Fermentation in food processing

"is a fermented beverage that originated from s life work. ...Wigmore highly promoted rejuvelac as a form of "living water." ...Although she primarily fermented wheat... any grain can be used. ...Ann Wigmores recipe... used unsprouted grain... Other rejuvelac recipes use sprouted grains. ...by sprouting the grains the flavor is far superior and tastes lightly lemony. The key... is to sprout the grains first and then blend them for the fermenting process. ...Fill the jar with clean filtered water ...scrape any foam or debris off the top of the liquid."

"Raw cultured vegetables have been around for thousands of years... Rich in lactobacilli and enzymes, alkaline-forming, and loaded with vitamins, they are an ideal food that can and should be consumed with every meal. Since cultured foods are an excellent source of vitamin C, Dutch seamen used to carry them to prevent . For centuries, the Chinese have cultured cabbage each fall to ensure a source of greens through the winter... Cultured vegetables are a favorite food of the long-lived Hunzas. ...its the active cultures of friendly bacteria (lactobacilli) inside [yogurt] that are responsible for good health. Similarly, the enzymes and the high lactic acid in raw cultured vegetables promote wellness and longevity."

"Schwann (1837) the codiscoverer of the yeast cell, showed by experiment that fermentation and putrefaction were of microbial origin. He also disproved spontaneous generation: with sterile flasks and media he demonstrated that it was microorganisms in the air that produced putrefaction or fermentation of substances. Alcohol was produced when yeast was added to a sugar solution. When sterile media were exposed to the air, they decomposed, but if air was sterilized by heat, no decomposition occurred. Schwann reasoned that the air contained living germs that produced the putrefaction because arsenic and mercuric chloride, which were known to kill living things, also prevented putrefaction. These were the same kind of experiments Pasteur was to perform a quarter-century later. Schwann was the originator but Pasteur got the recognition. This is not to belittle Pasteur, whose many achievements earned him his place in history."

"[K]oji [is] the Japanese manifestation of qu, also traditionally a mixed culture but today typically known as a single a strain of fungus, . Before I started growing koji, I would never have believed it possible to fall in love with a mold. ...Koji itself is not generally eaten as a food (although it is delicious). Koji is the first step toward many elaborately processed foods and beverages. ...try it at least once using a starter culture so you can experience the unique aroma of fresh growing koji, because recognizing that unique smell is the most straightforward way you have to gauge whether you have the right mold growing if you try starting koji spontaneously using corn husks."

"During ... a characteristic fermentative yeast flora develops in the liquid... When the sugar is used up and the pH has dropped because of lactic acid production by the lactic acid bacteria, a secondary, oxidative yeast flora develops on the surface of the liquid in the form of a thick, folded layer of yeast."

"Undesirable acid-forming bacteria... capable of forming substances that impart to milk an offensive odor and a disagreeable taste not infrequently appear instead of the desirable group. Instead of producing from the sugar of milk large quantities of lactic acid, these types generate other acids, such as acetic and formic, which impart a sharp taste to the milk. Besides the acids the bacteria of this group form gases from the sugar of the milk. Some produce small amounts of gas; others so much that the curd will be spongy and will float on the surface of the whey. The fermentation caused by them is often called a "gassy fermentation" and is dreaded by butter and cheese makers since the gas is indicative of bad flavors... Gas may also be produced in other types of fermentations... This class of bacteria enters the milk with the dust, dirt, and manure, in which materials they are especially abundant. No spores are formed; hence they are easily killed by heating the milk. They grow both in the presence and in the absence of free oxygen. High temperatures favor their growth, most rapid development taking place at 100° to 103° F. ...The normal souring of milk is due to a mixture of these two groups [Bacillus lactis acidi and the undesirable acid-forms] of bacteria. The relative proportions existing between the two in any sample of milk is dependent on a number of factors, most important of which is the degree of cleanliness..."

"Basically, the preparation method of soy sauce koji involves washing and soaking the rice grains overnight, steaming the well-drained soaked rice for about 60 minutes, rapidly cooling and breaking the lumps of rice, mixing uniformly the ash and starter, distributing in trays and incubating in a special room for about 5 days with in-between stirring of the mixture on the second day and the third day. The molded rice is thoroughly dried, packaged, and stored in cold room with low humidity. Strict observation of aseptic conditions is required at every step of the preparation."

"Sufu (Chinese soy cheese) and (chaotofu) are block-type fermented soy foods. In the manufacture... sufu utilizes mainly mold(s), whereas stinky tofu utilizes mainly bacteria. Molds multiply under aerobic condition and produce , , and other s"

"The is simply mixed with cooked, dehulled soybeans; the continues its growth without the... spores. ...however, [it] generally has a lightly weaker mycelium and the incubation time is a little longer than... sporulated methods. And... there are always some unwanted bacteria in the original tempeh. If you are careless and/or the humidity is high, their numbers will increase with each generation until eventually they prevail, preventing the formation of good tempeh. However, by being clean and careful, we have had no trouble in keeping this starter going for more than 12 generations..."

"If a number of flasks be charged with a clear nutrient solution, of a kind favourable to the growth of yeast and containing a fermentable sugar, and each of them be inoculated with a trace of a pure culture of different yeasts, such as are used in brewing, distillery work, vinification, &c., the cultures being then kept at room temperature for a couple of days, it will be found that cell reproduction and fermentation—manifested by the appearance of turbidity and gas bubbles—will occur in all. It will thereafter soon be possible to separate the flasks into two groups, according to the appearance presented. In the one group the yeast crop developed from the sowing will remain almost entirely within the liquid throughout the entire period of fermentation, and mostly at the bottom even from the start. Yeasts of this kind are termed bottom yeasts, and excite bottom-fermentation, the yeast crop being sedimental. In the other group the fermentation is very brisk and attended with the formation of large quantities of froth (head); and in the earlier stages a larger or smaller number of the new cells are raised to the surface by the ascending bubbles of gas, and remain there—provided the vessel be high enough to prevent frothing over—until fermentation is terminated and the froth breaks up, whereupon they sink down to the bottom of the liquid and increase the sedimental deposit. This kind of fermentation is termed top-fermentation, and the yeasts producing it are called top-fermentation yeasts. Typical examples of bottom-fermentation yeasts are afforded by the Munich lager-beer yeasts."

"Dill pickles and pearl onions are salted with just enough salt to plasmolyze the harmful organisms, and alcohol is generated first, then follows acetic and lactic fermentations to produce vinegar having a characteristic flavor. All vinegar having a certain per cent of solids is liable to deterioration through the agency of harmful bacteria hence storage in cool places is recommended for such as malt and cider vinegars."

"Koji is a culture prepared by growing... ... mold on cooked grains and/or soybeans in a warm, humid place. Koji serves as a source of enzymes that break down (or hydrolyze / digest / split) natural plant constituents into simpler compounds when making , , , , and other fermented foods. Its fragrant white... mycelium... has a delightful aroma resembling that of mushrooms. ...Koji is written with the exact same character in China and Japan. ...In China this character is romanized as qu... Koji was invented in China at least three centuries before the Christian era."