What's so Wild about Fermentation?
Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods
Fermentation Troubleshooting Q & A
Upcoming Workshops and Demonstrations
Fermentation & Food Internet Resources
Fermentation and Social Change
Who is Sandorkraut?
Who is Sandorkraut?
My name is Sandor Ellix Katz, and I am a fermentation fetishist.
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
fermentation fetish 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. Ten 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.)
You can listen to a 2006 radio interview with me on "The Politics of Food" show on KUCI (Irvine, CA) by clicking on this link.
I have been fermenting foods and drinks for a decade. 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 demostrations). 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 tale of zero tolerance," my account of being part of a mass arrest in New York City during the Republican National Convention.
Read my interview with the ACT UP Oral History Project reflecting on AIDS Activism.
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.
Crunch42: My friend Julian is a web designer. He held my hand and answered my questions as I created this site. 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.
Frances Lefkowitz: A great writer.
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 is an inspirational teacher who makes building with cob and other earthen materials easy and fun. Her site is full of great images of beautiful cob structures.
Leopard: My dear friend and fellow communard writes and performs sincerely heartfelt and ironically twisted tunes.
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.
Museum of Corporate Welfare and Advertisers Anonymous: Albo Jeavons is a quirky, subversive artist and activist.
Onnamove: My friend Onnamove's artwork and writing.
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
Spiral Q: This Philadelphia puppet troupe, founded by my friend Matty Boy, uses puppetry as a focus for community organizing and celebration.
Stevee Postman: Extraordinary computer photo-manipulations.
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.