Cultured Food Life: Learn to make probiotic foods in your home Paperback – June 13, 2011

First, I must say; I wouldn't normally pay this much for a book. However... I am so glad that I did! I was in search for quick and easy instructions to follow and understand and this book helped me get started making my own kefir, Cultured Veggies and Kombucha right away!!! I believe that this is a great book for a beginner, it isn't huge so you can finish reading it quickly and get busy doing what you want to do... which will most likely include... Making your own Kefir, Cultured Veggies, Kombucha and maybe Sprouted Grains!I love Donna's stories, recipes and the information she provides and the way she delivers it! After reading her book and beginning my own ferments, I have found other books which provide more detail, etc. on these fabulous fermented foods, however I have yet to see one that can give you the basic information and what you need to know so quickly. So many times I get a book on a self-help subject and after finishing the book I say... OKay... NOW WHAT? Where do I start? I'm so confused from toooo much information at once. That was not the case with Cultured Food Life!After fighting candida (yeast infections) for 2 years, I finally feel like I am on the right track to keep them away for good!! (not to mention how it has improved my overall general health as well) THANK YOU for this excellent book!

I have to agree with the other reviewers who said they were shocked when they got the book to see how thin it was and the poor printing quality, given the hefty price tage. Moreover, the editing is quite terrible. Grammar/punctuation errors and misspellings plague this book. Also, there are some inconsistencies in the recipe directions. One recipe will tell you to use a culture packet (I never found an explanation of weight the packet should be) and to "wake it up" with some sugar, and some recipes leave the sugar part out. It's kind of confusing. Perhaps because generally, some of the directions seem either inconsistent or incomplete. The Lemon Poppyseed Veggies look amazing, but I'm not sure if it's a sauce or a side. The recipe doesn't really say what to do with it after it's made.That said, the general content is pretty solid and inspiring. The author is incredibly excited to share her knowledge and experiences with cultured food and the positive impact it has made for her and her family, and it shows. This book was on my wish list for quite a while, and I finally bought it with a gift certificate someone gave me. I think I would feel a lot more put out by the whole thing if I paid for it with my own money.My advice would be to skip the book and visit her website.

I like this book - the author's enthusiasm for cultured foods certainly shows through! I've tried a couple of recipes, and have already accomplished sprouting a small quantity of wheat. I had been already making and using kombucha and kefir for about a year. I've also made sauerkraut last summer. I am looking forward to trying the cultured jicama and plan to make some kefir ice cream this weekend. For many of the recipes, I will use the book more as a guide rather than a strict recipe. That's the way I cook, and I've found that is basically the way I can do ferments, as well, as long as I pay attention to basic proportions and use ingredients that I source judiciously. My definite to-try list includes making my own cultured cottage cheese. This is a slim book, page-wise, but is packed with good information and is a great guide to get started with fermenting. Other books that I would highly recommend are "Idiot's Guide to Fermenting Foods" and "Wild Fermentation" both of which I own.

The book is pretty terrific. Has a decent amount of recipes. It includes stories of "successful healing" with cultured foods. It contains kefir (with milk and coconut), cultured vegetables, and then kombucha tea. The one issue I have with it is that the author did not acknowledge the risks with kombucha. I've read other books such as Body Ecology that mentions this, and looked it up myself. What I've read more or less states that contaminated cultures with this tea can be very dangerous and even fatal, as it has been linked to a few deaths. So I don't think it's bad, but I would just place more emphasis and direction and getting it right for those that haven't done it.

I was excited to receive Cultured Food Life when I purchased it. The cover and recipe names looked tasty and exciting. When the book came, well, that's the reason for this review and the low rating. $23.95 seemed expensive to me, but, it's a unique title, so I paid it anyway. What came in the mail doesn't seem worthy of the high cost. The book is thin, only 54 pages. Compare that to Nourishing Traditions which rings in at $29 and 674 pages. In addition the print quality isn't wonderful. The pictures in it, while in color, look about the same quality that I could produce at home, there are lines running through them and they're fuzzy. Lastly, nearly all the recipes are from Donna's website/blog. If you have internet access and a home printer you too could produce this book. I'm so VERY disappointed in the book. Note that I've not said a word about the content, that I think is wonderful, but do your wallet a favor and just spend time on her blog. If you're giving it as a present to someone that doesn't have a computer it will be wonderful for them (I still think it's over priced)!

I love the recipes included in this book. I think Donna has great information. It was a small book for the money but packed full of good stuff. I was however very disappointed in the print quality. My pages were very blurred in some parts. I was going to send it back but I could read it and I really wanted to gets started fermenting so I chose not to. For the money, the print quality should have been better. Maybe it was just my book.

A great many recipes to bring cultured foods into your everyday life. A very helpful referance book I use regularly.