ABSTRACT
For more than 6000 years, fermentation has been used as a means of improving the shelf life and adding quality to food. Earlier, the transformation of basic food materials into fermented foods was considered as a mystery. The fi rst fermentation was probably discovered by accident when salt was added in food materials, causing the selection of some harmless microorganisms that could ferment the raw material to give nutritious and acceptable food. Since then, it has been practiced to improve both, the preservation and organoleptic characteristics of food.
