Cooking, Eating, Dreaming: Fermented Foods
Presentation Outline
-Intro (Both)
Objectives + Purpose
Explore the use of fermentation in food production and discuss how you can create your own
fermented foods!
At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to…
o List two types of fermented foods
o Define and describe lactobacilli fermentation
o Identify two health benefits of fermented foods
o Explain the role of food safety in fermentation
-Fun facts (R) - Icebreaker
• Microorganisms were the first form of life on Earth and have been in existence for about 3.5 billion
years
• Microbes make up about 60% of the Earth’s biomass
• There are 10 times as many microbial cells than human cells that make up your body
●
Microorganisms are actually a BIG deal!
-Define fermentation (J)
● The chemical transformation of organic substances into simple compounds by the action of enzymes
and catalysts, which are produced by microorganisms such as molds, yeasts, or bacteria
-History of fermentation (J)
● Dates back to the Neolithic Era (aka the New Stone Age, which lasted from 10,200 BC to as late as
2,000 BC), when civilization moved from hunter-gatherer lifestyle to farming
● Originated as a means of preservation, a chemical reaction produces an acidic environment that
prevents the bacteria that often make us sick from growing, making fermented foods incredibly safe
for humankind who had not invented refrigeration and preservatives
● Earliest record of fermentation dates back to 6,000 BC in the Fertile Crescent
○ Earliest types of fermentation were beer, wine, and cheese
● In the East
○ Koji: mold fermented grains or soybeans that produce 50+ enzymes used to make foods such
as miso, soy sauce, soy nuggets, sake, shochu, and rice vinegar
● In the West
○ Malt, steeped and sprouted barley used to make alcoholic beverages
○ Dairy (mold ripened cheeses such as Brie, Blue and Camembert)
● Modern advancements include using mold and industrial fermentation to produce B12 and
antibiotics
Lactic Acid Fermentation – The Pickle As We Know It (pass out samples of pickles)
• 850 BC: Aristotle praises the healing effects of cured cucumbers
• 900 BC: Dill is introduced to Western Europe (from Sumatra)
• 15th Century: Amerigo Vespucci travels to the New World w/ a ship full of pickles -he was a pickle
peddler, the pickled vegetables were safe and high in vitamin C- preventing scurvy!
• 16th Century: Pickling production in Virginia and NYC, Brooklyn used to be a cucumber farm
• 2001: Pickle Day is celebrated in NYC
Culture describes both the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement and the
cultivation of bacteria in an artificial medium containing nutrients
● Nearly every culture has a traditional fermented food
○ West Africa: garri, fermented cassava (which would be poisonous w/out fermentation)
○ Tanzania: togwa, fermented gruel
○
○
○
○
○
○
○
○
Japan: natto, fermented soybeans
Vietnam: mam, fermented seafood
Korea: Kimchi, fermented cabbage
Germany: Sauerkraut, fermented cabbage
Europe + USA: Sourdough, bread made from fermented “starter”
Middle East: Labneh, type of thick yogurt
France: Creme fraiche; cultured cream
ASK FOR EXAMPLES FROM AUDIENCE
● Notes on Sourdough: Sourdough is dough containing a Lactobacillus culture in symbiotic
combination with yeasts. It is one of the principal means of biological leavening in bread baking, the
others using cultivated forms of yeast. It is important in baking rye-based breads, where yeast does not
produce comparable results. Compared to breads made with baker's yeast, it produces a mildly sour
taste because of the lactic acid produced by the lactobacilli. The most commonly used yeast species in
the production of sourdough are Kazanchastania exigua (Saccharomyces exiguous), Saccharomyces
cerevisiae, Candida Milleri, and Candida humilis. The preparation of sourdough begins with a preferment, (the "starter" or "levain", also known as the "chief", "chef", or "head"), made of flour and
water.[2] The purpose of the starter is to produce a vigorous leaven and to develop the flavor of the
bread. In practice there are several kinds of starters, as the ratio of water to flour in the starter (the
"hydration") varies and a starter may be a fluid batter or stiff dough. When wheat flour comes into
contact with water, naturally occurring amylase enzymes break down the starch into maltose; the
enzyme maltase converts the maltose sugar into glucose, which yeast can metabolize.
● Notes on Cheese: milk is heated, starter culture is added to increase population of bacteria,
coagulant is added (such as rennet), curd and whey are separated, curd is processed in several ways.
Cheese can be ripened, aged, salted, or processed such as
● Stretching: (Mozzarella, Provolone) the curd is stretched and kneaded in hot water, developing
a stringy, fibrous body.
● Cheddaring: (Cheddar, other English cheeses) The cut curd is repeatedly piled up, pushing more
moisture away. The curd is also mixed (or milled) for a long time, taking the sharp edges off the cut curd
pieces and influencing the final product's texture.
● Washing: (Edam, Gouda, Colby) The curd is washed in warm water, lowering its acidity and
making for a milder-tasting cheese.
● Or, cheese is formed into wheels and “inoculated”: dipped into bacteria or mold. Examples: Brie
and Camembert: Penicillium candidum, Penicillium camemberti, or Brevibacterium linens, Roquefort:
Penicillium roqueforti
-Health benefits of pickled veggies (R)
· Probiotic- digestive, and immune health
· Vitamin C preservation
· Pre Digested nutrients are more bioavailable and easily digested
· Increase levels of B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin)
-Room for creativity (R)
· Just pay attention to the salt: water and salt: vinegar ratio
· Wacky ingredients (spices, habaneros, fruit, pickled plums)
· Wacky shapes
· Grilled Pickles?
-Instructions and recipe (R) See handout #1
-Pickle Activity (R)
-Evaluation tool: We can pickle that! (J) See handout #2