On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 568

sauerkraut and olives include North African preserved lemons, the pickled plums, radishes, and other vegetables of Japan, and the highly spiced, multifarious pickled fruits and vegetables of India The Nature of Fermentation Preserving fruits and vegetables by fermentation is based on the fact that plants are the natural home of certain benign microbes which in the right conditions — primarily the absence of air — will flourish and suppress the growth of other microbes that cause spoilage and disease They accomplish this suppression by being the first to consume the plant material’s readily metabolized sugars, and by producing a variety of antimicrobial substances, including lactic and other acids, carbon dioxide, and alcohol At the same time, they leave most of the plant material intact, including its vitamin C (protected from oxidation by the carbon dioxide they generate); they often add significant amounts of B vitamins; and they generate new volatile substances that enrich the food’s aroma These benign “lactic acid bacteria” apparently evolved eons ago in oxygen-poor piles of decaying vegetation, and now transform our carefully gathered harvests into dozens of different foods across the globe (see box, p 308), as well as turning milk into yogurt and cheese and chopped meat into tangy sausages (pp 44 and 176) Fermentation Conditions and Results While some fruits and vegetables are fermented alone in tightly covered pits or jars, most are either dry-salted or brined to help draw water, sugars, and other nutrients out of the plant tissues, and to provide a liquid to cover the food and limit its exposure to oxygen The characteristics of the pickle depend on the salt concentration and the fermentation temperature, which determine which microbes ... sugars, and other nutrients out of the plant tissues, and to provide a liquid to cover the food and limit its exposure to oxygen The characteristics of the pickle depend on the salt concentration and. .. piles of decaying vegetation, and now transform our carefully gathered harvests into dozens of different foods across the globe (see box, p 308), as well as turning milk into yogurt and cheese and chopped meat into tangy sausages... cheese and chopped meat into tangy sausages (pp 44 and 176) Fermentation Conditions and Results While some fruits and vegetables are fermented alone in tightly covered pits or jars, most are either dry-salted or brined to help draw water,