When you indulge in a wonderful cheese or splendid wine, think about what’s making it taste so good: it’s rotting. Of course, in the case of the cheese or wine, the rot has taken place in a specific manner, allowing us to control the flavors. We’ve been fermenting foods since we’ve been cooking to prevent and minimize spoilage and extend the life of our foods. When food is fermented, a bacteria or fungus is involved in breaking down the complex carbohydrates and sugars into...