Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Fermentation in food processing
Summary
In food processing, fermentation is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohol or organic acids using microorganisms—yeasts or bacteria—under anaerobic (oxygen-free) conditions. Fermentation usually implies that the action of microorganisms is desired. The science of fermentation is known as zymology or zymurgy.
The term "fermentation" sometimes refers specifically to the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol, producing alcoholic drinks such as wine, beer, and cider. However, similar processes take place in the leavening of bread (CO2 produced by yeast activity), and in the preservation of sour foods with the production of lactic acid, such as in sauerkraut and yogurt.
Other widely consumed fermented foods include vinegar, olives, and cheese. More localised foods prepared by fermentation may also be based on beans, grain, vegetables, fruit, honey, dairy products, and fish.
Natural fermentation precedes human history. Since ancient times, humans have exploited the fermentation process. The earliest archaeological evidence of fermentation is 13,000-year-old residues of a beer, with the consistency of gruel, found in a cave near Haifa in Israel. Another early alcoholic drink, made from fruit, rice, and honey, dates from 7000 to 6600 BC, in the Neolithic Chinese village of Jiahu, and winemaking dates from ca. 6000 BC, in Georgia, in the Caucasus area. Seven-thousand-year-old jars containing the remains of wine, now on display at the University of Pennsylvania, were excavated in the Zagros Mountains in Iran. There is strong evidence that people were fermenting alcoholic drinks in Babylon ca. 3000 BC, ancient Egypt ca. 3150 BC, pre-Hispanic Mexico ca. 2000 BC, and Sudan ca. 1500 BC.
The French chemist Louis Pasteur founded zymology, when in 1856 he connected yeast to fermentation.
When studying the fermentation of sugar to alcohol by yeast, Pasteur concluded that the fermentation was catalyzed by a vital force, called "ferments", within the yeast cells. The "ferments" were thought to function only within living organisms.
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Ontological neighbourhood
Related courses (10)
ENG-436: Food biotechnology
The course will deliver basic knowledge on the principles of food fermentation and enzyme technology. The course will also present benefits that food biotechnology can bring in terms of Nutrition & He
ENV-202: Microbiology for engineers
"Microbiology for engineers" covers the main microbial processes that take place in the environment and in treatment systems. It presents elemental cycles that are catalyzed by microorganisms and that
ENG-435: Chemistry of food processes
The course will deliver basic knowledge on the principles of food processing and chemical changes occurring during food manufacturing. Specific thermal processes related to transformation of food raw
Related lectures (40)
Fermented Foods: Microbial Transformations and Health Benefits
Explores the microbial transformations and health benefits of fermented foods, emphasizing their potential as delivery vehicles for probiotics to underserved communities.
Microbial Carbon Fixation
Explores microbial pathways for carbon fixation and the production of key metabolites.
Food Fermentation Technology
Delves into the science of food fermentation, covering lactose metabolism, soy food fermentation, human milk production, kimchi making, and bacteria isolation.
Related publications (43)
Non-targeted facilitation of primary sludge anaerobic fermentation by micro-aeration and the simultaneous nutrients transformations
Mohammed Mouhib, Chenxi Liu, Lin Li, Qiang He
Anaerobic fermentation is a widely used technology for resource recovery from municipal sludge (e.g., primary sludge). Micro-aeration is an emerging strategy which can be incorporated into this technology. However, the effect of micro-aeration on the anaer ...
Elsevier Science Sa2024An optimized high throughput platform, from genetic transformation to fermentation, to screen for secreted laccases in Aspergillus niger
Laure Marie Colette Leynaud-Kieffer Curran
Many challenges are faced in the conversion of biomass into advanced biofuels, one of which is finding the correct organism for the job. The filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger has been chosen as a biocatalyst for cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin degr ...
EPFL2022The capture technology matters: Composition of municipal wastewater solids drives complexity of microbial community structure and volatile fatty acid profile during anaerobic fermentation
Pierre Rossi, Arnaud Michel Gelb
The production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) represents a relevant option to valorize municipal wastewater (MWW). In this context, different capture technologies can be used to recover organic carbon from wastewater in form of solids, while pre-treatment ...
2022Related people (13)
Related concepts (29)
Kvass
Kvass is a fermented cereal-based low-alcohol beverage with a slightly cloudy appearance, light-brown colour and sweet-sour taste. Kvass originates from Northeastern Europe, where grain production is considered insufficient for beer to become a daily drink. The first written mention of kvass is found in the Primary Chronicle, describing the celebration of Vladimir the Great's baptism in 996. In the traditional method, kvass is made from a mash obtained from rye bread or rye flour and malt soaked in hot water, fermented for about 12 hours with the help of sugar and bread yeast or baker's yeast at room temperature.
Sourdough
Sourdough or sourdough bread is a bread made by the fermentation of dough using wild lactobacillaceae and yeast. Lactic acid from fermentation imparts a sour taste and improves keeping qualities. In the Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology, Michael Gaenzle writes: "One of the oldest sourdough breads dates from 3700 BCE and was excavated in Switzerland, but the origin of sourdough fermentation likely relates to the origin of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent and Egypt several thousand years earlier", which was confirmed a few years later by archeological evidence.
Fungus
A fungus (: fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from the other eukaryotic kingdoms, which, by one traditional classification, includes Plantae, Animalia, Protozoa, and Chromista. A characteristic that places fungi in a different kingdom from plants, bacteria, and some protists is chitin in their cell walls.
Related MOOCs (1)
Water quality and the biogeochemical engine
Learn about how the quality of water is a direct result of complex bio-geo-chemical interactions, and about how to use these processes to mitigate water quality issues.