Fermenting Feral Feminism

Fermenting Feral Feminism

This workshop is open to everyone who is curious to learn about the living cultures within our foods and the benefits of microbial and enzymatic activity through more-than-human agency. The metabolic processes that take place in fermented foods have a positive impact on the human gut microbiome. These microbial mechanisms also tell stories about food politics, self-sufficiency, small-scale production, and local food cultures. The ferments on the table are in constant flux, illustrating the symbiotic coexistence of plants, fungi, bacteria, animals, and humans. Decomposition and composition are translated onto the table through stains, spills, and the gradual transformation of the table setting throughout the event.

This laboratory of knowledge exchange is a practical exercise in un-learning and DIWO (Do It With Others). We become microbial in the sense of network thinking. Fermentation is one of humanity's oldest cultural heritages: a way of cooking without heat, preserving the abundance of seasonal harvests, and enriching flavour through the seemingly magical emergence of umami. Fermentation is a culinary practice found all around the world, expressed through diverse recipes and local microclimates. Yet it always involves the active collaboration of fungi or bacteria and the human hand. Although this practice is more than 6,000 years old, it predates modern science. I like to refer to fermentation as a female feral science. We have been biohackers since the beginning of settled life.

Fermentation is a holistic practice. It touches our tongues, tickles our senses, keeps our stomachs gregarious, and even has the power to enhance our moods and reduce fatigue. Fermentation knowledge has long been transmitted through oral traditions, subtle gestures, direct hands-on experience, and attentive observation. For the artist Maya Minder, fermentation is a starting point for telling stories of ancient futurisms. To ferment is to touch our guts, to align ourselves with our more-than-human allies, and to reactivate our (lost) senses. Fermentation is biological wisdom and social transformation at once. It means cultivating together within communities and enriching the liveliness of our everyday practices of eating and cooking. On the tip of our tongues, Maya Minder seeks to touch people's hearts, hands and minds by translating the language of invisible microbial agency through the simple yet profound practice of everyday rituals.

Workshop Facilitator - Maya Minder

Maya Minder‘s Gasthaus lays in these current practices, an example of relational aesthetics in the age of the postdigital. Through the setting of a functional kitchen provided with all the necessary tools, it offers a local gathering point for people to cook and eat together while sharing ideas. What is more, it invites groups of artists and militants active in the field of nutrition and ecology - in particular those who built their praxis by developing new approaches to biotechnologies and DIY/DIWO methodologies - to discuss their visions and endeavours, using as a starting point and a mutual concept the process of fermentation. Similar to the concept of culture, which has its roots in an agricultural context and now encompasses concepts related to knowledge, values and civilisation, the concept of fermentation, describing metabolic processes such as the chemical transformation of sugar into acids, refers as well to social phenomenon of agitation and uprising. Fermentation is an ancient cooking practice allowing the autonomous production of enriched nutriments. In Maya Minder‘s work, fermentation is a suitable and metaphorically charged activity to invite the guests not only to share their receipts and their alternative solutions to nutrition but also to debate on subjects such as home-made agriculture, food circulation, ecological issues, collectivism and gender roles.

Her work has been exhibited at: Kunsthaus Zurich, Kunsthalle Zurich, ARKO Art Center (Seoul), Serpentine Galleries (London), Power Station of Art (Shanghai), BY ART MATTERS天目里美术馆 (Hangzhou), Collegium Helveticum (Zurich), Jeu de Paume and Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris), 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (Kanazawa), Swiss Embassy in Japan, and Ars Electronica (Linz).

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Minder

Women Kitchen Nation, Pot-Peeting Philosophy, and Alchemists Anarchism

Are our thoughts in the kitchen really free? Can we combine ingredients and cooking techniques however we like? Or do we ultimately operate at the stove within the limits and rules of an unconscious culinary grammar? A contemporary revisit of a classic in the anthropology of the cooking pot.

The process of fermentation presents itself almost too easily as a metaphor — the way time transforms something bitter into something full of goodness; how the ‘mother’ turns raw materials into something entirely new while simultane- ously replicating itself. Perhaps we can follow in the foot- steps of Susan Sontag’s argument in “Illness as Metaphor”, in which she insists that “illness is not a metaphor, and that the most truthful way of regarding illness — and the healthiest way of being ill — is one most purified of, most resistant to, metaphoric thinking.” Likewise, perhaps the ‘most truthful’, even the ‘healthiest’ way of understanding fermentation is as it is: devoid of metaphor. Rejecting metaphor in favour of ‘the thing in itself’ requires extending our feeling, stretching our empathy towards understanding something, not based on its use in rela- tion to human comprehension, but towards attempting to understand it purely for what it is. To understand fermentation as not only a metaphor (for it can exist simultaneously to us as both metaphoric and actual) is to understand it as a naturally-occurring process with which humans are simply collaborators. And in under- standing this, we can realize that this form of non-human life, this collection of symbiotic bacteria and yeasts, is as vital a form of life as our own existence in the world.

The kitchen is a place
that bears many wonders.
Cooking nourishes—
it is a social space,
a space of molecular revolution
and body queering.
A deveni creativ în bucătărie
(in becoming creative in the kitchen)
is to practice self-care and trust.
It is a place of generous sharing—
avec vos allié·e·s non-humain·e·s
(with your non-human allies)

Fermentation follows the culinary triangle

In 1969 French structuralist Claude Lévi-Strauss wrote his ideas on the western mindset of dualism between nature/culture inside the text titled "Die Abhandlungen über den Ursprung der Tischsitten". His writings became embelematic for a generation of thinkers, artists, ethnographers, philosophers and even chefs. Feeling inspired by his hypothesis on the "Raw, Cooked and Rotten", till today his text is highly complex and still feels fresh using the ideas of the culinary trinagle to reflect on the many layers of culture and rawness.


Extract from: Claude Lévi-Strauss. Mythologie III: Der Ursprung der Tischsitten.  Frankfurt am Main, Suhrkamp. S.367-376

Für das Kochen mit Wasser verfügten die indigenen *Siksikáwa* Nativen über eine breite Skala von Behältern, vom Rohleder bis zum Steingefäss, über vergängliche Geräte wie frisch gehäutetes Leder oder so dauerhaftes wie Steingeschirr. Diesen Dualismus de Kochens mit Wasser im Hinblick auf die technischen Mittel entsprach der Dualismus der umgekehrten (das Wasser ausschliessende Braten) kulinarischen Methode im Hinblick auf ihre Resultate: das an der Luft getrocknete Fleisch ist verderblich, der Pemmikan dagegen, in den man es verwandelt nicht. Schliesslich scheinen die vier wichtigsten kulinarischen Methoden der *Siksikáwa* Nativen - Herstellung von Pemmikan, Backen, oder von Camas im Ofen, Überbrühen des Fleisches in siedendem Wasser und Trocknen des Fleisches an der Luft - was sich nicht auf Paare korrelativer und gegensätzlicher Termini reduzieren lässt. Die ersten beiden Methoden sind komplex, die letzen einfach; die erste und die vierte finden unter freiem Himmel statt, die zweite und dritte unterhalb der Oberfläche, in einem Loch mit oder ohne Wasser. Der chthonische Ofen, einer pflanzlichen zugeordnet, steht dem tierischen Fleisch entgegen, das in halber Höhe aufgehängt wird, sowie der in trockenen, hermetisch verschlossene Ledersäcken verstaute Pemmikan bezüglich der tierischen Nahrung dem Fleisch entgegensteht, das in frischem, offenem und mit Wasser gefülltem Leder überbrüht wird. Dass dieses viereckige und langgestrickte System, in dem zwei Termini das *fast-Rohe Fleisch und in dem anderen Termini das mehr-als Gekochte (Pemmikan und Camas) als tierische und pflanzliche Nahrungsmittel langzeitig Konserviert und haltbargemacht werden, zwei innere Stützpunkte, die sich nicht an den einfachen Wertigkeiten des Rohen und des Gekochten festschreiben lassen. Wie man weiss, assen die *Siksikáwa * Nativen in der Tat die Eingeweide des Wilds gerne in rohem Zustand: Leber, Nieren, und ganze Mägen.

Wir haben soeben ein Beispiel für die Transformation des Modells angeführt. Es gibt noch weitere. In einem kulinarischen System, in dem die Kategorie des Gebratenen in Gebratenes und Geröstetes spaltet, nimmt dieser letze Terminus den Platz an der Spitze des Dreiecks ein (Roh - geräuchert - gekocht - fermentiert). Das Gebratene, immer noch auf der Achse der Luft, auf halbem Weg zwischen dem Gerösteten und dem Geräucherten. Genauso wird man vorgehen, wenn das kulinarische System einen Unterschied zwischen dem mit Wasser Gekochten und dem mit Dampf Gekochten macht: das letzter, bei dem das Wasser von der Nahrung ferngehalten wird, steht dann auf halbem Weg zwischen dem Gesottenen und dem Geräucherten.

„A Cultural Revivalist Manifesto“ by Sandor Katz

We need to cultivate a different set of relationships:
We must reclaim our food. Food is much more than simply nourishment. It embodies a complex web of relationships. It is a huge part of the context in which we exist. Reclaiming our food means actively involving ourselves in this web. The foods that fill our contemporary supermarket shelves are products of a globalized infrastructure of proprietary genetic material, synthetic and often dangerous chemicals, monocultures, long-distance transportation, factory-scale processing, wasteful packaging, and energy-sucking refrigeration. The food being produced by this system is destroying the earth, destroying our health, destroying economic vitality, and robbing us of our dignity by breeding dependency and reducing us to the subservient role of consumer.

Relationships with Plants and Animals
This is where our food comes from, plants and animals (with microbial assistance). We cannot continue to distance ourselves from the sources of our food, relegating it to highly specialized, mostly faraway, mass-production monocultures, cut off from our lives. Historically, by necessity, we related to the plants and animals we ate. We knew them, relied upon them, and through their pursuit and cultivation, we were intimately connected to our environment. We need to become reconnected to the sources of our sustenance. Get to know the plants around you. Grow some herbs or vegetables. Glean and use unharvested fruit. Plant a tree, or care for one, or many. Forage weeds from your yard. If you enjoy eggs, milk, or meat, consider exploring the path of raising chickens or other livestock on a small scale. Find a way to observe and participate in slaughtering and butchering. Respect, honor, and appreciate the life that goes into our food. We have coevolved with these other beings, and our fates are intertwined.

Relationships with Farmers and Producers
Buy local food! Support local agriculture! Get to know farmers, and buy directly from them. Agricultural revitalization is real economic stimulus and real economic security. Beyond the raw products of agriculture, most people enjoy foods and beverages that have been processed, whether it’s cheese, salami, or tempeh. Many of these “value-added” processes involve fermentation. Support small-scale local processing and production. It means fresher food, local jobs, decentralization, and greater resilience in the face of change. Local production includes not only commercial manufacturers but small informal production shared through alternative economies such as gift exchange, barter, voluntary donations, herd-shares, community supported models, or illicit underground sales. Find a niche you can fill in the reemergent web of food creators.

Relationships with Ancestors
Our ancestors paid much more attention to their ancestors than people in our time typically do. We have our God, and canonize various historical or mythological heroes into icons, but in our time we have very little appreciation for the general continuous lineage itself. However mixed our heritage may be, we are, each of us, the spawn of ancient lineages, which have bestowed upon us incredible cultural legacies. We must remember, rediscover, and reclaim our ancestors, however we can, and honor, protect, and perpetuate their gifts, including tangible ones such as seeds and fermentation processes. Cultural revival is necessary in order to maintain their great legacy to us. Keeping it alive is the ultimate in ancestor worship.

Relationships with Mysteries
Mysteries endure. Despite all the impressive advances in microscopic imaging, genetic analysis, and other forms of scientific investigation, the realm of the microscopic is still very little understood. For that matter, so is much about our own bodies and minds. Let us honor the mysteries and revel in the fact that we will never understand everything.

Relationships with Community
Self-sufficiency is a dangerous myth. We need each other. Love your circle, cultivate it, and enlarge it. Share food you grow or make with your community, and encourage others in their food production activities. Community is never perfect and takes hard work, because people have such varied visions, ideas, and values. But do the hard work of finding common ground, and build community with the people around you.

Relationships with Movements of Resistance
Our growing awareness as individuals creating change in our own lives, and communities can (and must) build into galvanizing social movements. While reviving local food systems, we can also address inequitable access to resources by becoming part of existing movements for food justice and food sovereignty. While making use of indigenous wisdom in our cultural revival efforts, we can also acknowledge and act in solidarity with indigenous peoples struggling for survival. While trying to limit our own carbon footprints and environmental impact, we can also join social movements demanding the same of corporations and government policies. Personal actions can be powerful, but nothing like the force of collective action.

Relationships to Materials
„We must strive to maximize the use of whatever is abundant, easy, low-impact, and reusable. We do not need infinitely more special equipment and gadgetry. We must interrupt the disposable society. Where feasible, scavenge materials to reuse them; process fibers from plants or animals; build a house from earthen materials. DIY culture!
These are but a few strands of a densely interwoven web of relationships that can sustain and enrich us. Fermentation is one way in which we may consciously cultivate this web. This is the daily practice of cultural revival. By engaging life forces, we rediscover and reconnect with our context.“

Text by Sandor Katz

Recipes

Ginger & Grass Beer

This house-brewed Ginger & Grass Beer is made according to a recipe developed by the artist. It draws inspiration from the original method of the eighteenth century, when ginger beer was a popular fermented refreshment in many British households. At that time, it was produced through the activity of naturally occurring yeasts and lactic acid bacteria. Early ginger beer was a rather pungent, robust beverage with an alcohol content of around 11%, making it difficult to store and transport due to its active and unpredictable fermentation. It was not until the nineteenth century that a non-alcoholic version emerged. Although it borrowed the name, it shared little with the traditional fermented drink. Today, this soft-drink version is commonly known as Ginger Ale. In Germany, traditionally brewed ginger beer may not legally be labelled as "beer" because it does not comply with the German Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot) and is therefore not considered a conventional beer. Our interpretation of Ginger Beer offers a more delicate balance than traditional recipes. A gentle fruity sweetness and the acidity of fresh lemon are complemented by grassy notes of wheatgrass and lemongrass. To allow these subtle flavours to come forward, the amount of ginger has been significantly reduced compared to classic recipes. The result is a refreshing drink that can be enjoyed on its own or served alongside food, particularly desserts. Careful hygienic practice, precise temperature control, and accurate measurements are essential for producing a consistently high-quality fermentation.

Ingredients
• Fresh ginger
• Lemongrass
• Vanilla
• Lemon zest and juice
• Coriander seeds
• Fresh wheatgrass juice
• Cane sugar
• Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)

Method
Step 1 Place the ginger, lemongrass, vanilla, lemon zest and juice, and coriander seeds into an open fermentation vessel or large glass jar. Pour over a boiling mixture of water and cane sugar, then allow the infusion to cool naturally to approximately 24°C (75°F). Step 2 Add the yeast once the liquid has cooled. Use 0.1% Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the same top-fermenting yeast commonly used in brewing ales. Step 3 Cover the vessel with a clean cloth and allow the mixture to ferment for 24 hours at room temperature, keeping the temperature below 21°C (70°F). During this stage, the yeast converts the cane sugar into alcohol, carbon dioxide, and heat. Step 4 On the following day, add freshly pressed wheatgrass juice. Transfer the vessel to refrigeration at approximately 8°C (46°F) for a further 24 hours to slow the fermentation process. Step 5 On the third day, strain the ginger beer through a fine cheesecloth or filter cloth. The chlorophyll from the wheatgrass juice is not stable in the presence of alcohol, even at relatively low concentrations, so the drink gradually loses its bright green colour during continued fermentation. Step 6 Bottle the finished Ginger & Grass Beer and seal the bottles tightly. Refrigerate for at least 48 hours before serving. Step 7 (Optional) As the natural foam has only a very short lifespan, a small portion of the Ginger Beer can be charged in a cream siphon to produce a light foam. Pour the drink into a glass and finish by topping it with the foam, creating a delicate "flower" on the surface.

Hibiscus Kombucha

Ingredients
1 cup dried hibiskusflowers

1 cup cane sugar
1-2 cup kombucha starter liquid
1 Kombucha-SCOBY
3 liter (chrorine free) water

Tools 1 big glass jar of 3L volumes
1 sieve
1 waterboiler

Methode: Step 1
Boil 1 liter of water and add 1 cup of hibiscus tea and 1 cup of sugar (sugar shall be 5-8% of total amount of water) stir and dilute the sugar. Once diluted strain the liquid from the hibiscus tea and cool it down to room temperature.
Step 2
Add 2 liter of chlorine free water and then add the kombucha - scabby and the kombucha starter liquid. The actually living microbes are inside the liquid. I always tend to say the scoby is the house of the microbes, the microbes themself are happy to float around in its liquid surroundings. The starter liquid also helps to lower the PH and to prevent mold. This starter liquid can be also replace by another strong living culture luiquid such as Kefir Water or a splash of sourkraut water
Step 3
Use a clean cloth to cover the glass jar and let the kombucha sit for 7-10 days. Kombucha fermentations are strongly interdependent with the temperature and local weather conditions. In summer when temperatures reach above 30 Degrees the fermentation process can last less then 10 days. It's helpful to check and taste your kombucha after the 7th day on a daily basis.
Step 4
Harvest the Kombucha after your personal taste. Some people like it more sour, others prefer to harvest early and keep it on the sweeter side. For Harvesting you immediately create a new batch by keeping back some of the liquids. I advise to remove the liquid and scoby entirely, wash the glass jar and create a new "batch" (repeat step 1-4). In each batch usually you create a new scoby baby. A new layer of bacterial biofilm appears. It is recommendable to toss away the old scabby (better to share it with a friend) and keep the baby for the new batch, but you can also keep the old one.
Some people create "Scoby Hotels" by collecting the surplus on scoby material and store it in a seperate jar to then gift it to others or to create a back-up. Some people even study Scoby materials as biofilm to create a material that has similar properties as leather --> vegan leather.

Additional
Second fermentation
A playfull variation is the secondary fermentation you can play around using the finished kombucha drink as basis. Just add 1/3 of any kind of fresh fruit juice (contains sugar) and ferment it in a closed bottle with the Kombucha liquid. I usually store the bottle one day outside to accelerate the fermentation process and then transfer it to the fridge for another week of fermentation. Fermentation is all about time and intuitive sensing, it really teaches you a lot about time management and sensing ghost.
Various teas and tastes to use
Hibiscus Kombucha is one variation of many many more. You can "teach" your scoby to adapt to different tastes and teas. As in all the cooking methods, the higher quality of your raw materials, the better the outputs of the results. Careful hygienic practice, precise temperature control, and accurate measurements are essential for producing a consistently high-quality fermentation.
Coffee Kombucha 4 cup dried and used coffe grounds
6 cup water 1 cup cane sugar
all spice (cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, vanilla extract) same procedure like hibiscus kombucha

Water Kefir (Tibicos or Japan Water Christals)

Like kombucha, water kefir is a probiotic drink that you can make yourself at home with the help of living kefir cultures. It tastes similar to a lemonade and is healthy. It provides many vitamins and minerals and especially the probiotics are a daily booster and replenisher for our gut biome.
Ingredients 1L water (unchlorinated tap water works well) 2-3 lemon slices, thinly sliced 1 thin slice of beetroot 1 dried fruit (fig, date, goji, etc.) 50-80g sugar (it should taste sweet like lemonade) 2-3 tablespoons kefir grains
Methode Place the water kefir grains in a suitable container (glass, ceramic). Add sugar, water, lemons, beetroot and (dried) fruit as desired. Never work with metal. After two to three days, the water kefir is ready to drink. Pour the liquid into a carafe or a bottle through a sieve (plastic), rinse the nodules under cold water and start again in the first container with fresh ingredients. It needs sugar as food and the dried fruit is, so to speak, its mineral donor, lemons give the freshness and beetroot the beautiful color. Each batch is fresh and new, so use new fruits each time. Wash the kefir balls in the sieve under running water and then prepare a new batch. (Batch = one round of fermentation) Kefir is ready to drink within 2 days. If you want to take a break, you can put the Kefir grains in a jar with water and 1 tsp sugar in the fridge. It will "sleep and rest" in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Kimchi after my Mother’s recipe

Ingredients
3 whole Chinese cabbages
salt approx.150 g or 4% of the weight of the cabbage
Glutinous Rice Powder (rice flour) 1 cup
1 tablespoon sugar
6 cloves of garlic
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
1 bunch spring onions or young leeks (use the green too)
2 tbsp fish sauce (optional)
1 Tbsp fermented shrimp paste (Saeujeot)
1/2 tbsp miso
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 carrot1 apple
1/3 radish
3-5 tbsp Korean chilli powder (Gochugaru)

Methode Split the Chinese cabbage into 4 parts (do not tear or cut) and salt all the leaves well. Leave overnight in a large container covered with a kitchen towel. The next day, rinse the Chinese cabbage (this is an important step, you rinse the cabbage under floating water, the salt will stay inside the cabbage leaves) It is properly salted when the leaves " squeak " when you squeeze them and still taste salty. You will also notice that the surface of the leaves have changed to a glazed color.
Prepare the marinade: Bring the rice flour together with 3 dl of water to a simmer. It should have the consistency of a thick sauce (add water as needed). Let the whole thing cool down. Peel the apple, ginger and garlic and process with a juicer to form a pulp. Mix together with the rice flour, add chilli powder, sugar, soy sauce and a little miso, and mixe again.
Wash the chillies well and cut them into thin diagonal slices of 3mm. Also the carrots, radish and spring onions 3-5mm (juliette). Add to the marinade and give it a good sniff. Massage the marinade into and between the cabbage leaves. Place them into a container (ONGI, or a small sauerkraut pot or preserving jars) to ferment. Press everything down well and leave it covered and in an anaerobic condition (closed jar during the initial fermentation process).
After one day fermenting on the counter, transfer it to the fridge. A stable temperature between 7-16 degrees Celsius guarantees a slow and even fermentation. Kimchi has to stay in cool temperature, otherwise the cabbage goes lumpy. The kimchi can be enjoyed until it becomes sour, about 3-6 months depending on the season and storage conditions. Do not throw away the remaining kimchi that is too sour, it can be used for cooking recipes such as fried rice, dumplings, kimchi - stew, etc.

KOMBUME

Poem

Fermented food is alive, it poetically brings to mind an animistic world
where the air that we breath and the food that we eat is in constant movement.

This metamorphosis can be applied socially: The interaction between microscopic
organisms is very similar to the social processes that occurs outside.

A social action, or an idea, meets another, and little by little, while
growing in volume and presence, they start generating a social and a cultural wealth.

Some days the space is full of people, all prepared for a culinary adventure.
Other times you find yourself alone with microscopic life that you helped create.

If you listen and smell carefully, you could note how the activity in the Jars change
the sound and olfactory environment.

As a response to the current atmosphere of crisis and impoverishment,
we are using the microscopic dynamics of fermentation as the basis of a new economic model.

It is a dialogue between our desire to intervene, manipulate and
create and the natural pace of the environment we are in, its temperature
and the wild microscopic beings that inhabit it.

Can we experiment within tradition, maintaining continuity through a
balance of repetition and variation? Or is tradition itself an extension of
experimentation and openness over the span of many years?

Credits:
Text by Maya Minder with extracts from Micro Cultures. A zine designed to generate a debate about fermentation: social economic and culinary Leuven, 2012

Video produced by Maya Minder with the support of National Taiwanese Crafts and Research Institute,
as an ongoing research on kombucha, bacterial cellulose as biomaterial, during the international
online residency, Have Friends in Future, 2021

eeelab : Fermentation Gathering

This workshop is part of the Fermentation gathering happening in Guiyang, Guizhou, People's Republic in China organized by Keng Keng Chen https://www.instagram.com/eeelab__/

https://www.hackteria.org/wiki/发酵中的野生女性主义