CleverRoot

2 6 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t by Bob Bath, MS / photos by Alexander Rubin MOST CONVERSATIONS WITH Bill Heubel are peppered with terms like "acidity," "yeast," "pH" and "fermentation," making it easy to assume he probably works in the wine or beer industries. Heubel, though, is actually a full-time chef- instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, California, and while he also enjoys a reputation as a part-time brewer, the bulk of his experience with fermentation has been with solid foods. Fermented foods—encompassing staples like bread, cheese and cocoa—are already a key part of our daily diets. However, more "trendy" fermented foods like kombucha, kefir, kimchi and yogurt are now being recognized for their role in healthy eating and living. That's just the tip of the iceberg, according to Chef Heubel: "I can't think of anything that is off limits for fermentation when it comes to food." Fermenting food and beverages follows differ- ent processes. Food fermentation is typically ac- complished with bacteria, as opposed to beverage fermentation, which utilizes yeast. The results of these fermentations, then, are also different; in food fermentation, the main byproducts are acid and a host of other complex flavors, compared to the alcohol and similar tastes of complexity produced during beverage fermentation. Chef Bill Heubel serves as a chef-instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, CA Chef Bill Heubel serves as a chef-instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, CA THE CHEF THE CHEF CHEF Fermented BILL HEUBEL REVEALS HIS PROWESS IN MICROBIOLOGY

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