In our daily life we use several fermented foods and beverages - like cheese, pickles, wine and beer. Fermentation is also employed in the leavening of bread and in preservation techniques. Simply put, fermentation is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and organic acids using micro-organisms such as yeasts or bacteria. The science of fermentation is also known as Zymology. Various cultures have been eating fermented foods for decades - like Sauerkraut in Germany or Kimichi in Korea. Evidence indicates that early civilisations were fermenting beverages (making wine and beer) almost 7,000 years ago - in Babylon around 5000 BC, in ancient Egypt circa 3150 BC and in Sudan circa 1500 BC. There is also evidence of leavened bread in ancient Egypt around 1500 BC.
Most fermented foods are easily digestible. Natural fermentation of foods is said to preserve the nutrients in food and help break the food down to a more digestible form; fermentation pre-digests the foods, making the nutrients more available. The fermentation process increases certain nutrients, like the Vitamin C content. When we eat fermented foods like yoghurt or drink fermented drinks like wine, we introduce beneficial bacteria into our digestive system. This, along with the probiotics created during the fermentation process, improves digestion. Probiotics are said to improve bowel health, aid digestion and improve immunity. Having the proper balance of gut bacteria and enough digestive enzymes also helps in absorbing more nutrients from our food. Fermentation also helps in the preservation of certain food products. Have you noticed that homemade salsa lasts a few days in the refrigerator, but that fermented salsa lasts much longer? The same goes for pickles and other garden foods like olives. Since milk is extremely perishable, many methods have been developed to preserve it. The earliest and the most common was fermentation. Milk can be fermented by inoculating fresh milk with the appropriate bacteria and keeping it at a temperature that favors bacterial growth. As the bacteria grow, they convert milk sugar (lactose) to lactic acid. The lowered pH caused by lactic acid preserves the milk by preventing the growth of pathogenic bacteria, which do not grow well in acid conditions. Techniques like ‘lacto-fermentation’ were discovered out of the necessity to preserve foods for long periods of time without the use of refrigeration or canning. According to microbiologists, lactic acid – a byproduct of fermentation - is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of putrefying bacteria.
Side Effects: When food ferments it produces certain byproducts like alcohol, carbonic acid and ammonia, which can be harmful. Moreover, fermented foods are usually processed and preserved over a period of weeks (or even months). The longer a food is held in storage, the lowe Try to purchase fermented foods (yoghurt, cultured buttermilk, fermented cottage cheese, kefir, sauerkraut) from stores that specialise in natural foods. Make sure to purchase products that are raw and unpasteurised, as the pasteurisation process kills the good bacteria.
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