Sections from award-winning journalists and experts.

Edited by health journalist and Natural Health magazine editor, Emma Van Hinsbergh.

Emma Van Hinsbergh is a writer and editor with a particular interest in health, nutrition and complementary therapies. As a former newspaper reporter and editor of lifestyle publications including Natural Health magazine, she now specialises in the field of health and wellbeing.

Wild Drinks is the definitive book on infusing, brewing and fermenting delicious and often nutritious things to drink, from mead to kombucha to cider to kvass. With the entertaining and assuring voice of fermentation expert Sharon Flynn, it is a perfect jumping off point for anyone who is curious to learn more about this magical and witchy world. Across six chapters, Wild Drinks features more than 60 recipes. Learn the basics of wild fermentation and read about the equipment you need to start your fermentation journey. Discover drinks made from grain, including doburoku (farmhouse sake), wild beer and kvass; explore recipes for wild apple cider, country wine and wild soda; try water kefir, kombucha, ginger beer and fruit vinegars, and come to understand the art of imparting flavor, from shrubs to flavored waters to syrups and liqueurs. And in the spirit of reducing waste, the final chapter shows how to use fermentation byproducts – ranging from crackers made from sake lees to kimchi pancakes, nettle risotto and Basque cider chicken. Recipes include fascinating historical context and quick tips, and Sharon considers the traditions associated with these ancient fermentation practices too.

Sharon Flynn is a leading authority on fermentation. Sharon immersed herself in various fermentation techniques during 20 years living abroad in Malaysia, Japan, the US and Europe as an expat, experiencing the benefits of these foods on the microbiome first hand when her youngest daughter was ill. This led to the birth of her business, The Fermentary, in 2013. Sharon shares her knowledge, passion and craft for the ancient art of fermentation through sold-out workshops and events. She has undertaken residencies in Tennessee and Japan, the former with renowned fermentation evangelist Sandor Katz, who she has hosted in Australia. Her first book, Ferment for Good (2017) is beloved of aspiring and accomplished fermenters alike.