Fermented foods have been consumed since ancient times for their health benefits and taste. They include dairy products like yogurt and cheese, fermented meats and fish, pickled vegetables, and fermented grain products like beer and sourdough bread. Fermented foods offer protein enrichment, vitamin support, and essential amino acids. They also have a long shelf life and require little or no cooking.
Since the dawn of human history, people have consumed fermented products as food and drink. Sometimes, fermentation was accidental, as when rotting fruit was devoured by a band of hungry travellers, or intentional, as when their descendants figured out how to turn fermented grapes into wine. Today, nearly every cuisine in the world features fermented dairy products, meats, vegetables, and grains for both their health benefits and tastes.
Fermented products in the dairy group include buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt and cheese, products familiar to most Western consumers. In regions of the world where cow’s milk is less available, people drink kumis, which is made from mare’s milk, or shubat, fermented from camel’s milk. The lactose in milk is broken down during fermentation, meaning those who are intolerant to the milk sugars found in cow’s milk can enjoy fermented milk products. The probiotics that yogurt adds to your digestive tract help support a healthy immune system.
Many people enjoy a range of fermented meats and fish without realizing that’s what they’re eating. Salami and pepperoni and their Latin cousins, chorizo and jamon, are examples. Fish sauce and shrimp paste, used in many Asian cuisines, are also fermented.
Germans love sauerkraut, Americans love pickles, and Koreans love kimchi. These fermented products feature cabbage, cucumber, radish or green onion, adding a pop of flavor to everything from bratwurst to braised beef. In Indian cuisine, dishes are often served with lime or mango pickles as accompaniments. Pickling foods allows for an extended shelf life; creative cooks often preserve summer’s vegetable bounty by fermenting green beans, corn, okra, and other vegetables using vinegar.
Some of the earliest culinary writings refer to fermented grain drinks similar to modern beer. Other alcoholic beverages such as whisky, rice wine and vodka also gave birth to grains. Another common fermented grain product comes in the form of sourdough bread, made by adding lactobacillus cultures and sometimes yeast to the starting dough.
Vegetarians and omnivores might add fermented soy sauce, called tamari or soy sauce, to rice dishes, salads or other foods. Miso, a Japanese bean paste, is also made from fermented soybeans. Another fermented bean product is called tempeh; sold in quiches, its meat-like texture makes it perfect for frying, baking, or boiling.
In addition to the ability of fermentation to preserve foods for extended periods and add zip to the fragrance and flavor of foods, there are other benefits. Those who consume fermented foods cite protein enrichment, vitamin support, and increases in essential amino acids as reasons for adding pickled or alkaline fermented foods to the diet. Fermented foods travel well, can be stored unrefrigerated, and also require little or no cooking.
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