Food and Drink Atlas

How The World Eats
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Food Tradition

Fermentation

Food Production and Processing Traditions

The use of microorganisms, yeasts, bacteria or molds, to transform a food or drink, converting sugars into alcohol, acid or gas, and in the process preserving it, changing its texture, and developing flavors the raw ingredient never had on its own. It is one of humanity's oldest and most geographically universal food technologies, underlying wine and beer among this atlas's founding drinks, and, elsewhere in world cuisine, bread leavening, cheese, yogurt, soy sauce, miso and pickled vegetables of every kind.

Facts
Origin Period, From (Year)
from 7000 BCE 1
Origin Period, To (Year)
to 6600 BCE 2
Origin Region
No single point of origin. Independently developed by Neolithic societies across the ancient world; the earliest chemically confirmed instance is a mixed fermented beverage of rice, honey and fruit from pottery jars at Jiahu in Henan province, China. 1
Fermentation
Filter Results1 entry
Connections

Expressed By

Amazake, Drinks
Beer, Drinks
Source On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the KitchenHarold McGee
Blini, Dishes
Boza, Drinks
Cabbage, Ingredients
Chicha, Drinks
Chorizo, Ingredients
Cider, Drinks
Coq au Vin, Dishes
Source On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the KitchenHarold McGee
Douchi, Ingredients
Garum, Ingredients
Ginger Beer, Drinks
Gochujang, Ingredients
Injera, Dishes
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Kefir, Drinks

Kefir is a fermented milk drink made with a living bacteria and yeast culture.

Source Kefir (Wikipedia)
Kefir, Ingredients
Kimchi, Dishes
Source On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the KitchenHarold McGee
Kombucha, Drinks
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Kumis, Drinks
Kvass, Drinks

Kvass is a fermented, not distilled, grain-based beverage, directly continuous with the Fermentation tradition already covering Beer, Wine, Sake and Kimchi on this atlas.

Source Kvass (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Labneh, Ingredients
Lassi, Drinks
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Mead, Drinks
Miso Soup, Dishes
Source On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the KitchenHarold McGee
Palm Wine, Drinks

Palm sap ferments naturally through wild yeast within hours of tapping.

Source Palm Wine (Wikipedia)
Pulque, Drinks
Source Larousse Gastronomique
Quark, Ingredients
Source Exploring the History of Russian Cuisine (Russia Beyond)Maxim Syrnikov
Sake, Drinks
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Salami, Ingredients
Skyr, Ingredients
Soy Sauce, Ingredients
Soybean, Ingredients
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Tamari, Ingredients
Tempeh, Ingredients
Tepache, Drinks
Toddy, Drinks
Wine, Drinks
Source On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the KitchenHarold McGee
Yogurt, Ingredients
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Fermented Beverages of Pre- and Proto-historic China (PNAS)
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesView the Source
2. The Earliest Alcoholic Beverage in the World (Penn Museum)
Opening paragraph, under heading "The Earliest Alcoholic Beverage in the World"
Quote, Opening paragraph, under heading "The Earliest Alcoholic Beverage in the World"
The residues of the beverage, dated ca. 7000-6600 BCE, were recovered from early pottery from Jiahu
View the Source
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee, Scribner, 2004
  • technique discussion: fermentation
  • Expressed By: Wine
  • Expressed By: Beer
  • Expressed By: Coq au Vin, ch. on wine, beer and spirits
  • Expressed By: Kimchi
  • Expressed By: Mongolian Cuisine
The Oxford Companion to Food
Alan Davidson, Oxford University Press, 2014
  • Expressed By: Injera
  • Expressed By: Lassi
  • Expressed By: Soybean
  • Expressed By: Korean Cuisine, entry: Korea
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.Expressed By: SakeView the Source
Larousse Gastronomique
Hamlyn, 2009Expressed By: Pulque
Kvass (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaExpressed By: KvassView the Source
Exploring the History of Russian Cuisine (Russia Beyond)
Maxim Syrnikov, Russia Beyond, 2013Expressed By: Russian CuisineView the Source
Kefir (Wikipedia)
WikipediaExpressed By: KefirView the Source
Palm Wine (Wikipedia)
WikipediaExpressed By: Palm WineView the Source
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