Course: WVA 103 Fermentation Methods

Reading

Fermented Fruit and Vegetables: A Global Perspective

At the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations website, students are asked to read Fermented Fruit and Vegetables: A Global Perspective. Fermentation is one of the oldest forms of food preservation technologies in the world. Indigenous fermented foods such as bread, cheese and wine, have been prepared and consumed for thousands of years and are strongly linked to culture and tradition, especially in rural households and village communities. The first fermented foods consumed probably were fermented fruits. Hunter gatherers would have consumed fresh fruits but in times of scarcity would have eaten rotten and fermented fruits. Repeated consumption would have led to the development of the taste for fermented fruits. Fermented beverages were produced between 3500- 7,000 years ago in Babylon, Egypt, Mexico, and Sudan.

Please read the following materials regarding fermentation:

- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- INTRODUCTION
- Fermented Foods : an Ancient Tradition
Fermented Foods are culturally and economically important
The need for research
Description of terms used
- CHAPTER 1 : THE BENEFITS OF FERMENTING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

1.1 Improving food security

1.1.1 Food preservation

1.1.2 Salvaging waste foods

1.1.3 Removal of anti-nutritional factors

1.2 Increasing income and employment

1.3 Improving nutrition

1.3.1 Vitamins

1.3.2 Digestibility

1.4 Medicinal benefits

1.5 Improving cultural and social well being

Click here to access the Fermented Fruits and Vegetables: A Global Perspective from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.