We all know how difficult it can be to keep a track of all the different food items that we buy and store in our homes. I’m a university student and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve bought a loaf of bread and forgotten about it for two weeks, so trust me when I say I know the pain you’re going through. It’s a real hassle when food goes out of date really quickly and I don’t want you to go through that if you can avoid it. If truth be told, however, there’s very little you can do to prevent this other than try not to forget all of your use-by dates. There are certain processes that you can go through to try and make your food last a bit longer, and one of these is fermentation. This process has been particularly helpful for a number of centuries now, but what actually is it? What benefits does it bring? Sit back and relax while I tell you just that.
Fermentation is a pretty complex process in biological terms, but it’s fairly easy to explain and can be even easier to carry out. More or less, it’s the converting of carbohydrates into alcohol or organic acids. This is all done in strict lab conditions to ensure complete reliability, and it’s done by using microorganisms like bacteria and yeast.
There are two main methods by which the biotech fermentation process can take place. The first of these is known as alcoholic fermentation, and its job is to convert the carbohydrate ‘pyruvate’ into carbon dioxide and ethanol. This is completed with the aid of bacteria and yeast, and is really helpful in products such as beer and bread (but we’ll get to that later).
The second type of fermentation is lactic acid fermentation, which more or less does what it says on the tin; it converts lactose into lactic acid. There are several benefits to both types of fermentation, and we’re going to discuss them now.
One of these benefits is the fact that fermentation can make our food products last longer. We all know the hassle that comes our way when our expensively purchased food goes out of date after we forget about it, as we simply end up having to spend even more money. However, this can be avoided for that little bit longer if food products are properly fermented. This is particularly helpful with food items such as bread which goes out of data quite quickly, but you can squeeze out a few extra days if it’s fermented in an appropriate way.
Fermentation will also help you to digest your food a lot easier. Some people find it a lot more difficult to properly digest food than others, while sometimes we all have the occasional meal that doesn’t go down too well. Again these are situation you’ll want to avoid, and by eating products that have been properly fermented you can do so. Food will break down easier and you’ll have a much lower chance of getting a sore stomach.