Importance of Fermentation

Serena Cuoghi
Title of Professor of Biology

Since the most Ancient Egypt, fermentation had become such a utilitarian resource, that even without understanding it, it allowed them to appease the inclemency of the arid climate, with the grace of a good beer, while the preservation of food in vinegar has been a practice that each town was able to discover and adapt according to the resources and flavors of the fruits that they had From the advances in knowledge and technology, fermentation acts on a series of purposes through the degeneration of the sugars from various sources: 1) obtaining alcohols with a wide range of uses ranging from recreational liquors to control of infections; 2) production of vinegars used from conservation or as a simple seasoning for countless foods, due to its also antimicrobial action; 3) transformation of milk into yogurt, allowing its digestion even for the most intolerant, as well as the regeneration of the natural gastrointestinal bacterial flora; 4) production of complex cheeses, whose greatest contribution has been to be able to increase and prolong the use of milk as a source of food; and 5) creating the tastiest breads and desserts that delight all cultures around the world.

As a process of natural physicochemical transformation of organic substances, by the action of microorganisms present in the environment, fermentation has been present since the very beginnings of human society, despite the fact that only a little more than a century ago it was possible to recognize the existence of the microscopic world and, even more, to understand how it is that this type of phenomena were induced by the action of hitherto unknown life forms, rapidly becoming a great source of new knowledge that aroused the curiosity of most of the scientists of the time, uniting biologists, chemists, physicists and even mathematicians in revealing all the mysteries between molds, bacteria and a few glasses of wine with cheese sandwiches.

Financial income on decomposition

Much of the industry and commerce is supported by fermentative processes, depending directly or indirectly on the products obtained by this phenomenon. For example, part of the sugar production in the world is destined to the distillation of alcohols obtained through the fermentation of sugar, to In turn, the various alcohols produced, such as methanol, ethanol and the different types of alditols, are used by industries in very varied, which range from food to automotive, through pharmaceutical and liquor manufacturing and even inputs cleaning.

The economic impact generated by the fermentation of food also has its negative repercussions. The food industry, on the other hand, makes large investments to prevent a wide variety of products from undergoing undesired fermentation processes that alter their molecular composition, and therefore their organoleptic properties, making them unfit for consumption, resorting to various sterilization processes for the total elimination of spoilage microorganisms, the addition of preservatives and the implementation of containers with specific characteristics as the case may be, that prevent the contamination of its content for as long as possible, all resources that can be implemented both artisanally and industrially based on food preservation techniques, some of which by themselves can use products that were originally obtained by some fermentation, such as vinegar.

From the grape to the wine and other stomps

Another of the ancestral products obtained through fermentation is wine, which to the delight of all and due to the great goodness of the vines, is obtained from of large quantities of grapes, being at some point in history imprecise that someone came up with the brilliant idea of ​​obtaining their juice to preserve it with greater ease, crushing the fruit with his feet in the absence of a blender, thus introducing into the liquid the mushrooms that ended up producing the surprising result.

The vast majority of products obtained through the action of fermenting fungi and bacteria have similar histories with respect to their cultural origins, which is why the Fermentation represents an asset among the various cultures of the world, promoting the conservation of artisan practices that take advantage of it, even in areas as industrialized as the coffee and cocoa, since by other means provided even with the most advanced technologies, it has not been possible to replicate the level of quality, hints and tastes that natural fermentations produce.

Let someone else digest it first

The action of some fermentative processes in terms of health, generates another source of benefits, since it allows the regulation of the functions gastrointestinal through the ingestion of microorganisms called probiotics, which greatly contributes to the regeneration of fauna and flora bacterial.

In the same way, that bacteria are in charge of digesting the lactose present in milk, through its fermentation for the production of dairy products, has become the humanity's greatest ally, given the inevitable decrease in lactose tolerance that mammals experience as we grow and vary the source of obtaining food.

References

Benitez, L. T., Tovar, C. T., Ortiz, A. V., Dunoyer, A. T., Alvear, M., Castillo, C., … & Madariaga, N. (2010). Production of bioethanol from the alcoholic fermentation of glucose syrups derived from orange and pineapple peels. Engineering Education Magazine, 5(10), 120-125.

Llerena, W. F. T. (2016). Improvement of the Cocoa Fermentation Process. International University of Andalusia.

Bull, O. J. S., Buriticá, M. c. O., & Garcés, A. L. b. (2004). Obtaining citric acid from whey by fermentation with Aspergillus spp. Colombian Journal of Biotechnology, 6(1), 43-54.