Fermentation starter
Encyclopedia
Fermentation starters are preparations to assist the beginning of the fermentation
process in preparation of various foods and fermented drinks. A starter culture is a microbiological culture
which actually performs fermentation. These starters usually consist of a cultivation medium, such as grains, seeds, or nutrient liquids that have been well colonized by the microorganisms used for the fermentation.
In descriptions of national cuisines, fermentation starters may be referred to by their national names:
These starters are formed using a specific cultivation medium and a specific mix of fungal and bacterial strains.
Typical microorganisms used in starters include various bacteria
and fungi (yeast
s and mold
s): Rhizopus
, Aspergillus, Mucor
, Amylomyces, Endomycopsis, Saccharomyces
, Hansenula anomala, Lactobacillus
, Acetobacter
, etc. Various national cultures have various active ingredients in starters, and often involve mixed microflora.
Industrial starters include various enzyme
s, in addition to microflora.
Fermentation (biochemistry)
Fermentation is the process of extracting energy from the oxidation of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound. In contrast, respiration is where electrons are donated to an exogenous electron acceptor, such as oxygen,...
process in preparation of various foods and fermented drinks. A starter culture is a microbiological culture
Microbiological culture
A microbiological culture, or microbial culture, is a method of multiplying microbial organisms by letting them reproduce in predetermined culture media under controlled laboratory conditions. Microbial cultures are used to determine the type of organism, its abundance in the sample being tested,...
which actually performs fermentation. These starters usually consist of a cultivation medium, such as grains, seeds, or nutrient liquids that have been well colonized by the microorganisms used for the fermentation.
In descriptions of national cuisines, fermentation starters may be referred to by their national names:
- Qū (simplified: 曲; traditional: 麴, also romanized as chu) (ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
) - Nuruk or Nulook < HS code: 2102.20.2000 > (누룩HangulHangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
), mejuMejuMeju , also known as maljang , is a brick of dried fermented soybeans in Korean cuisine. While not consumed on its own, it serves as the basis of several Korean condiments, such as doenjang, gochujang, or ganjang. Meju is produced by boiling soybeans, then crushing them in a mortar...
or Mae-joo < HS code: 2103.90.9040 > or Mae-zu (메주HangulHangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
) (KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
) - KojiAspergillus oryzaeAspergillus oryzae is a filamentous fungus . It is used in Chinese and Japanese cuisine to ferment soybeans. It is also used to saccharify rice, other grains, and potatoes in the making of alcoholic beverages such as huangjiu, sake, and shōchū...
(麹) (JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) - Ragi (Southeast AsiaSoutheast AsiaSoutheast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
) - Bakhar, ranu, marchaar (murcha) (IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) - Bubod (PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
) - Loopang (look pang ) (ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
) - Levain (FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) - Bread zakvaska (закваска, sourdoughSourdoughSourdough is a dough containing a Lactobacillus culture, usually in symbiotic combination with yeasts. It is one of two principal means of biological leavening in bread baking, along with the use of cultivated forms of yeast . It is of particular importance in baking rye-based breads, where yeast...
) (RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) - Opara (опара), (Russia), a starter based on yeast
These starters are formed using a specific cultivation medium and a specific mix of fungal and bacterial strains.
Typical microorganisms used in starters include various bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
and fungi (yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
s and mold
Mold
Molds are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. Molds are not considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells called yeasts...
s): Rhizopus
Rhizopus
Rhizopus is a genus of common saprobic fungi on plants and specialized parasites on animals. They are found on a wide variety of organic substrates, including "mature fruits and vegetables", faeces, jellies, syrups, leather, bread, peanuts and tobacco. Some Rhizopus species are opportunistic agents...
, Aspergillus, Mucor
Mucor
Mucor is a microbial genus of about 3000 species of moulds commonly found in soil, digestive systems, plant surfaces, and rotten vegetable matter.-Description:...
, Amylomyces, Endomycopsis, Saccharomyces
Saccharomyces
Saccharomyces is a genus in the kingdom of fungi that includes many species of yeast. Saccharomyces is from Greek σάκχαρ and μύκης and means sugar fungus. Many members of this genus are considered very important in food production. One example is Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is used in making...
, Hansenula anomala, Lactobacillus
Lactobacillus
Lactobacillus is a genus of Gram-positive facultative anaerobic or microaerophilic rod-shaped bacteria. They are a major part of the lactic acid bacteria group, named as such because most of its members convert lactose and other sugars to lactic acid. They are common and usually benign...
, Acetobacter
Acetobacter
Acetobacter is a genus of acetic acid bacteria characterized by the ability to convert ethanol to acetic acid in the presence of oxygen. There are several species within this genus, and there are other bacteria capable of forming acetic acid under various conditions; but all of the Acetobacter are...
, etc. Various national cultures have various active ingredients in starters, and often involve mixed microflora.
Industrial starters include various enzyme
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
s, in addition to microflora.