Production of food with the aid of microorganisms, which may be yeasts, molds, or bacteria. Fermented commodities include cereals such as wheat, rice, sorghum, corn; legumes, peanuts, soybeans, pulses; red meat, sausages, pork; milk; fish, shellfish; and plant juices. There are countless varieties of food fermentations in the world, sometimes known under different names in different countries and varying greatly in complexity. See also Fermentation.
Among the molds used in food fermentations are Aspergillus, Rhizopus, Penicillium, Neurospora, Actinomucor, Mucor, Amylomyces, and Monascus. The yeasts include species of Saccharomycopsis, Zygosaccharomyces, and Candida. The bacteria are Bacillus and lactic acid bacteria, including Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Pediococcus, and Leuconostoc.
The inoculum or fermentation starter may be of four types. The substrate may be moistened, heat-sterilized, and inoculated with a single organism. In a second type, more than one strain of a single species is used. A third type of inoculum contains more than one species of microorganism. Finally, some substrates contain a complex inoculum in which many different microorganisms of unknown identity are present.
