Dr. Bill Schindler

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Dr. Bill Schindler Author of
Director of the
Chef at
Co-star of National Geographic's The Great Human Race

I am so excited to return to my hometown tonight for an interview with Mayor Kim Eulner followed by a presentation about...
23/10/2025

I am so excited to return to my hometown tonight for an interview with Mayor Kim Eulner followed by a presentation about our Eat Like a Human approach at Modern Stone Age.

If you are in the area please join us at 7:00 pm at the:
Shrewsbury Historical Society
719 Sycamore Avenue
Shrewsbury, New Jersey

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about sugarcane oil, sometimes called “cultured oil.” On the surface, it sou...
08/10/2025

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about sugarcane oil, sometimes called “cultured oil.” On the surface, it sounds great: sustainable, neutral, even fermented. But when you peel back the layers, what you find isn’t food. It’s a highly engineered industrial product that couldn’t be further from the ancestral fats that have nourished us for millions of years.

In my latest blog post, I break down what sugarcane oil actually is, how it’s made, and why it represents the next level of ultra-processing disguised as innovation. We talk about what real processing looks like, from churning butter to rendering tallow, and why these natural, hands-on transformations still matter more than ever.

If you’ve ever wondered what makes a fat ancestral versus artificial, this post will help you see the difference.

👉 Read it here: https://modernstoneage.com/blog/why-sugarcane-cultured-oil-isnt-the-ancestral-upgrade-you-think

What does a gourd from Kenya, a goat stomach from Sardinia and a gallon of the best local milk have in common? They are ...
20/09/2025

What does a gourd from Kenya, a goat stomach from Sardinia and a gallon of the best local milk have in common? They are all important components in today’s Traditional Mozzarella class at the Modern Stone Age Food Lab where participants will learn all about the power of dairy fermentation and make mozzarella and other pasta filata cheeses traditionally from scratch!

Christina and I first met Kaylee Richardson and her daughter at a Redmond Salt event in Utah last year. It’s incredible...
20/09/2025

Christina and I first met Kaylee Richardson and her daughter at a Redmond Salt event in Utah last year. It’s incredible to see the passion and knowledge she shared there with us come to life in her new extraordinary book.

The Beekeeper’s Apothecary is packed with information for anyone interested in herbalism or looking to deepen their practice: over 100 herbs, recipes for tinctures, salves, teas, and healing remedies — plus a truly artful bridge between bee medicine and plant medicine.

If you’ve been looking for a resource that not only shows you what herbs to use but also how and why, this is it. Go get your copy.

Ancient Grain Sourdough Baguettes baking in our oven at the Modern Stone Age Kitchen. Starting with simple, high quality...
20/08/2025

Ancient Grain Sourdough Baguettes baking in our oven at the Modern Stone Age Kitchen. Starting with simple, high quality organic ingredients is not enough. What truly makes these loaves nourishing is the space we provide for the trillions of hyperlocal wild bacteria and yeast to work their magic breaking down gluten, deactivating anti-nutrients, detoxifying, making nutrients more bioavailable, and developing the most incredible flavor and aroma possible. This is the power of genuine sourdough.

Curing isn’t just for salmon. Here’s a behind-the-scenes peek at our full setup for Rockfish Gravlax — our tribute to lo...
14/08/2025

Curing isn’t just for salmon.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes peek at our full setup for Rockfish Gravlax — our tribute to local, wild rockfish (aka striped bass).

At the Modern Stone Age Kitchen we cure each fillet with a flavorful mix of Redmond Real Salt, white peppercorns, lemon and orange zest, coriander seeds, juniper berries, fresh dill, and unrefined muscovado sugar. After several days, the fish is rinsed with local, organic gin for a bright, aromatic finish.

By working with this incredible local resource, we celebrate the terroir of the Eastern Shore while supporting our community’s fishermen.

Local Lockbriar Farm corn lacto-fermenting in a crock in preparation for this week’s pizza special at the Modern Stone A...
29/07/2025

Local Lockbriar Farm corn lacto-fermenting in a crock in preparation for this week’s pizza special at the Modern Stone Age Kitchen. We are relying on wild bacteria to transform the corn into a safer, more nourishing and delicious form over the next several days. We are keeping the whole cob intact while it ferments because that way it easier to ensure everything remains submerged in an anaerobic environment. The kernels will be cut off after the fermentation is over.

We are pairing the fermented corn kernels with Lockbriar Cherry tomatoes that will be marinated with garlic, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and together they will top our sourdough crust, pistachio pesto and pasta filata cheese.

Wild, lacto fermentation is the ultimate expression of terroir relying on trillions of bacteria local to our area to create nuances in flavor and aroma that are only possible here. Fermenting local, seasonal produce makes it even more special.

This is what a curd formed through fermentation looks like. It is the first step in making traditional cottage cheese. L...
28/07/2025

This is what a curd formed through fermentation looks like. It is the first step in making traditional cottage cheese. Like other traditional dairy ferments the lactic acid formed through bacterial fermentation results in a ton of chemical and physical changes that transform dairy into its safer, more nourishing and delicious form. Do not be fooled by the cottage cheese produced by the modern industrial food system - they are completely different foods.

Into the Heart of Bitter Manioc ProcessingWe flew from Bahia to Belém to begin the next chapter of our manioc journey—th...
11/07/2025

Into the Heart of Bitter Manioc Processing

We flew from Bahia to Belém to begin the next chapter of our manioc journey—this time diving into the complex and deeply rooted traditions of bitter manioc processing in the Amazon of northern Brazil. Unlike sweet manioc, bitter manioc contains much higher levels of naturally occurring cyanide compounds and requires extensive processing to make it safe to eat.

Using Belém as our home base, we traveled deep into the Amazon to visit three kilombo communities—settlements originally founded by escaped enslaved Africans, now home to vibrant and resilient Afro-Brazilian cultures. These communities hold incredible ancestral knowledge and have preserved traditional techniques for generations.

Guided by Jerônimo Villas-Bôas, we spent several days participating in the entire process, from harvest to finished products. Every Monday, all three communities come together to harvest a massive amount of manioc and divide the roots among themselves. By Tuesday, the peeling and grating begins.

Peeling is an all-day affair—a beautiful display of community building in action. What might seem to outsiders like monotonous, mindless work is in fact a vital social function. It’s a time for visiting, storytelling, joking, sharing news, and exchanging knowledge. Far from drudgery, it’s a necessary part of what keeps the community thriving and connected.

After peeling, the roots are grated and the pulp is pressed—either by mechanical screw press or with the traditional tipiti, a long, handwoven basket that works like a giant finger trap. The squeezed juice is left to settle so the starch can separate and be washed. The remaining pulp is also washed and left to ferment.

By the end of the day, the scene is beautiful:
– vessels of fermenting manioc juice,
– vessels of fermenting pulp,
– and vessels of settling starch.

As the sun sets and the village quiets, the process continues—this time at the microbial level. While the community rests, wild bacteria begin their slow, work of fermentation, setting the stage for the next day.

This meal marked the culmination of our first stop of our manioc research trip learning traditional harvesting, processi...
01/07/2025

This meal marked the culmination of our first stop of our manioc research trip learning traditional harvesting, processing, and preparation techniques—woven together with stories, laughter, and shared experience.
This meal nourished us not just because of its ingredients, but because of everything it represented.
Huge thanks to & for helping create such a magical, nourishing experience.
We shared dishes like acarajé (black-eyed peas mashed into a dough, aerated by hand, and fried in rich palm fruit oil), pirão made with manioc flour and chicken broth, smoked pork belly, beans, chicken, green papaya and eggs moqueca, as well as boiled peanuts, boiled manioc, and rice.
This was the perfect way to close out our exploration of sweet manioc. Next stop: the state of Pará—where the story of bitter manioc unfolds deep in the heart of the Amazon. .schindler .schindler

We had no idea this was going to happen… but we found ourselves making traditional palm fruit oil by hand.While preparin...
29/06/2025

We had no idea this was going to happen… but we found ourselves making traditional palm fruit oil by hand.

While preparing to cook acarajé, a beloved regional specialty here in Brazil, we learned that palm fruit oil (dendê) is the key ingredient—and we couldn’t miss the chance to make it the traditional way.

Here’s how we did it:
-First, we simmered the palm fruits in water for several hours to soften them.
-Next, we transferred the warm fruits to a large wooden mortar and crushed them with a pestle, separating the oily fibers from the seeds.
-Then, we added warm water and used our hands to fully release the oil-rich fibers from the seeds.
-The oily mixture was brought to a boil, allowing the vibrant red fat to rise to the surface, where it was carefully skimmed and bottled.
-Nothing went to waste—the leftover fibers were dried and used as a natural fire starter, and the seeds were sold to companies that make palm seed oil.

For years, we’ve been hesitant to use palm fruit oil at Modern Stone Age Kitchen because it’s been unfairly lumped together with its industrial byproduct—palm seed oil.

But they are two entirely different things.

Palm fruit oil is a traditional, minimally processed fat with about 45% saturated fat—comparable to animal fats like lard and tallow—and is also rich in vitamin E and beta-carotene.

Palm seed oil, on the other hand, is a cheap, highly processed industrial oil—the modern food system’s way of squeezing every last penny out of a resource, often at the expense of health and sustainability.

Hopefully, this post helps make it clear:
Palm fruit oil—when made and used traditionally—is a nutrient-rich, culturally important fat that absolutely has a place in a conscious, healthy diet.
Palm seed oil? Not so much. .schindler .schindler

Our first step into manioc processing started with sweet manioc. Unlike its bitter cousin, sweet manioc doesn’t require ...
28/06/2025

Our first step into manioc processing started with sweet manioc. Unlike its bitter cousin, sweet manioc doesn’t require detoxification, making it a great entry point for beginners like us. But even though it’s less dangerous to work with, the process is still complex—and deeply rooted in tradition.

After harvest, we removed the outer layers of the roots by peeling or scraping—a decision that varies depending on the species, the final product, and the traditions of the community doing the work. From there, the roots took two main paths.

Some went straight to the kitchen to be boiled and eaten. Others were grated into a fine, moist meal and packed into large bags to be pressed. The press itself is a beautiful example of local ingenuity—wood, metal, and a simple car jack providing the necessary pressure to release the starchy liquid.

Once pressed, the process divided again. The liquid that drained from the bags was left to settle, and the resulting starch—called goma—was washed and used as the base for a wide variety of dishes, including tapioca, a gluten-free, crepe-like staple that can be filled with sweet or savory ingredients. The dried version is the tapioca starch found in grocery stores around the world.

Meanwhile, the pressed pulp was sifted to remove larger fibers, then cooked on a wide, flat pan in two stages: first over high heat to dry, then over lower heat to lightly toast, producing a versatile flour used for dishes like farofa, which we also enjoyed that evening.

What might seem like small differences in technique at each step—how you peel, how you press, how you dry or toast—carry huge cultural meaning. These nuances, passed down through generations, define not just the flavor and texture of the final product, but also reflect the identity, values, and knowledge of the family, community, or region where the manioc is processed. Even the smallest details hold significance. .schindler .schindler

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Learning to Eat Like Humans

As an experimental archaeologist, primitive technologist, and chef, Bill Schindler’s work revolves around a comprehensive understanding of prehistoric and traditional technologies, especially as they relate to how we acquire, process, store, and consume food. He believes that many of today’s issues of human and environmental health can be addressed more successfully when we combine a deeper understanding of prehistoric life through the archaeological record, and a practical understanding of the technologies that helped create that life and support our evolution as humans. He is a strong advocate of traditional foodways and is constantly seeking new ways to incorporate lessons learned from his research into the diets of modern humans. His outlook on food has revolutionized the way in which he and his family eat, and he attributes much of the health his wife and three children enjoy to the nutrient-dense hunted, gathered, and fermented foods that comprise a significant portion of their diets.