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{{short description|Converting carbohydrates to alcohol or acids using anaerobic microorganisms}}File:Tomb of Nakht (13).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Grapes being trodden to extract the juice and made into wine in storage jars. Tomb of Nakht, 18th dynasty, Thebes, Ancient EgyptAncient Egypt(File:Sourdough starter.jpg|thumb|alt=Sourdough starter from overhead|Sourdough starter.)In food processing, fermentation is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohol or organic acids using microorganisms—yeasts or bacteria—under (wikt:anaerobic|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 sugars into ethanol, producing alcoholic drinks such as wine, beer, 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, such as in sauerkraut and yogurt.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

File:Conical loaves of bread, Gebelein, 5th Dynasty c 2400 BC.jpg|thumb|Conical loaves of bread left as grave goods, exactly as laid out in the Great Tomb at Gebelein, Egypt, 2435-2305 BC]]{{further|History of biochemistry|History of bread|History of microbiology}}

Brewing and winemaking

{{See also|History of beer}}Natural fermentation predates 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 in Israel.WEB, 'World's oldest brewery' found in cave in Israel, say researchers,weblink British Broadcasting Corporation, 15 September 2018, 15 September 2018, 8 August 2019,weblink live, Another early alcoholic drink, made from fruit, rice, and honey, dates from 7000 to 6600 BC, in the Neolithic Chinese village of Jiahu,JOURNAL, McGovern, P. E., Zhang, J., Tang, J., Zhang, Z., Hall, G. R., Moreau, R. A., Nunez, A., Butrym, E. D., Richards, M. P., Wang, C. -S., Cheng, G., Zhao, Z., Wang, C., Fermented beverages of pre- and proto-historic China, 10.1073/pnas.0407921102, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101, 51, 17593–17598, 2004, 15590771, 539767, 2004PNAS..10117593M, free, and winemaking dates from ca. 6000 BC, in Georgia, in the Caucasus area.WEB,weblink 8,000-year-old wine unearthed in Georgia, 2007-01-28, 2003-12-28, The Independent, 2019-10-09,weblink live, 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.WEB,weblink Now on display ... world's oldest known wine jar, 2007-01-28, 2012-08-26,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120826123906weblink">weblink live, There is strong evidence that people were fermenting alcoholic drinks in Babylon ca. 3000 BC,WEB,weblink Fermented fruits and vegetables. A global perspective, 2007-01-28, FAO Agricultural Services Bulletins - 134,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070119162605weblink">weblink January 19, 2007, dead, ancient Egypt ca. 3150 BC,JOURNAL, Cavalieri, D., McGovern P.E., Hartl D.L., Mortimer R., Polsinelli M., 2003, Evidence for S. cerevisiae fermentation in ancient wine., Journal of Molecular Evolution, 57, Suppl 1, S226–32, 15008419,weblink 2007-01-28, 10.1007/s00239-003-0031-2, 15008419,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20061209165920weblink">weblink December 9, 2006, dead, 10.1.1.628.6396, 2003JMolE..57S.226C, 7914033, pre-Hispanic Mexico ca. 2000 BC, and Sudan ca. 1500 BC.BOOK, Dirar, H., 1993, The Indigenous Fermented Foods of the Sudan: A Study in African Food and Nutrition, CAB International,

Discovery of the role of yeast

The French chemist Louis Pasteur founded zymology, when in 1856 he connected yeast to fermentation.WEB, Fermentation,weblink dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120530081705weblink">weblink 2012-05-30, When studying the fermentation of sugar to alcohol by yeast, 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. Pasteur wrote that "Alcoholic fermentation is an act correlated with the life and organization of the yeast cells, not with the death or putrefaction of the cells."JOURNAL, Dubos, J., 1951, Louis Pasteur: Free Lance of Science, Gollancz. Quoted in Manchester K. L. (1995) Louis Pasteur (1822–1895)--chance and the prepared mind, Trends in Biotechnology, 13, 12, 511–515, 8595136, 10.1016/S0167-7799(00)89014-9,

"Cell-free fermentation"

Nevertheless, it was known that yeast extracts can ferment sugar even in the absence of living yeast cells. While studying this process in 1897, the German chemist and zymologist Eduard Buchner of Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, found that sugar was fermented even when there were no living yeast cells in the mixture,WEB,weblink Nobel Laureate Biography of Eduard Buchner, 2009-08-26, 2016-06-29,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160629093844weblink">weblink live, by an enzyme complex secreted by yeast that he termed zymase.WEB,weblink The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1929, 2007-01-28, 2006-08-27,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060827092714weblink">weblink live, In 1907 he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research and discovery of "cell-free fermentation".One year earlier, in 1906, ethanol fermentation studies led to the early discovery of oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+).JOURNAL, A., Harden, Young, W.J., The Alcoholic Ferment of Yeast-Juice, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Containing Papers of a Biological Character, 78, October 1906, 369–375, 526, 10.1098/rspb.1906.0070, free, {{Verification needed|date=January 2023|reason=Dated primary source with wide page range}}

Uses

{{Further|Microbes in human culture|List of microorganisms used in food and beverage preparation}}(File:Beer and bread.jpg|thumb|Beer and bread, two major uses of fermentation in food)Food fermentation is the conversion of sugars and other carbohydrates into alcohol or preservative organic acids and carbon dioxide. All three products have found human uses. The production of alcohol is made use of when fruit juices are converted to wine, when grains are made into beer, and when foods rich in starch, such as potatoes, are fermented and then distilled to make spirits such as gin and vodka. The production of carbon dioxide is used to leaven bread. The production of organic acids is exploited to preserve and flavor vegetables and dairy products.BOOK, Hui YH, Meunier-Goddik L, Josephsen J, Nip WK, Stanfield PS, Handbook of Food and Beverage Fermentation Technology,weblink 2004, CRC Press, 978-0-8247-5122-7, 27 and passim, 2016-10-22, 2023-03-17,weblink live, 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, alcohol, acetic acid, and alkalineBOOK, Sarkar, Prabir K., Nout, M.J. Robert, Handbook of Indigenous Foods Involving Alkaline Fermentation, 2014, CRC Press, 9781466565302, 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.BOOK, Steinkraus, K.H., 1995, Handbook of Indigenous Fermented Foods, Marcel Dekker,

Fermented foods by region

File:Natto mixed.jpg|thumb|Nattō, a Japanese fermented soybean food made using BacillusBacillus{{further|List of fermented foods}}

• Worldwide: alcohol (beer, wine), vinegar, olives, yogurt, bread, cheese
• Asia
  • East and Southeast Asia: amazake, atchara, belacan, burong mangga, com ruou, doenjang, douchi, fish sauce, lah pet, lambanog, kimchi, kombucha, leppet-so, narezushi, miso, nata de coco, nattō, ngapi, oncom, padaek, pla ra, prahok, ruou nep, sake, shrimp paste, soju, soy sauce, stinky tofu, tape, tempeh, zha cai
  • Central Asia: kumis, kefir, shubat, qatiq (yogurt)
  • South Asia: achar, appam, dosa, dhokla, dahi (yogurt), idli, mixed pickle, ngari, sinki, tongba, paneer
• Africa: garri, injera, laxoox, mageu, ogi, ogiri, iru
• Americas: chicha, chocolate, vanilla, hot sauce, tibicos, pulque, muktuk, kiviak , parakari
• Middle East: torshi, boza
• Europe: sourdough bread, elderberry wine, kombucha, pickling, rakfisk, sauerkraut, pickled cucumber, surströmming, mead, kvass, salami, sucuk, prosciutto, cultured milk products such as quark, kefir, filmjölk, crème fraîche, smetana, skyr, rakı, tupí, żur.
• Oceania: poi, kānga pirau

Fermented foods by type

Beans

Cheonggukjang, doenjang, fermented bean curd, miso, natto, soy sauce, stinky tofu, tempeh, oncom, soybean paste, Beijing mung bean milk, kinama, iru, thua nao

Grain

File:BatterOnTheBrink.jpg|thumb|upright|Batter made from rice and lentil (Vigna mungo) prepared and fermented for baking idlis and dosas]]Amazake, beer, bread, choujiu, gamju, injera, kvass, makgeolli, murri, ogi, rejuvelac, sake, sikhye, sourdough, sowans, rice wine, malt whisky, grain whisky, idli, dosa, Bangla (drink)vodka, boza, and chicha, among others.

Vegetables

Kimchi, mixed pickle, sauerkraut, Indian pickle, gundruk, tursu(File:Cocoa farmer David Kebu Jnr holding fermenting cocoa beans. (10687048615).jpg|left|thumb|Fermenting cocoa beans)

Fruit

Wine, vinegar, cider, perry, brandy, atchara, nata de coco, burong mangga, asinan, pickling, vişinată, chocolate, rakı, aragh sagi, chacha

Honey

Mead, metheglin

Dairy

File:Clara Peeters - Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels.jpg|thumb|left|Cheeses in art: Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels, Clara PeetersClara PeetersSome kinds of cheese also, kefir, kumis (mare milk), shubat (camel milk), ayran, cultured milk products such as quark, filmjölk, crème fraîche, smetana, skyr, and yogurt

Fish

Bagoong, faseekh, fish sauce, Garum, Hákarl, jeotgal, ngapi, padaek, pla ra, prahok, rakfisk, shrimp paste, surströmming, shidal

Meat

File:Chin som mok.JPG|thumb|upright|Chin som mok is a northern Thai speciality made with grilled, banana leaf-wrapped pork (both skin and meat) that has been fermented with glutinous rice.]]Chorizo, salami, sucuk, pepperoni, nem chua, som moo, saucisson, fermented sausage

Tea

Pu-erh tea, Kombucha, Lahpet, Goishicha

Risks

Sterilization 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 has witnessed a steady increase of cases of botulism since 1985.WEB,weblink Why does Alaska have more botulism, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. federal agency), 18 July 2011, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060807175105weblink">weblink 7 August 2006, 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 flippers, beaver 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 has classified pickled foods as possibly carcinogenic, based on epidemiological studies.WEB,weblink Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1–105, International Agency for Research on Cancer (United Nations World Health Organization agency), 10 October 2012, 24 December 2017,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20171224224313weblink">weblink live, Other research found that fermented food contains a carcinogenic by-product, ethyl carbamate (urethane).WEB,weblink New Link Between Wine, Fermented Food And Cancer, ScienceDaily, 10 October 2012, 11 March 2007,weblink live, "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."WEB,weblink The WHO Says Cellphones—and Pickles—May Cause Cancer, June 2011, Slate, 10 October 2012, 29 September 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110929095044weblink">weblink live,

See also

{hide}Columnslist|colwidth=30em|

• {{annotated link|Bletting{edih}
• Brining
• {{annotated link|Corn smut}}
• Curing (food preservation)
• {{annotated link|Fermentation in winemaking}}
• {{annotated link|Fermentation lock}}
• {{annotated link|Food microbiology}}
• {{annotated link|Industrial fermentation}}
• {{annotated link|Industrial microbiology}}
• {{annotated link|Lactic acid bacteria}}
• {{annotated link|Lactic acid fermentation}}
• Pickling
• Symbiotic fermentation
• {{annotated link|Yeast in winemaking}}

}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

• Science aid: Fermentation - Process and uses of fermentation
• Fermented cereals. A global perspective - FAO 1999

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