The fermentation of food has been a part of human history for centuries across many civilizations. While it's still a common practice today — think wine and kombucha — most people buy mass-produced, readily available products. However, Thomas Pawelczyk, 29, prefers to make his own.

Originally from North Georgia, Thomas has lived in various parts of the U.S., including Nevada, Connecticut and south Florida, where he met his wife, Erin, a native of Portal. After they married, the Pawelczyks decided to move back to the Statesboro area to be closer to Erin’s family while raising their daughter, Hazel, 3, with a baby boy due in November. 

Erin is a triple-Eagle, having earned all three of her degrees from Georgia Southern University, and now works as a psychologist, while Thomas is an ICU nurse at East Georgia Regional Medical Center.

Thomas' surname is of Polish origin, and while there is a tradition of fermentation in Polish culture, he did not learn these methods from his family. Instead, he turned to outside sources to learn about fermenting foods and baking sourdough bread, which also involves fermentation.

As a child, Thomas watched his mother cook, but by middle school, he was more interested in watching Food Network and Comedy Central.

“This is really where my interest in cooking began,” he said. “Alton Brown was my first influence, like many other people of my generation. When I moved out to my own apartment, I fully engrossed myself in the world of YouTube cooking, and a rekindled interest in fermentation soon followed.”

In addition to fermenting foods and baking, Thomas grows Chinese tea and processes it for drinking.

“Gardening is another hobby … I enjoy,” he said. “I’m interested in minimal-maintenance plants that produce fruit that can grow in our area, such as figs, muscadines, blueberries, blackberries, peaches and mulberries.”

He has also found success growing tea plants and has developed a particular fondness for Pu-erh (pronounced “poo-air”) tea from the Yunnan province of China.

“There are two main processing methods for this tea: raw and ripe,” Thomas said. “Raw processing allows for natural aging over a period of years to decades once the tea has been processed. Ripe processing … takes the tea post processing and ferments (it) in a large pile, which produces the ideal environment for inoculating the tea leaves with bacteria to speed up the aging process.”

While the history of food fermentation stretches back to ancient civilizations, the digital age has made it easier for individuals like Thomas to carry on these age-old methods.

“I learned all my knowledge about fermentation from YouTube or in a few choice books,” he said, noting one of his favorites, The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz. “Even though Poland has a robust history of lacto-fermentation and sourdough, none of these traditions were passed down through the generations. Notably, Poland has a traditional dish made from sourdough starter called Żurek. In this way, I consider fermentation as a way to rediscover a small piece of my culture.”

However, Thomas cautions that as technology evolves, so does the risk of encountering inaccurate information and suboptimal methods. He explained that the best resources for fermentation peaked in the 2010s, which is around the time he first started fermenting.

“I’ve been fermenting food and beverages since I was 17,” he said. “This interest was initially spurred by the knowledge that a byproduct of sugar, water and yeast mixed is alcohol — a byproduct that, at the time, I was too young to legally purchase. 

“Since then, my passion for fermented foods waxes and wanes, depending on what type of food culture I happen to be interested in at the time,” he continued. “My interest piqued — as it did for many other people — during the … pandemic, when I had to find an indoor activity (that) would occupy my time and keep me sane. Sourdough really took on a large part of my routine at this point (when) … I would, as a weekly ritual, refresh my starter and go through the steps to produce a loaf or two of sourdough bread.”

Thomas enjoys making fermented foods for himself and his family, in the process exposing Hazel to various food cultures and flavors. He also appreciates that when making his own food, he is in control of the ingredients. He notes that some mass-produced “sourdough” breads aren’t sourdough at all; they are flavored and contain stabilizers for shelf life. By making it at home, “you know exactly what you’re eating,” he said. 

Another benefit of fermenting food at home is accessibility. Certain specialty products can be hard to find in Statesboro, so making them at home is practical for Thomas.

“Right now, I’m specifically interested in Nattō, a traditional Japanese dish in which soybeans are fermented over several hours. …” he said. “It has the taste of boiled peanuts, with the consistency of okra and slight ammonium scent of blue cheese.”

While the act of creating something and providing the environment for it to thrive — “even if it’s just a jar of rot on my counter or in my fridge” — brings both sustenance and joy, for Thomas, the hobby is much more than a way to make food; it’s a philosophical pursuit.

“There is a beauty to the ability of a starter culture to thrive and rebuild, even when it is pushed to its limits,” he said. “When microorganisms are provided with the right environment, they can grow and produce something greater than their whole. 

“When taken to the macro level, people are very much the same way,” he continued. “When we work together to make a balanced environment, we can do things that are amazing. When we add kindness and love into the world, we can produce a community where those around us can thrive and achieve things greater than what we could ever have imagined. Just like my refrigerated sourdough starter, if we tend to our community long enough, eventually it will grow, no matter what setbacks it may encounter.” 

Thomas' recipes and recommendations

• Water kefir: Combine ¼ cup brown sugar and water kefir grains in a wide-mouth, 32-ounce mason jar. Fill with water and shake. Leave on the counter for one or two days until the liquid lightens in color. Strain out the water kefir grains and transfer the liquid to a pressure-proof bottle. Add a bit of sugar or fruit juice, let sit for a day, and then refrigerate.

• Milk kefir: Place milk kefir grains in a wide-mouth, 32-ounce mason jar and fill with pasteurized milk. Leave the mixture on the counter for a day, then filter out the milk kefir grains; the resulting mixture should be slightly thinner than yogurt. Transfer to a pressure-proof bottle and allow it to rest another day the refrigerator, then blend with any fruit of your choice. Thomas often uses frozen blueberries, strawberries and bananas to make a smoothie that Hazel loves.

• Kombucha: Steep 30–40 grams of unflavored tea — green, black, oolong, yellow and Pu-erh all work well — in 1 liter of water for 30 minutes. Add 1 cup of sugar, and transfer to a gallon-sized glass container. Add water to cool the mixture. Once it’s below 90 degrees, add 16 ounces of unflavored kombucha starter. (Note: There is no need to purchase a starter with a pellicle, the gelatinous membrane that sits on top of the kombucha; your new batch will develop one naturally.) Cover with a cloth to keep bugs out, tasting every few days until it reaches your preferred tanginess, usually in 2–4 weeks. Bottle the liquid in a pressure-proof bottle with your choice of flavoring, such as ginger or fruit juice, or leave it plain, and allow it to sit at room temperature until it reaches your desired level of carbonation, typically in 1–3 days. Refrigerate your kombucha and enjoy! 

• Sourdough: Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast by Ken Forkish offers a great introduction to making sourdough bread at home and includes delicious recipes for pizza and pizza sauce. 

• Nattō: Thomas recommends following the Nattō Dad channel on YouTube for consistent results.