Nation’s Restaurant News: Fermentation: The Hottest Ancient Technique in Restaurants

Fermented foods have been popping up everywhere on menus for the past few years. According to a recent Nation’s Restaurant News article, chefs are using the age-old process on everything from salumi and sauerkraut to hot sauce and kimchi.

“[Fermenting] is a unique flavor profile that you can’t get from anything else,” Todd Kelly, executive chef and director of food and beverage for the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza said. “It changes the whole dynamic.”

The flavor is unlike any other and the process can be used for almost anything. Bread and butter, yogurt, meat, and vegetables like cucumbers and radishes have all been used for fermenting by the restaurant industry in recent years. With a touch of spice and umami, fermented foods can provide an acidic balance to rich dishes.

“Fermented ingredients lend natural acid as well as savory flavors that come about because of the fermentation process,” Los Angeles’ Chef Walter Nunez said. “Adding something like kimchi rounds out the flavor with umami and brightens it up from the spice and acid.”