There are certain flavours that never leave you. Sourness is one of mine.
I grew up with the sharp, comforting taste of fermented ingredients always somewhere in the kitchen — barrels of pickles, borș bubbling away, cabbage souring slowly, jars lined up for winter.
In Romania, sour isn’t just a flavour, it’s memory, preservation, ingenuity, and care.
I’m so happy to have written for The Washington Post about “sour power,” the deeply Romanian love of fermented cooking.
The piece includes a recipe for Mâncare de Castraveți Acri — a stew of sour gherkins, pork, and potatoes that was one of my absolute favourite things to eat as a child. Humble, tangy, warming, and tasting even better the next day.
Writing this felt like tracing the thread between where I come from and how I cook now. I hope it makes people curious about the magic of fermentation, and about the kind of food you can make with fermented ingredients.
Photo credit: Scott Suchman/For The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky.
Link here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2026/05/04/sour-flavors-cooking/