eggshell-batik (pysanky), Paul Wirhun has taken this traditional practice in egg-citing new directions.

Ellix.com: My brother Jonathan's website.

Faerie Arts: 6 radical faerie artists display their work, including gourdist Jai Sheronda, a fellow Short Mountain steward.

Frank Cook: Frank and I frequently co-teach “Wild Foods and Fermentation” workshops. He is a devoted plant explorer, traveling the world seeking out plants and plant healers, with the goal of familiarizing himself with all the earth’s plant families.

George Downing : Handmade electric guitars crafted from salvaged and locally-harvested materials by my friend in nearby Dismal, TN.

Goatboy: A neighbor and friend with a passion for old self-playing musical instruments and many other arcane and bizarre interests.

Granite: A prolific and talented painter.

IDA: The "Queer Arts Community" down the road from us, where my beloved friends host the annual "Idapalooza Fruit Jam" music festival every September and many other fabulous events.

Jn. Ulrick Desert: A conceptual artist I met who lives in Berlin. His work is provocative and powerful.

kleiwerks: Janelle and Meka are inspirational teachers who make building with cob and other earthen materials easy and fun. Their site is full of great images of beautiful cob structures.

Kristas Cups: Krista distributes reusable menstrual cups, as well as the pee-style, a device which enables women to pee standing up.

Leopard: My fellow communard writes and performs sincerely heartfelt and ironically twisted tunes.

Little Short Mountain Farm : The farm down the road from where I live, where my new fermentation kitchen is located. Apprenticeship opportunities abound.

Lika J: My sister Lizzi Katz designs and sews gorgeous colorful hand and shoulder bags. Check them out here.

Luna Parc: Ricky Boscarino is a creative genius. Luna Parc is his home and life’s work. Tour Luna Parc virtually here, and check out Ricky’s amazing jewelry.

Maine Fiber Arts: I enjoy knitting and in Maine, my home away from home, I've become friends with Christine Macchi, the tireless fiber arts networker who runs this organization.

Make/shift magazine creates and documents contemporary feminist culture and action by publishing journalism, critical analysis, and visual and text art. Made by an editorial collective committed to antiracist, transnational, and queer perspectives, make/shift embraces the multiple and shifting identities of feminist communities. We know there's exciting work being done in various spaces and forms by people seriously and playfully resisting and creating alternatives to
systematic oppression. Make/shift exists to represent, participate in, critique, provoke, and inspire more of that good work.

Museum of Corporate Welfare and Advertisers Anonymous: Albo Jeavons is a quirky, subversive artist and activist.

Nephi Niven : Nephi is a photographer friend and this is his gorgeous website/portfolio.

Onnamove: My friend Onnamove's artwork and writing.

Orchid's Organics : My friend Orchid, one of my major culinary inspirations, teaches raw food workshops and offers personal chef services.

Pattie Eakin : My stepmother Pattie is a great painter and this is her site. 

pinkiepoetry.com: David J. Pinkerton's profound poetry. Pinkie is a cheesemaker, too.

RFD: A Queer Country Journal: The second oldest gay publication in the U.S. (since 1973), RFD is a reader-written journal published by a collective of my faerie friends and neighbors.

Samuel Lurie: Transgender Awareness Training and Advocacy

Stevee Postman: Extraordinary computer photo-manipulations.

UniversalTaoLA: The website of Dena Saxer and Mantak Chia, authors of the book EMOTIONAL WISDOM: Daily Tools for Transforming Anger, Depression, and Fear, full of practical coping tools.