Fermented Foods of the World: A Dictionary and Guide

In all regions of the world many everyday and also less familiar foods are fermented. This efficient natural form of food preservation has evolved from traditional practices over thousands of years. Some fermented foods including cheeses, yoghurt, beer, wines, bread and soy sauce are familiar internationally, many others are less well known outside their home regions. The traditional art of fermentation in various parts of the world has made use of the limited number of micro-organisms and their enzymes which are well adapted to preserving food before spoilage occurs. As our knowledge and understanding has increased, organisms can be selected and their enzymes optimized by biotechnologists to improve the quality and reliability of food fermentation. In this dictionary, 3500 individual fermented foods are classified into 250 groups. Information is given on the type of food, its importance, its region of production, its consumption, method of production, microbiology and biochemistry, composition and nutritive value; furthermore, references are given for added information. Summary lists are provided of all fermented foods, classified for cross-reference by world region of production and tvpe of food. This dictionary is intended as an easy to use reference guide for students, researchers, food scientists, technologists, nutritionists, microbiologists, information scientists, product developers, food inspectors and all those interested in the wide diversity of fermented foods of the world..... Campbell-Platt gives foreign language terms, and where possible adds alternate names and a multitude of cross-references. In addition, major foods receive extensive entries, defined not just with a brief phrase stating what they consist of, but also consumption patterns or how they are eaten. Short blurbs on production, microbiology and biochemistry, as well as references for further reading follow the short discussion of food type variations within the longer entries.