Derek Dellinger - "The Fermented Man" @ Rhinebeck Farmers Market

 Fermentation is all the rage in health and fitness circles, but can a person live for one year on nothing but fermented foods? One brave homebrewer tries to find out.

On January 1, 2014, Derek Dellinger began an epic year-long quest to survive on nothing but fermented foods and beverages. He had no idea how far this would take him--all the way to Scandinavia, where fermented delicacies like rotten shark meat have been part of local cuisine for centuries, as well as into the deepest recesses of his local grocery store, where he discovered a surprising number of everyday foods that rely on fermentation (ketchup, anyone?). He cataloged his journey in this witty and entertaining book, the next big thing in a genre that gave rise to Julie Powell's massive bestseller Julie and Julia. Part memoir, part science experiment, part cookbook--there's a full-color recipe section for the adventurous home cook--The Fermented Man is a truly one-of-a-kind exploration into a world of food that is endlessly flavorful and complex.

Derek Dellinger is based in Beacon, NY and is brewmaster of Kent Falls Brewing Company, the first Connecticut farmhouse brewery (and surely the only one spontaneously fermenting beer outside in an old milk chiller). As a long-time fermentation enthusiast, Derek is the perfect guide to all things fermented--he is, really, the embodiment of The Fermented Man.