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FERMENTED FRUTIS AND VEGETABLES. A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE.

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http://www.fao.org/docrep/x0560e/x0560e00.htm#con

 

FAO AGRICULTURAL SERVICES BULLETIN No. 134

 

From the Introduction:

 

Agricultural crops are processed for many different reasons. These

range from the removal of anti-nutritional components and increasing

the storage life of the final product to adding value to increase both

employment and income generating opportunities. Fermentation is one of

the most ancient and most important food processing technologies.

However scientists and policy makers have neglected this area,

particularly traditional fermented products from developing countries.

 

Fermented foods: an ancient tradition

 

Fermentation is one of the oldest forms of food preservation

technologies in the world. Indigenous fermented foods such as bread,

cheese and wine, have been prepared and consumed for thousands of

years and are strongly linked to culture and tradition, especially in

rural households and village communities.

 

The development of fermentation technologies is lost in the mists of

history. Anthropologists have suggested that it was the production of

alcohol that motivated primitive people to settle down and become

agriculturists. Some even think the consumption of fermented food is

pre-human (Stanton, 1985). The first fermented foods consumed probably

were fermented fruits. Hunter-gatherers would have consumed fresh

fruits but at times of scarcity would have eaten rotten and fermented

fruits. Repeated consumption would have led to the development of the

taste for fermented fruits. There is reliable information that

fermented drinks were being produced over 7,000 years ago in Babylon

(now Iraq), 5,000 years ago in Egypt, 4,000 years ago in Mexico and

3,500 years ago in Sudan (Dirar, 1993), (Pedersen, 1979).

 

Bread-making probably originated in Egypt over 3,500 years ago

(Sugihara, 1985). Several triangular loaves of bread have been found

in ancient tombs. Fermentation of milk started in many places with

evidence of fermented products in use in Babylon over 5,000 years ago.

There is also evidence of fermented meat products being produced for

King Nebuchadnezer of Babylon. China is thought to be the birth-place

of fermented vegetables and the use of Aspergillus and Rhizopus moulds

to make food. The book called " Shu-Ching " written in the Chou dynasty

in China (1121-256 BC) refers to the use of " chu " a fermented grain

product (Yokotsuka, 1985).

 

Knowledge about traditional fermentation technologies has been handed

down from parent to child, for centuries. These fermented products

have been adapted over generations; some products and practices no

doubt fell by the wayside. Those that remain today have not only

survived the test of time but also more importantly are appropriate to

the technical, social and economic conditions of the region.

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