I read a recipe for fermenting carrots and ginger. The recipe reads to leave on the counter for 2-3 days and then refrigerate. Little did the author know that my apartment’s version of “room temperature” is a sauna. Heat plays an important role in fermentation. At the right temperature the bacteria do their magic on what it is you’re trying to change - in my case, a beet. A little warmer and the bacteria have a “Burning Man” style party in the jar and go nuts; too hot and they die. On the other hand, too cold and they sleep.Recipes are written in absolute ways, yet they don’t take into account for what’s real to you. A good reminder that nothing in our world is absolute, except the rule that “nothing is absolute.”

Last modified on 2022-08-10