Sandor Ellix Katz (born May 20, 1962) is an American

food writer Food writing is a literary genre that focuses on the cultural and historical significance of food. It encompasses various forms, including recipes, journalism, memoirs, and travelogues, and can be found in both fiction and non-fiction works. Food ...

and DIY food activist.

Work

A self-described " fermentation fetishist", Katz has taught hundreds of food workshops around the United States, and his book '' Wild Fermentation'' (2003) has been called a classic, "the bible for people embarking on DIY projects like

sourdough Sourdough is a type of bread that uses the fermentation by naturally occurring yeast and lactobacillus bacteria to raise the dough. In addition to leavening the bread, the fermentation process produces lactic acid, which gives the bread its dis ...

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , ) is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferment the sugar ...

", and "especially notorious for getting people excited about fermenting food". He was named one of '' Chow'' magazine's top "provocateurs, trendsetters, and rabble-rousers" in 2009.

Personal life

Born to an

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

family with origins in Eastern Europe, Katz grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

. His grandparents immigrated from

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

in 1920, then part of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. He is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

, an

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

survivor, and began his fermentation experimentation while living in a rural, off-the-grid

Radical Faerie Radical Faeries are a loosely affiliated worldwide network and countercultural movement blending queer consciousness and secular spirituality. Sharing various aspects with neopaganism, the movement also adopts elements from anarchism and environm ...

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

in Tennessee.

Popular culture

Katz was the subject of the 2009

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

song " Human(e) Meat (The Flensing of Sandor Katz)", a satirical

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

response to Katz's 2006 chapter on "Vegetarian Ethics and Humane Meat" in '' The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved''.

Bibliography

* * * * * *

References

External links

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1L46xWCWCo
wildfermentation.com
Sandor Katz's official site
''Sandorkraut''
a portrait of Sandor Katz (2014, 12 min) * * Zeichner, Walter.

' (archived 2014). Out in the Mountains. {{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Sandor 1962 births Living people Jewish American non-fiction writers American Ashkenazi Jews American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Gay Jews American gay writers Radical Faeries members American food writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers James Beard Foundation Award winners American male non-fiction writers People with HIV/AIDS 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American Jews Food activists