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It’s so exciting to have Kundai Moyo join Fermenting Cultures. I had the pleasure of first connecting with Kundai last year on a programme for local, Black-led community organisations. It's a massive boost to have her expertise and positive energy on the project. Kundai will be interviewing local food suppliers and producers about African and diasporan fermentation, plus looking after our social media.

We've been having some rich conversations about food, diaspora, and community. We meet weekly, and as well as planning the next week’s tasks, we’ve started tasting ferments from Africa and the diaspora, which has been a revelation. So far: Solomon-a-Gundy, fermented palm sap, and harissa. What next? We’re looking forward to posting our findings here over the coming weeks.

There's been a lot of interest in the mainstream press about 'The Tanzanian Diet' in terms of its health benefits. This is no fad diet.

Research published in Nature Medicine journal outlines the diversity of traditional African diets, which are often rich in in vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains and fermented products. The research recognises the lack of scientific attention that African diets receive compared to Mediterranean or Japanese diet in terms of perceived health benefits.

The study focuses on the Chagga people, whose diet is largely plant-based, fibre-rich, and includes Mbege, a fermented, mildly alcoholic, drink made with a special variety of bananas (called ndizi ngombe) and sprouted finger millet.

We are excited to see traditional African diets getting their dues. The concern is that, as with Western diets, in Africa there is a move away from traditional food due to industrialisation and a desire for convenience. The Tanzanian diet has been linked to a reduction in inflammation, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cognitive decline.

Our ferment of the week is palm sap, and it was fun seeing if we could ferment it. Palm sap comes from particular palm trees such as date palm and coconut palm. Palm sap has a high-sugar content, so ferments quickly, and has a short shelf life. The fermented sap can be used to make palm wine, palm spirit, and palm vinegar.

Palm wine is drunk across the tropical world, often as part of traditional celebrations or poured on the ground as libations during cultural rituals. It is mildly alcoholic at around 4%. It is often made in small batches and sold local to where it is produced. To make palm wine, you need a particular type of the bacteria Saccharomyces, which is common to the areas where the palm trees grow.

We bought our Nigerian palm sap online from a UK supplier. We have since found it for sale at Glory Afro Caribbean in Brixton Market.

Now to our efforts to ferment palm sap. We made two small batches, one we refrigerated, the other we left out to naturally ferment. We left both for 2 days. The results were mixed. The refrigerated sap became fizzy and stayed sweet. The sap left at room temperature definitely became sourer, but flat, and cloudier in consistency. We'll definitely do some more experiments with fermenting palm sap.

Flashback to 2017. I got to meet one of my fermentation heroes, Sandor Katz, who came to speak in London from the States. An inspiring event, with Mr Katz sharing his knowledge and infectious enthusiasm about all things fermented. He talked about the origins of using fermentation to preserve foods, and as a means of survival in the days before refrigeration and canning. Fermented foods continue to have important nutritional and culture value across the globe.

Fast forward to London, 2025. Post-pandemic, many of us are thinking about how to better manage our health. And in the midst of a Cost-of-Living Crisis, the significance of fermented foods as a means of preservation, saving money, and increasing nutritional value resonates more than ever.

As well as documenting African and diasporan fermented food and drink, we are documenting some of the amazing people and places that supply us with these products. First up, Esme's Organic & Herbal Products, otherwise known as Miss Esme's.

The first thing you notice is the glorious display of fresh and organic fruit and vegetables outside the shop, many sourced directly from Jamaica including avocadoes, cho-cho, mangoes, breadfruit, and more. They also sell roots, juices, teas, and other herbal remedies. We bought our natural chocolate here for making cocoa tea, and mauby bark. Miss Esme and her team will help with any questions you might have.

Esme's Organic & Herbal Products, 16A Market Row, Brixton London SW9 8LD

We checked out Little Baobab restaurant at The Africa Centre in Southwark. Our first time sampling Senegalese food. We were keen to try the fermented products on the menu, of which there were several. We tried the attiéké, a tangy cassava dish with a cous cous like texture; plus thiakry (also known as chakry or degue) a soured milk dessert using wholegrain millet flour, hand-rolled into tiny balls. These are then steamed and added to the soured milk base. And finally, a palm spirit, infused with hibiscus, was unlike anything we'd tasted before. Incredible. Little Baobab is a gem - affordable, good vibes, and the food is delicious. We will be back!

Little Baobab Restaurant, 66-68 Great Suffolk Street, London SE1 0BL

We found this 1993 episode of A Taste of Africa featuring the ever-fabulous Dorinda Hafner. I remember watching this when it came out and being completely in awe. Seeing a Black African woman fronting a series on mainstream British TV (Channel 4), all about African food and culture, was truly trailblaizing. Dorinda Hafner's infectious curiosity, playful humour, and knowledge are still a joy to witness.

Hafner presents a vision of African food that is abundant, indigenous, and healthy. This is in stark contrast to still prevailing ideas of Black diets being lacking, impoverished, and unhealthy. I don't think this series has been surpassed. Someone, please, prove me wrong!

It is inspiring to see Dorinda Hafner's legacy continue in the work of younger Black food heroes like Riaz Phillips, Zoe Adjonyoh, and Abena Offeh Gyimah. Onwards!

These three books are very close to my heart. They represent everything that Fermenting Cultures is about: the politics of food, community, and fermenting. Dorinda Hafner's 'A Taste of Africa' book followed her ground-breaking TV series in the 1990s. It was the first time I'd ever seen African food discussed on British TV and by an African woman.

'Decolonize Your Diet' by Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel uses ancestral knowledge to help communities of colour to reclaim healthy, traditional foods in the context of public health crises around food.

Finally, Sandor Katz's 'The Art of Fermentation'. Described as 'the bible of fermenting' by many. Katz documents ferments from across the globe - including a selection from Africa and the Caribbean. Katz's journey into the world of fermentation came as a response to his own HIV diagnosis.

These writers are some of my food heroes. Their books are more than about the recipes contained within them. They touch on essential issues about food as medicine, food as joy, food as culture, food as politics, and so much more.

This photo represents so much about the Fermenting Cultures project. A plate of ferments from Africa and the Caribbean bought in Brixton, south London. Nutritious, affordable, and made in small batches using traditional methods. I’ve consumed this kind of food all my life but never thought of it as fermented. Growing up, we never used the word 'fermented' to describe it. Many still don't.

Of course, every culture on the globe has fermenting practices. For millennia our ancestors have been aware of the benefits of these foods. These days, fermented food and drink are becoming hugely popular - think, sourdough bread, kimchi, and kombucha. Yet, the algorithms of the internet would have us believe that fermented foods from Africa and the diaspora are a rarity. But I am slowly teaching my search engine to find what I need. And a walk around the stores, markets, restaurants, and cafés of south London is a proving revelation. I'm feeling nourished already.

Clockwise from top: Ginger beer (Barbados), hot pepper sauce (Trinidad), Injera (Ethiopia), Escovitch sauce (Jamaica), Kenkey (Ghana).