When we conceived this fermentation-focused issue of Forkful, the threat posed by COVID-19 was still an abstract one. By the time we were commissioning, interviewing and writing, the lockdown was in full force.

At the time of going to print we were still in our homes; still waiting. We can only guess as to the state of Melbourne and of the world when this issue is ready for release—when you will be reading these words.

And yet, somehow, fermentation has proved prescient in these unknown and unknowable times. As the lockdown has prompted us to look to new and different ways of engaging with our local food culture, so fermentation cultures and communities can offer some answers. Whether that be the history of food continuity and ingenuity as explored in Walking Through the Trenches... and Fermentation is a Feminist Issue; the importance of fermented foods for our health and wellbeing as explained in Fermented Guts and Glory; or the ethics of sustainability embedded in fermenting culture as explored in The Danger of Convenience and embodied in Oak and Swan’s baking ethos.

Another aspect of Melbourne’s food culture that the COVID-19 lockdown has brought into sharp relief—and one already present in the way that our local fermenters operate—is its genuine sense of community, its willingness to open its arms, its ethos of sharing and its adaptability. This
is evident in the passion of the craft brewers in Flirting with Ferments, in Saba’s mission to share her Ethiopian culture via her food, in Chae’s goal of sharing traditional Korean food and in Cary’s literal life-altering engagement with fermenting.

Whether you’re reading this from your home or in your local café or craft brewery, we can only hope that you’re inspired by the values of sustainability and shared community that Melbourne’s fermentation culture embodies. And of course this issue is an invitation—to make, to visit, to DIY. From classic sauerkraut to sourdough scones, roll up your sleeves and get fermenting!