Contrary to popular beliefs, there is a distinction between fermented and probiotic foods. While all probiotics are fermented, not all fermented foods are probiotics. This is because the live bacteria or microbes do not survive in the final product due to the processing e.g baking, cooking or pasteurization. But even though they are not probiotic, fermented foods still offer several benefits. The fermentation shapes their flavor, texture, digestibility and preservation period.
READ MORE ABOUT PROBIOTICS HERE.
Benefits of Fermented Foods.
- Enhanced flavor, aroma and appetite Support: Fermentation develops unique tastes, like the tang of sourdough bread, soy sauce or vinegar.
The savory flavors like umami stimulate appetite and digestion. - Natural preservation: Fermentation extends shelf life without chemical preservatives, helping food stay safe and edible longer thus reducing food waste. For instance fermenting milk in many cultures was and still is a way of preservation without the need for refrigeration.
- Improved digestibility: Even if the microbes don’t survive, fermentation partially breaks down starches, proteins or antinutrients, making food easier for the body to digest. e.g. sourdough bread is often easier to digest than regular bread.
- Reduced antinutrients: Compounds like phytates which block mineral absorption are lowered during fermentation, allowing better uptake of minerals like iron, zinc, and calcium.
For instance, traditional African fermented gruels or porridges have reduced phytates, so minerals are more bioavailable. - Increased nutrients content: Some fermented foods have higher levels of certain vitamins, like B vitamins in tempeh or beer and more available minerals.
- Lower lactose content: In dairy fermentation, like cheese, much of the lactose is broken down which can help people with lactose intolerance.
- Culinary versatility: Fermented foods add depth to cooking not just with the taste but texture and appearance too. Think of miso, soy sauce, vinegar or chocolate.
Common Non-Probiotic Fermented Foods.
- Baked Fermented Foods.
Heat will kill the live cultures, but fermentation makes the dough to rise and gives it a unique flavor. Examples: Sourdough bread, regular yeast bread, croissants, pizza dough, bagels.
- Alcoholic Fermented Drinks.
Yeasts ferment sugars into alcohol, but the microbes don’t survive processing or storage. Examples: Beer, wine, whiskey, rum, cider.
- Acidic Fermented Products.
These are fermented then processed or pasteurized so no live cultures remain. Examples: Vinegar, including pasteurized Apple cider vinegar (ACV), soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce.
- Fermented Confectionery Bases.
Fermentation develops flavour precursors, but later roasting or heating kills the microbes. Examples: Chocolate (cacao beans), coffee, tea (black/green).
I know chocolate came as a surprise to many, but yes, the cacao beans are fermented to remove the bitter taste and create their flavour.
- Cooked or Pasteurized Fermented Foods.
Initially probiotic, but after cooking or pasteurization the live bacteria is destroyed thus no longer probiotic. Examples: Canned sauerkraut, pasteurized kombucha, miso used in soup, cooked fermented porridge, among others.
The above foods are grouped by the role fermentation plays in them; flavor development, alcohol production, texture or preservation. Many traditional probiotics that are commercially produced are pasteurised before being canned or bottled. This is a common global practice, as a precautious public health safety measure and also to adhere to manufacturing standards for licensing the products. In essence, once probiotic foods are added preservatives or pasteurized, their probiotic value is lost and their true value goes back to being simply fermented foods
