Fabulous Fermented Foods :: Food and Nutrition :: Dairy and Meats :: fermented milk products (yogourt, kefir, etc.)

> Food and Nutrition > Dairy and Meats > fermented milk products (yogourt, kefir, etc.)

Fabulous Fermented Foods
by author Nettie Cronish

So many of the foods and beverages we enjoy are a result of fermentation. Spirits, wine and beer, breads, dairy products, tempeh, and miso–even olives, tea, and coffee–all require bacteria to provide the flavour we love and the nutrients we need.

From the Latin fervere, which means to boil or bubble, fermentation is the chemical breakdown of an organic substance by enzymes which are released when bacteria and yeasts feed on them. Different types of fermentation produce various foods and beverages but, basically, fermentation means that starches and sugars in the food have converted to ethyl alcohol and bubbles of carbon dioxide gas.

A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread

Alcohol fermentation has been used to produce beer from grains and wines from fruit sugars for more than 7,000 years. Fermented grapes turn to vinegar when bacteria known as Acebacteraceti react with oxygen in the air to form acetic acid. Most vinegars range from 4.5 to 9 percent acetic acid.

Fermentation in ordinary bread takes place in the main flavouring components–ordinary baker’s yeast and acids produced by bacteria. In sourdough bread, a sourdough starter made from airborne strains of yeast and bacteria is used to leaven the dough. Yeasts usually outnumber bacteria in traditional bread making. In sourdough bread, however, their balanced proportions allow plenty of acid-forming bacteria to be present. The acids guarantee a good shelf life because the acidic dough inhibits mould growth.

Yogourt is Fermented, Too

Yogourt, sour cream, cottage cheese, and buttermilk are the most widely eaten dairy products–after cheese, that is. These dairy products differ from most cheeses, though, in that they are not coagulated with rennet (a preparation made from the stomach membrane of a calf). Instead, these dairy products are thickened by the action of acid-producing bacteria. They’re more fabulous fermented foods.

The first yogourt was createdaccidentally. When left alone, fresh milk quickly teems with lactic acid bacteria that sour it. As long as fermentation occurs, the resulting thick texture and tart taste contain all the nutritional benefits of milk.

The original buttermilk was also a fermented food. Buttermilk–the low-fat liquid left over from making butter–was prepared by allowing milk to be contaminated by airborne bacteria during the churning. The milk thickened and soured, producing buttermilk that is quite different from the commercial product we buy today. When the containers were reused, it was found that the bacteria culture could be perpetuated. Adding a small amount of the previous batch guaranteed further results. Sour cream and crème fraiche were also made by adding previous batches of bacteria culture to the high-fat portion of milk.

Bacteria and fermentation are used in some of our favourite foods and beverages worldwide. What a wonderful legacy.

Nettie Cronish is a natural foods chef, cooking teacher, and cookbook author. She lives in Toronto with her three children and husband.

Source: alive #276, October 2005

The Power of Sourdough Bread
Sourdough is really a misnomer. It refers to the "mother" or starter used to ferment the dough, but does not mean the bread tastes sharp or vinegary. It is a symbiotic culture of bacteria (lactobacilli) and airborne fungus (wild yeast) in which each element within the relationship provides something the other elements need.

Fabulous Fermented Foods
So many of the foods and beverages we enjoy are a result of fermentation. Spirits, wine, and beer, breads, dairy products, tempeh and miso, even olives, tea, and coffee all require bacteria to provide the flavour we love and the nutrients we need.

Is Your Dairy Cultured?
Milk fermented with bacterial culture has had a life-promoting reputation since the early 1900s. Today, research is validating some of the many folklore remedies and anecdotal reasons to consider cultured dairy a category of health food.

Adverse Drug Reactions-Be Informed

Kefir and Yogurt for Lactose Intolerance

An Alternative Christmas

Friendly Probiotics
Many of us think of bacteria as creepy little critters that must be eradicated. They are the reason we wipe our kitchen counters and wash our hands before sitting at the dinner table. But some bacteria are essential for our health.

Tangy Tasting Kefir
Kefir is a fermented milk drink that enhances digestion and restores intestinal flora. Made from the whole milk of many mammals, including cows, sheep, goats, yaks, or reindeer, kefir is tantalizingly tangy, even when flavoured with fruit and sweetened with honey.

Probiotic Power
You may have heard of probiotics, or good bacteria, but what you may not realize is just how good they are. Research on probiotics is gaining momentum as these microscopic wonders show increasing promise in preventing and controlling a surprising number of conditions in people of all ages.

Super Yogourt
The word yogourt comes from the Turkish word yoghurmak, which means "to thicken." Yogourt is a fermented dairy product made thick by adding bacterial cultures to milk, thus changing the sugar (lactose) into lactic acid. It;s this increase in acidity that gives yogourt its distinctive tangy flavour.