HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In food processing, fermentation is the conversion of
carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may o ...
s to alcohol or
organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...
acids using microorganisms
yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...
s or
bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...
—under anaerobic (oxygen-free) conditions. Fermentation usually implies that the action of microorganisms is desired. The science of fermentation is known as zymology or zymurgy. The term "fermentation" sometimes refers specifically to the chemical conversion of
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...
s into
ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...
, producing alcoholic drinks such as
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...
,
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
, and cider. However, similar processes take place in the leavening of bread (CO2 produced by yeast activity), and in the preservation of sour foods with the production of
lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has a molecular formula . It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as well as nat ...
, such as in
sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ...
and
yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...
. Other widely consumed fermented foods include vinegar, olives, and cheese. More localised foods prepared by fermentation may also be based on beans, grain, vegetables, fruit, honey, dairy products, and fish.


History and prehistory

Natural fermentation precedes human history. Since ancient times, humans have exploited the fermentation process. The earliest archaeological evidence of fermentation is 13,000-year-old residues of a beer, with the consistency of gruel, found in a cave near
Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
in Israel. Another early alcoholic drink, made from fruit, rice, and honey, dates from 7000 to 6600 BC, in the Neolithic Chinese village of
Jiahu Jiahu () was the site of a Neolithic settlement based in the central plain of ancient China, near the Yellow River. It is located between the floodplains of the Ni River to the north, and the Sha River to the south, north of the modern cit ...
, and winemaking dates from ca. 6000 BC, in Georgia, in the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...
area. Seven-thousand-year-old jars containing the remains of wine, now on display at the University of Pennsylvania, were excavated in the Zagros Mountains in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. There is strong evidence that people were fermenting alcoholic drinks in
Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
ca. 3000 BC, ancient Egypt ca. 3150 BC, pre-Hispanic Mexico ca. 2000 BC, and
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
ca. 1500 BC. The French chemist Louis Pasteur founded zymology, when in 1856 he connected yeast to fermentation. When studying the fermentation of sugar to alcohol by
yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...
, Pasteur concluded that the fermentation was catalyzed by a vital force, called " ferments", within the yeast cells. The "ferments" were thought to function only within living organisms. "Alcoholic fermentation is an act correlated with the life and organization of the yeast cells, not with the death or putrefaction of the cells", he wrote. Nevertheless, it was known that yeast extracts can ferment sugar even in the absence of living yeast
cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...
. While studying this process in 1897, the German chemist and zymologist Eduard Buchner of
Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...
, Germany, found that sugar was fermented even when there were no living yeast cells in the mixture, by an enzyme complex secreted by yeast that he termed '' zymase''. In 1907 he received the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...
for his research and discovery of "cell-free fermentation". One year earlier, in 1906, ethanol fermentation studies led to the early discovery of NAD+.


Uses

Food fermentation is the conversion of sugars and other
carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may o ...
s into alcohol or preservative
organic acid An organic acid is an organic compound with acidic properties. The most common organic acids are the carboxylic acids, whose acidity is associated with their carboxyl group –COOH. Sulfonic acids, containing the group –SO2OH, are ...
s and
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...
. All three products have found human uses. The production of alcohol is made use of when fruit juices are converted to
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...
, when grains are made into
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
, and when foods rich in starch, such as
potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...
es, are fermented and then distilled to make spirits such as gin and
vodka Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
. The production of
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...
is used to leaven bread. The production of organic acids is exploited to preserve and flavor vegetables and dairy products. Food fermentation serves five main purposes: to enrich the diet through development of a diversity of flavors, aromas, and textures in food substrates; to preserve substantial amounts of food through
lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has a molecular formula . It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as well as nat ...
, alcohol, acetic acid, and alkaline fermentations; to enrich food substrates with protein, essential amino acids, and vitamins; to eliminate antinutrients; and to reduce cooking time and the associated use of fuel.


Fermented foods by region

* Worldwide: alcohol (
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
,
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...
), vinegar, olives,
yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...
, bread, cheese * Asia ** East and Southeast Asia: amazake, atchara, belacan, burong mangga, com ruou,
doenjang ''Doenjang'' * (; "thick sauce") or soybean paste is a type of fermented bean paste made entirely of soybean and brine. It is also a byproduct of soup soy sauce production. It is sometimes used as a relish. History The earliest soybean fer ...
, douchi, fish sauce, lah pet, lambanog, kimchi, kombucha, leppet-so,
narezushi is a Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice," also ...
,
miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and ''kōji'' (the fungus '' Aspergillus oryzae'') and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and ...
,
nata de coco ''Nata de coco'', also marketed as coconut gel, is a chewy, translucent, jelly-like food produced by the fermentation of coconut water, which gels through the production of microbial cellulose by ''Komagataeibacter xylinus''. Originating in ...
, nattō, ngapi,
oncom Oncom ( Aksara Sunda: ; IPA: ) is one of the traditional staple foods of West Java ( Sundanese) cuisine of Indonesia. There are two kinds of oncom: red oncom and black oncom. Oncom is closely related to tempeh; both are foods fermented using mol ...
,
padaek Padaek , sometimes known as padek, or Lao fish sauce (Lao: ປາແດກ) ( th, ปลาแดก), similar to pla ra in Thailand ( th, ปลาร้า), is a traditional Lao condiment made from pickled or fermented fish that has been cure ...
,
pla ra ''Pla ra'' ( th, ปลาร้า, ), similar to padaek in Laos, is a traditional Thai seasoning produced by fermenting fish with rice bran or roasted rice flour and salt fermented in a closed container for at least six months. Fermented f ...
, prahok, ruou nep,
sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and in ...
, shrimp paste, soju, soy sauce, stinky tofu, tape,
tempeh Tempeh or tempe (; jv, ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, témpé, ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, '' Rhizo ...
, zha cai ** Central Asia:
kumis ''Kumis'' (also spelled ''kumiss'' or ''koumiss'' or ''kumys'', see other transliterations and cognate words below under terminology and etymology – otk, airag kk, қымыз, ''qymyz'') mn, айраг, ''ääryg'') is a fermented dairy ...
, kefir, shubat,
qatiq Qatiq is a fermented milk product from the Turkic countries. It is considered a more solid form of yogurt than ''ayran''.''Food on the Move'' (ed. by Harlan Walker). Oxford Symposium, 1997. . Page 245. In order to make qatiq, boiled milk is fe ...
(yogurt) ** South Asia: achar, appam,
dosa Dosa may refer to: People * Bogoljub Mitić Đoša, Serbian actor * Csaba Dosa (born 1951), Romanian athlete * Dosa ben Harkinas * Dosa ben Saadia (935 - 1018), Talmudic scholar and philosopher * Dosa or Dossa Júnior * Edward Dosa-Wea Neufv ...
, dhokla, dahi (
yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...
), idli, mixed pickle, ngari, sinki,
tongba Tongba ( ne, तोङबा ) is a millet-based alcoholic beverage found in the eastern mountainous region of Nepal and neighbouring Indian regions of Sikkim and Darjeeling. It is the traditional drink of the Limbu people as well as people o ...
, paneer * Africa:
garri In West Africa, ''garri (also known as gari, galli'', or ''gali)'' is the flour of the fresh starchy cassava root. In the Hausa language, ''garri'' can also refer to the flour of guinea corn, maize, rice, yam, plantain and millet. F ...
, injera,
laxoox Lahoh ( or , ar, لحوح, laḥūḥ, ) ), is a spongy, flat pancake-like bread that originated from Somalia.Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi, ''Culture and Customs of Somalis'', (Greenwood Press: 2001), p. 113. It is a type of flat bread eaten regu ...
, mageu, ogi, ogiri, iru * Americas: chicha,
chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec ci ...
,
vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus '' Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla ('' V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from whic ...
,
hot sauce Hot sauce is a type of condiment, seasoning, or salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties of mass-produced hot sauce exist. History Humans have used chili peppers and other hot spices for thousands of ye ...
, tibicos, pulque, muktuk,
kiviak Kiviak or kiviaq is a traditional wintertime Inuit food from Greenland that is made of little auks (''Alle alle''), a type of seabird, fermented in a seal skin. Up to 500 whole auks are packed into the seal skin, beaks and feathers included. A ...
, parakari * Middle East:
torshi Torshi ( fa, ترشی, lit=sourness, translit=torshi) are the pickled vegetables of many Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Torshi is common in Arab, Turkish, Kurdish, Afghan, Bosnian, Armenian and Iranian cuisine. Iran has hundreds of types o ...
, boza * Europe: sourdough bread, elderberry wine, kombucha, pickling,
rakfisk Rakfisk () is a Norwegian fish dish made from trout or char, salted and autolyzed for two to three months, or even up to a year. Rakfisk is then eaten without cooking and has a strong smell and a pungent salty flavor. Origin The first recor ...
,
sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ...
,
pickled cucumber A pickled cucumber (commonly known as a pickle in the United States and Canada and a gherkin in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand) is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar ...
, surströmming, mead,
salami Salami ( ) is a cured sausage consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for up to 45 ...
,
sucuk Sujuk or sucuk is a dry, spicy and fermented sausage which is consumed in several Balkan, Middle Eastern and Central Asian cuisines. Sujuk mainly consists of ground meat and animal fat usually obtained from beef or lamb, but beef is mainly use ...
, prosciutto,
cultured milk Fermented milk products or fermented dairy products, also known as cultured dairy foods, cultured dairy products, or cultured milk products, are dairy foods that have been fermented with lactic acid bacteria such as ''Lactobacillus'', ''Lactococc ...
products such as
quark A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. All commonly ...
, kefir,
filmjölk (), also known as , is a traditional fermented milk product from Sweden, and a common dairy product within the Nordic countries. It is made by fermenting cow's milk with a variety of bacteria from the species ''Lactococcus lactis'' and ''Leucono ...
,
crème fraîche Crème fraîche (English pronunciation: , , lit. "fresh cream") is a dairy product, a soured cream containing 10–45% butterfat, with a pH of approximately 4.5., p. 181''f'' It is soured with a bacterial culture. European labeling regulati ...
, smetana, skyr, rakı,
tupí Tupí, also known as ''formatge de tupí'', is a fermented cheese of a certain area of the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees made from cows' or sheep's milk. It is a cheese traditionally prepared in the mountainous Pallars region, as well as in the Cerd ...
, żur. *
Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...
: poi, kaanga pirau


Fermented foods by type


Beans

Cheonggukjang,
doenjang ''Doenjang'' * (; "thick sauce") or soybean paste is a type of fermented bean paste made entirely of soybean and brine. It is also a byproduct of soup soy sauce production. It is sometimes used as a relish. History The earliest soybean fer ...
, fermented bean curd,
miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and ''kōji'' (the fungus '' Aspergillus oryzae'') and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and ...
, natto, soy sauce, stinky tofu,
tempeh Tempeh or tempe (; jv, ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, témpé, ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, '' Rhizo ...
, oncom, soybean paste, Beijing mung bean milk, kinama, iru, thua nao


Grain

Amazake,
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
, bread, choujiu, gamju, injera, kvass, makgeolli, murri, ogi,
rejuvelac Rejuvelac is a kind of grain water that was invented and promoted by Ann Wigmore, born in Cropos, Lithuania. The beverage is closely related to a traditional Romanian drink, called borș, a fermented wheat bran that can be used to make a sour ...
,
sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and in ...
, sikhye, sourdough,
sowans Sowans or sowens ( gd, sùghan), also called virpa, is a Scottish dish made using the starch remaining on the inner husks of oats after milling. The husks are allowed to soak in water and ferment for a few days. The liquor is strained off and al ...
, rice wine,
malt whisky Malt whisky is whisky made from a fermented mash consisting primarily of malted barley. If the product is made exclusively at a single distillery (along with other restrictions), it is typically called a single malt whisky. Although malt whisky ...
, grain whisky, idli,
dosa Dosa may refer to: People * Bogoljub Mitić Đoša, Serbian actor * Csaba Dosa (born 1951), Romanian athlete * Dosa ben Harkinas * Dosa ben Saadia (935 - 1018), Talmudic scholar and philosopher * Dosa or Dossa Júnior * Edward Dosa-Wea Neufv ...
, Bangla (drink)
vodka Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
, boza, and chicha, among others.


Vegetables

Kimchi, mixed pickle,
sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ...
, Indian pickle, gundruk,
tursu Torshi ( fa, ترشی, lit=sourness, translit=torshi) are the pickled vegetables of many Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Torshi is common in Arab, Turkish, Kurdish, Afghan, Bosnian, Armenian and Iranian cuisine. Iran has hundreds of types o ...


Fruit

Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...
, vinegar, cider, perry, brandy, atchara,
nata de coco ''Nata de coco'', also marketed as coconut gel, is a chewy, translucent, jelly-like food produced by the fermentation of coconut water, which gels through the production of microbial cellulose by ''Komagataeibacter xylinus''. Originating in ...
, burong mangga,
asinan ''Asinan'' is a pickled (through brined or vinegared) vegetable or fruit dish, commonly found in Indonesia. ''Asin'', Indonesian for "salty", is the process of preserving the ingredients by soaking them in a solution of salty water. ''Asinan' ...
, pickling, vişinată,
chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec ci ...
, rakı, aragh sagi,
chacha (brandy) Chacha ( ka, ჭაჭა ''ch’ach’a'' ) is a Georgian pomace brandy, clear and strong (ranging between 50% alcohol for commercially produced to 85% for home brew), which is sometimes called "wine vodka", " grape vodka", or " Georgian vodka/gr ...


Honey

Mead,
metheglin Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining characte ...


Dairy

Some kinds of cheese also, kefir,
kumis ''Kumis'' (also spelled ''kumiss'' or ''koumiss'' or ''kumys'', see other transliterations and cognate words below under terminology and etymology – otk, airag kk, қымыз, ''qymyz'') mn, айраг, ''ääryg'') is a fermented dairy ...
(mare milk), shubat (camel milk),
cultured milk Fermented milk products or fermented dairy products, also known as cultured dairy foods, cultured dairy products, or cultured milk products, are dairy foods that have been fermented with lactic acid bacteria such as ''Lactobacillus'', ''Lactococc ...
products such as
quark A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. All commonly ...
,
filmjölk (), also known as , is a traditional fermented milk product from Sweden, and a common dairy product within the Nordic countries. It is made by fermenting cow's milk with a variety of bacteria from the species ''Lactococcus lactis'' and ''Leucono ...
,
crème fraîche Crème fraîche (English pronunciation: , , lit. "fresh cream") is a dairy product, a soured cream containing 10–45% butterfat, with a pH of approximately 4.5., p. 181''f'' It is soured with a bacterial culture. European labeling regulati ...
, smetana, skyr, and
yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...


Fish

Bagoong ''Bagoóng'' (; ) is a Philippine condiment partially or completely made of either fermented fish (''bagoóng'') or krill or shrimp paste (''alamáng'') with salt. The fermentation process also produces fish sauce known as ''patís''. The p ...
, faseekh, fish sauce, Garum,
Hákarl is, Hákarl, label=none (an abbreviation of is, kæstur hákarl, label=none , referred to as fermented shark in English) is a national dish of Iceland consisting of a Greenland shark or other sleeper shark that has been cured with a particu ...
,
jeotgal ''Jeotgal'' () or ''jeot'' (), translated as salted seafood, is a category of salted preserved dishes made with seafood such as shrimps, oysters, clams, fish, and roe. Depending on the ingredients, ''jeotgal'' can range from flabby, solid pi ...
, ngapi,
padaek Padaek , sometimes known as padek, or Lao fish sauce (Lao: ປາແດກ) ( th, ปลาแดก), similar to pla ra in Thailand ( th, ปลาร้า), is a traditional Lao condiment made from pickled or fermented fish that has been cure ...
,
pla ra ''Pla ra'' ( th, ปลาร้า, ), similar to padaek in Laos, is a traditional Thai seasoning produced by fermenting fish with rice bran or roasted rice flour and salt fermented in a closed container for at least six months. Fermented f ...
, prahok,
rakfisk Rakfisk () is a Norwegian fish dish made from trout or char, salted and autolyzed for two to three months, or even up to a year. Rakfisk is then eaten without cooking and has a strong smell and a pungent salty flavor. Origin The first recor ...
, shrimp paste, surströmming, shidal


Meat

Chorizo,
salami Salami ( ) is a cured sausage consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for up to 45 ...
,
sucuk Sujuk or sucuk is a dry, spicy and fermented sausage which is consumed in several Balkan, Middle Eastern and Central Asian cuisines. Sujuk mainly consists of ground meat and animal fat usually obtained from beef or lamb, but beef is mainly use ...
, pepperoni, nem chua,
som moo ''Naem'' ( th, แหนม, , also referred to as ''nham'', ''naem moo'', ''som moo'', ''naem maw'', ''chin som'') is a pork sausage in Laos and Thai. It is a fermented food that has a sour flavor. It has a short shelf life, and is often eaten ...
, saucisson, fermented sausage


Tea

Pu-erh tea, Kombucha,
Lahpet Lahpet, also spelled laphat, laphet, lephet, leppet, or letpet in English (, ), is Burmese for fermented or pickled tea. Myanmar is one of the few countries where tea is both consumed as a drink and as an eaten delicacy, in the form of pickle ...
, Goishicha


Risks

Sterilization Sterilization may refer to: * Sterilization (microbiology), killing or inactivation of micro-organisms * Soil steam sterilization, a farming technique that sterilizes soil with steam in open fields or greenhouses * Sterilization (medicine) rende ...
is an important factor to consider during the fermentation of foods. Failing to completely remove any microbes from equipment and storing vessels may result in the multiplication of harmful organisms within the ferment, potentially increasing the risks of food borne illnesses like botulism. However, botulism in vegetable ferments is only possible when not properly canned. The production of off smells and discoloration may be indications that harmful bacteria may have been introduced to the food.
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...
has witnessed a steady increase of cases of botulism since 1985. It has more cases of botulism than any other state in the United States of America. This is caused by the traditional Alaska Native practice of allowing animal products such as whole fish, fish heads, walrus, sea lion, and
whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
flippers,
beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...
tails, seal oil, and birds, to ferment for an extended period of time before being consumed. The risk is exacerbated when a plastic container is used for this purpose instead of the old-fashioned, traditional method, a grass-lined hole, as the '' Clostridium botulinum'' bacteria thrive in the anaerobic conditions created by the air-tight enclosure in plastic. The
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
has classified pickled foods as possibly
carcinogen A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive sub ...
ic, based on epidemiological studies. Other research found that fermented food contains a carcinogenic by-product, ethyl carbamate (urethane). "A 2009 review of the existing studies conducted across Asia concluded that regularly eating pickled vegetables roughly doubles a person's risk for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma."


See also


References


External links


Science aid: Fermentation - Process and uses of fermentation
{{Subject bar, portal1=Cooking, portal2=Food, portal3=Drink, portal4=Biology, auto=yes, commonscat=yes, commons=Fermented food, cookbook=Fermentation Alchemical processes Biology and culture Brewing Chinese inventions Culinary terminology Fermentation * Food science Metabolism Mycology de:Fermentation#Fermentation in der Lebens- und Genussmittelherstellung sv:Fermentering