ABSTRACT
Fermented foods produced from plant materials are an accepted and essential part of the diet in most parts of the world. They include a wide diversity of raw materials, using technology from very simple to the most advanced and achieving a huge range of sensory and textural qualities in the final products. Nearly all vegetables can be fermented by lactic acid bacteria (LAB). While most fermentations are at village or household level, others have achieved commercial application and play an important role in national economies. Almost all food fermentations have been or remain native to a country or culture and most were developed before recorded history. How these fermentations first developed is a question that can never be completely answered, but was undoubtedly closely related to a need for preservation and for improved organoleptic and textural qualities. Preservation of plant material by lactic acid fermentation has been documented as far back as 1000-1500 B.C. (Woodford 1985). However, it is believed that the origin of fermentation of plant material is in China and was discovered by the Chinese during the 3rd century B.C. (Pederson 1979, Buckenhüskes1993). Historically, preservation of perishable animal and plant products has been of great importance, for example, cabbage can be stored only for a rather short time, but fermented cabbage can, however, be stored for months. Fermented foods are delicious products that are prepared from raw or heated raw materials resulting in characteristic properties (e.g. taste, aroma, visual appearance, texture, consistency, shelf-life, hygienic safety) by a process in which microorganisms are involved. In certain products, the endogenous enzymes of the raw material play an important role (Hammes 1990).
