Categories

Sugar or starch + yeast → ethanol — sake, mead, cider, makgeolli, pulque, sour beer

Sweet substrate + LAB or wild culture — kombucha, water kefir, tepache, kvass, jun, ginger bug, shrubs

Milk + lactic acid bacteria — yogurt, kefir, skyr, buttermilk, crème fraîche, viili

Sauces, pastes, vinegars, preserves — concentrated flavors used in small portions to transform dishes

Vegetables + salt + anaerobic time — the most accessible fermentation, no starter required

Edible filamentous fungi as the foundational ferment — koji rice, tempeh, sourdough starter

Grain + wild or established culture — sourdough, idli/dosa, injera, pumpernickel, koji rice, mugi miso

Soybeans + koji or wild mold + time — miso, soy sauce, doenjang, gochujang, doubanjiang, tempeh, natto