from the Latin fermentare, "to leaven"
which is from the root fervere, "to seethe, boil, or bubble"
Fermentation, encompassing the processes resulting in wine, beer, kamboucha, yoghurt, and many cheeses, is really a method of "farming in a bottle." Fermentation can be considered a form of "micro-agriculture." Historically, farming has required a considerable portion of land (either "owned," rented, or share-cropped). And also, historically, it has required a considerable application of sweat to the process (although the more recent innovation of "digital farming" has removed much of the sweat by utilizing robotic tractors and the GPS network). Sweat and soil have, for millennia, characterized farming.
Fermentation, however, substitutes carbohydrates and other simple food chemistries for soil. And it further substitutes knowledge and patience for sweat. Even if you live in the smallest apartment you can enter into the rich universe of micro-farming. Farming-In-A-Bottle requires no more real-estate than the small footprint of a bucket and a bottle. And instead of surveying your agricultural domain by flying over it in your private aircraft, you can simply lift the cloth cover on your bucket, or shine a flashlight into the bottle and keep watch over your holdings.
Rows of crops in the Macro Agricultural World can be seen while driving down almost any rural lane in America (or the world, for that matter): cotton, maize, peaches, grape vines. Instead, in the micro-farming world, if you could look close enough, or have fine enough microscopic vision, you would see row upon row of unimaginably small yeast "plants" (or whatever particular microbe defines your "crop"). The "rows" of these crops are pretty random and jumbled, and very organic in design. And instead of being confined to the two-dimensional surface of the earth, the interface of soil and atmosphere, these "rows" can typically fill the three-dimensional volume of bucket or bottle.
As the tiny "plants" metabolize the "soil" and "atmosphere" they veritably seethe with life, bubbling and boiling up within the "farm" (the container). A common product of their living is the breathing out of carbon dioxide gas, producing a galaxy of tiny bubbles rising to the surface. Often, the tiny yeast (or other microbial cells) hitch a ride on the bubbles and can actually be seen as miniscule rafts, or colonies, bouyed to the very top of their universe.
Finally, when harvest-time comes you needn't hire the specialized (and high-priced!) services of a mechanical combine or picker. You simply siphon or decant the product into a clean bottle, insert a cork (or "Zork") and slap on a label (so you don't forget the identity of the contents!).
Fermentation, encompassing the processes resulting in wine, beer, kamboucha, yoghurt, and many cheeses, is really a method of "farming in a bottle." Fermentation can be considered a form of "micro-agriculture." Historically, farming has required a considerable portion of land (either "owned," rented, or share-cropped). And also, historically, it has required a considerable application of sweat to the process (although the more recent innovation of "digital farming" has removed much of the sweat by utilizing robotic tractors and the GPS network). Sweat and soil have, for millennia, characterized farming.
Fermentation, however, substitutes carbohydrates and other simple food chemistries for soil. And it further substitutes knowledge and patience for sweat. Even if you live in the smallest apartment you can enter into the rich universe of micro-farming. Farming-In-A-Bottle requires no more real-estate than the small footprint of a bucket and a bottle. And instead of surveying your agricultural domain by flying over it in your private aircraft, you can simply lift the cloth cover on your bucket, or shine a flashlight into the bottle and keep watch over your holdings.
Rows of crops in the Macro Agricultural World can be seen while driving down almost any rural lane in America (or the world, for that matter): cotton, maize, peaches, grape vines. Instead, in the micro-farming world, if you could look close enough, or have fine enough microscopic vision, you would see row upon row of unimaginably small yeast "plants" (or whatever particular microbe defines your "crop"). The "rows" of these crops are pretty random and jumbled, and very organic in design. And instead of being confined to the two-dimensional surface of the earth, the interface of soil and atmosphere, these "rows" can typically fill the three-dimensional volume of bucket or bottle.
As the tiny "plants" metabolize the "soil" and "atmosphere" they veritably seethe with life, bubbling and boiling up within the "farm" (the container). A common product of their living is the breathing out of carbon dioxide gas, producing a galaxy of tiny bubbles rising to the surface. Often, the tiny yeast (or other microbial cells) hitch a ride on the bubbles and can actually be seen as miniscule rafts, or colonies, bouyed to the very top of their universe.
Finally, when harvest-time comes you needn't hire the specialized (and high-priced!) services of a mechanical combine or picker. You simply siphon or decant the product into a clean bottle, insert a cork (or "Zork") and slap on a label (so you don't forget the identity of the contents!).
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