From Guy Cox St Albans, New South Wales, Australia
As a lover of “mouldy” cheeses, I very much enjoyed Graham Lawton’s article on fermented foods, though I would have to dispute that all blue cheeses taste the same – perhaps we can lure him out to Australia to sample some of our offerings(4 October, p 32).
But you list fish sauce – nam pla in Thai – as a fermented food. It may be, but no microorganisms are involved: it is just a product of autolysis, natural enzymes in the salted fish breaking down complex proteins. It’s just like your Marmite or our Vegemite. So there isn’t really any potential for refinement.
