Microbial fermentation is much more than making beer and wine, or any alcohol for that matter! Many of our common foods are made directly or indirectly via fermentation. The following table summarizes some of the more interesting and important fermentations:
|
Microbe
|
Raw Ingredient
|
Final Product
|
|
|
Bacterial fermentations
|
Streptococcus
|
milk
|
cheese (various types), yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk
|
|
Propionibacterium
|
milk
|
Swiss cheese
|
|
|
Lactobacillus
|
milk
|
cheese (various types), yogurt
|
|
|
Lactobacillus
|
green olives
|
black olives
|
|
|
Lactobacillus
|
cabbage
|
sauerkraut
|
|
|
Lactobacillus
|
soybeans
|
soy sauce
|
|
|
Lactobacillus
|
flour
|
sourdough bread
|
|
|
Acetobacter
|
ethanol
|
vinegar
|
|
|
Fungal fermentations
|
Saccharomyces
|
flour
|
sourdough bread
|
|
Saccharomyces
|
barley, hops
|
beer
|
|
|
Saccharomyces
|
grapes
|
wine, champagne
|
|
|
Saccharomyces
|
rice
|
sake
|
|
|
Saccharomyces
|
molasses
|
rum
|
|
|
Saccharomyces
|
coffee "cherries"
|
coffee
|
|
|
Candida
|
cacao
|
chocolate
|
Written by Greg Pryor, 2005. This web site is for educational purposes; if you have comments, corrections, or suggestions, please contact me.