Traditional Fermentation

This project is exploring two questions about fermentation:

1. Can we produce a classification for all human fermentation systems that includes the full matrix of plant parts, resulting products, and technologies that are involved? Are there unifying chemical structures or processes that can better sort this? In areas where the current classification system has created conflicting terminology (e.g., banana beer and rice wine) can some sense be made of it from both a cultural and scientific perspective?

2. What kinds of fementable plant substances are available for commercial producers that are currently not being used, or are being used poorly, perhaps with low-quality feed-stock? Globally there is great diversity of starchy and sweet fruits, seeds, roots, and leaves, there is a very large supply of potentially fermentable products. Using selected strains of yeast, samples of candidate plant parts are being experimentally fermented and tested as potential new foods and beverages.

In order to better understand the process of fermentation, we are producing fermented beverages following both traditional and modern recipes. Below are examples of ones that may be known, but consider also strange uses of carbohydrates such as Douglas fir root beer...