Fermentation

A coarse-grained French sausage made from pork intestine, pepper, wine, onions, and seasonings.

A Meiji-era Japanese dessert of agar jelly cubes served with sweet azuki bean paste, boiled peas, fruits, and black syrup.

A thin, fermented rice pancake from South India, cooked in a wok-like pan with coconut milk.

A delicate Vietnamese rice sheet dish from northern Vietnam, typically rolled with seasoned pork, wood ear mushroom, and shallots.

A crispy, savory rice crepe from Vietnam, filled with meat, seafood, and vegetables, served with herbs and dipping sauce.

A Polish stew of mixed chopped meats, sauerkraut, and shredded fresh cabbage, slow-simmered and improved by reheating.

A Korean shaved ice dessert made from frozen milk, topped with sweet ingredients like red beans, fruit, or condensed milk.

A Chinese preserved egg dish made by curing duck, chicken, or quail eggs in an alkaline mixture.

A cold dish of raw fish or shellfish marinated in citrus and seasonings, with regional variations across Latin America.

Cantonese barbecued pork, marinated and glazed, roasted in gas rotisseries.

A Japanese rice-flour dumpling, typically round and skewered, served sweet.

A fermented, steamed savoury sponge from Gujarat, made from rice and split chickpeas or other pulses.

Doenjang is a Korean fermented soybean paste made with soybeans and brine.

A Levantine salad of toasted or fried pita with vegetables and sumac.

A pounded starchy staple from West Africa, made from boiled tubers like cassava, plantain, or cocoyam.

A stew of soft-cooked fava beans served with olive oil, cumin, and optional herbs and spices.

A dry Japanese rice topping made from dried fish or eggs, seaweed, sesame, sugar, and salt.

Ghee is a clarified butter from the Indian Subcontinent, made by simmering butter to yield a nutty, aromatic fat with a high smoke point.

A Persian herbal stew of sautéed greens, lamb, kidney beans, black lime, and fenugreek.

A fermented Korean condiment made from red chili powder, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, barley malt, and salt.

An Italian blue cheese made from unskimmed cow's milk, aged to develop greenish-blue veining.

A roasted Japanese green tea made by heating bancha or other teas in a porcelain pot over charcoal.

A chickpea-based dip with lemon, sesame, and olive oil, documented since the 13th century in Syria.

A soft, steamed cake made from fermented rice and black lentil batter, native to South India and Sri Lanka.

A sour, spongy fermented flatbread from Ethiopia and Eritrea, traditionally made from teff flour and cooked on a mitad griddle.

A fermented vegetable dish from Korea, traditionally made with cabbage or daikon, salted and aged in earthenware vessels.

A Korean stew made with fermented kimchi, pork, tofu, scallions, and seasoned with doenjang or gochujang.

Kitfo is minced raw beef marinated in chili spice and spiced clarified butter, served with cheese, greens, or flatbreads.

Koji is a filamentous fungus—most commonly Aspergillus oryzae—or a mixture of that culture with wheat and soybean meal, used in Japanese food fermentation.

A fermented tea beverage made with a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast.

A spicy Southeast Asian noodle dish featuring rice noodles in coconut curry or sour broth, with regional variations rooted in Peranakan Chinese communities.

A Hungarian deep-fried flatbread made from yeast dough.

A minced meat salad from Laos, seasoned with lime, fish sauce, roasted rice, and herbs.

A smoothie-like yogurt beverage from Punjab, made by blending yogurt, water, and spices.

A milky, mildly alcoholic Korean rice wine made with nuruk.

A traditional Jordanian dish of lamb simmered in fermented dried yogurt sauce, served with rice or bulgur.

A traditional Japanese soup of miso paste dissolved in dashi stock, often with cooked vegetables and tofu.

A Japanese rice cake made from glutinous short-grain rice, traditionally pounded and molded, with deep ties to New Year celebrations.

A steamed or boiled bean pudding from Yoruba cuisine, made with peeled beans, onions, peppers, spices, and often fish, eggs, chicken, or crayfish.

Mortadella is a large Italian cured pork sausage with visible cubes of pork fat.

A round Sicilian sesame bread used as a vessel for a cold or toasted sandwich layered with cured meats, cheeses, and a marinated olive salad.

A Thai spicy chili sauce served as a condiment or dip.

A Cameroonian stew of boiled ndoleh leaves, ground peanuts, crayfish, garlic, onions, and fish or beef.

A fresh, non-melting soft cheese from the Indian subcontinent, made by acid-coagulating hot milk, draining, pressing, and chilling.

A tall, domed Italian sweet bread and fruitcake from Milan, traditionally made with raisins and candied citrus.

A Provençal flatbread from Nice topped with slow-cooked onions, black olives, and anchovies.

A Neapolitan pizza topped with tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and extra virgin olive oil.

A tart, thin, citrus-based Japanese sauce, often blended with soy sauce and used as a dressing or dip.

A steamed cylinder of ground rice layered with grated coconut, native to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and parts of Sri Lanka.

A Thai coconut-milk-based curry with red curry paste, meat or tofu, and aromatic herbs.

A dense, traditionally sourdough-leavened bread made with rye flour, long associated with northern and eastern Europe.

Sake is a Japanese alcoholic beverage made by fermenting polished rice.

A German roast of tough beef cuts, marinated for days in acidic liquid, then braised and served with rich gravy and potato sides.

A Filipino sour soup or stew, typically made with meat or seafood and tamarind.

A Filipino dish from Pampanga made from grilled and chopped pork jowl and ears, seasoned with calamansi, onions, chili peppers, and chicken liver.

A traditional open-faced sandwich from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, built on dense, dark rye bread and topped with cold cuts, fish, cheese, or spreads.

A clear, colorless Korean distilled spirit, traditionally rice-based, with alcohol content ranging from 12.5% to 53% ABV.

A lightly salted, fermented Baltic Sea herring with a strong smell and acidic taste.

A traditional Japanese dish of vinegared rice combined with seafood, vegetables, or meat—most commonly raw seafood.

A traditional Indonesian cake of fermented whole soybeans bound by fungus.

Tofu is a soy-based food made by coagulating soy milk and pressing the curds into blocks of varying softness.

Japanese preserved vegetables, typically pickled in salt, brine, or rice bran.

A cool, herb-flecked yogurt-cucumber sauce from Southeastern Europe and West Asia, served as dip, soup, or sauce.

Sour, salty pickled ume fruits from Japan, traditionally made with salt and sun-drying.

A category of Indian savoury fried snacks made from soaked, ground legumes, shaped and deep-fried to yield a crispy exterior and fluffy interior.

Cold, thinly sliced veal topped with a creamy tuna-based sauce.

A Japanese confection of red or white bean paste, agar, and sugar, sold in blocks and sliced for eating.

Thick wheat noodles topped with a fermented soybean-based sauce, often made with diced or ground pork or beef.