Microbiology and Technology of Fermented Foods

While many food science programs offer courses in the microbiology and processing of fermented foods, no recently published texts exist that fully address the subject. Food fermentation professionals and researchers also have lacked a single book that covers the latest advances in biotechnology, bioprocessing, and microbial genetics, physiology, and taxonomy.

In Microbiology and Technology of Fermented Foods, Robert Hutkins has written the first text on food fermentation microbiology in a generation. This authoritative volume also serves as a comprehensive and contemporary reference book. A brief history and evolution of microbiology and fermented foods, an overview of microorganisms involved in food fermentations, and their physiological and metabolic properties provide a foundation for the reader. How microorganisms are used to produce fermented foods and the development of a modern starter culture industry are also described. Successive chapters are devoted to the major fermented foods produced around the world with coverage including microbiological and technological features for manufacture of these foods:

• Cultured Dairy Products
• Cheese
• Meat Fermentation
• Fermented Vegetables
• Bread Fermentation
• Beer Fermentation
• Wine Fermentation
• Vinegar Fermentation
• Fermentation of Foods in the Orient

Examples of industrial processes, key historical events, new discoveries in microbiology, anecdotal materials, case studies, and other key information are highlighted throughout the book. Comprehensively written in a style that encourages critical thinking, Microbiology and Technology of Fermented Foods will appeal to anyone dealing in food fermentation – students, professors, researchers, and industry professionals.

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

1 Introduction 3

2 Microorganisms and Metabolism 15

3 Starter Cultures 67

4 Cultured Dairy Products 107

5 Cheese 145

6 Meat Fermentation 207

7 Fermented Vegetables 233

8 Bread Fermentation 261

9 Beer Fermentation 301

10 Wine Fermentation 349

11 Vinegar Fermentation 397

12 Fermentation of Foods in the Orient 419

Index 457

Robert W. Hutkins, Ph.D., is the Khem Shahani Professor of Food Science in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has taught and conducted research on the microorganisms important in fermented foods for more than twenty years and has received multiple awards for excellence in teaching and research. Dr. Hutkins is an Associate Editor of Microbiology and has served on the editorial boards of several other microbiology journals.

While many food science programs offer courses in the microbiology and processing of fermented foods, no recently published texts exist that fully address the subject. Food fermentation professionals and researchers also have lacked a single book that covers the latest advances in biotechnology, bioprocessing, and microbial genetics, physiology, and taxonomy.

In Microbiology and Technology of Fermented Foods, Robert Hutkins has written the first text on food fermentation microbiology in a generation. This authoritative volume also serves as a comprehensive and contemporary reference book. A brief history and evolution of microbiology and fermented foods, an overview of microorganisms involved in food fermentations, and their physiological and metabolic properties provide a foundation for the reader. How microorganisms are used to produce fermented foods and the development of a modern starter culture industry are also described. Successive chapters are devoted to the major fermented foods produced around the world with coverage including microbiological and technological features for manufacture of these foods:

• Cultured Dairy Products
• Cheese
• Meat Fermentation
• Fermented Vegetables
• Bread Fermentation
• Beer Fermentation
• Wine Fermentation
• Vinegar Fermentation
• Fermentation of Foods in the Orient

Examples of industrial processes, key historical events, new discoveries in microbiology, anecdotal materials, case studies, and other key information are highlighted throughout the book. Comprehensively written in a style that encourages critical thinking, Microbiology and Technology of Fermented Foods will appeal to anyone dealing in food fermentation – students, professors, researchers, and industry professionals.