40
Some of the food products are prepared directly from microbes; certain others
like mycoprotein, marketed as Quorn®, are manufactured from the mycelium of
various cultured moulds, and another named as Marmite® is made from the yeast
left over as byproduct from brewing. Nowadays edible mushrooms (the fruiting
bodies of certain filamentous fungi) have become a part and parcel of our regular
diets. Many of these fungal species are either harvested wild or cultivated. The most
commonly grown mushroom in the UK which accounts for 95% of the total British
market is Agaricus bisporus. There are several other fermented products like bread,
cheese, tofu, truffles, tempe and koji, and certain beverages are produced industrially using fungal species as inoculant. Several sizes of mushrooms that are sold in
the market correspond to different phases in the life cycle of mushroom. Certain
exotic varieties like oyster mushrooms, shiitake and chanterelles are now sharing
the supermarket shelves along with other edible mushrooms.
Microbes and fermentation, nowadays, are better understood and each process
can be controlled mechanically to produce better quality products. Majority of fungal fermentation is carried out in Asian continent. The mycelium of fungi is often
used by the virtue of their ability to degrade polymeric substances, as well as to
improve upon the texture to a better extent.
4.2 Useful Fungi
There are several fungal species that we encounter in our daily lives which are relatively responsible for the production of fermented food products. These fungal species belong to different orders. Table 4.1 shows some of the major fungal species
along with the fermented products they produce.
Enzymes have also been found to play an important role in food industry. There
are different fungal species that produce certain enzymes which have paved their
ways into food bioprocessing (Table 4.2).
4.3 Fermentation Processes
Since the fermented food products have different names in different regions, an
attempt to classify these products on a regional basis is pretty worthy. Based on the
kind of products formed, it will be easier to divide a line between beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), condiments and flavouring agents (like soy sauces
(Samson et al. 2004) and pastes), proteinaceous meat substitutes like tempe (Nout
1995) and bread or cake-like products (e.g. idli (Batra 1986)). The fermented products can also be classified based on the different fungal species involved in the fermentation process (Ko 1986; Nout et al. 2007). Basically there are three different
types of fermentation processes (Nout and Aidoo 2002).
R. Kumari et al.
Some of the food products are prepared directly from microbes; certain others
like mycoprotein, marketed as Quorn®, are manufactured from the mycelium of
various cultured moulds, and another named as Marmite® is made from the yeast
left over as byproduct from brewing. Nowadays edible mushrooms (the fruiting
bodies of certain filamentous fungi) have become a part and parcel of our regular
diets. Many of these fungal species are either harvested wild or cultivated. The most
commonly grown mushroom in the UK which accounts for 95% of the total British
market is Agaricus bisporus. There are several other fermented products like bread,
cheese, tofu, truffles, tempe and koji, and certain beverages are produced industrially using fungal species as inoculant. Several sizes of mushrooms that are sold in
the market correspond to different phases in the life cycle of mushroom. Certain
exotic varieties like oyster mushrooms, shiitake and chanterelles are now sharing
the supermarket shelves along with other edible mushrooms.
Microbes and fermentation, nowadays, are better understood and each process
can be controlled mechanically to produce better quality products. Majority of fungal fermentation is carried out in Asian continent. The mycelium of fungi is often
used by the virtue of their ability to degrade polymeric substances, as well as to
improve upon the texture to a better extent.
4.2 Useful Fungi
There are several fungal species that we encounter in our daily lives which are relatively responsible for the production of fermented food products. These fungal species belong to different orders. Table 4.1 shows some of the major fungal species
along with the fermented products they produce.
Enzymes have also been found to play an important role in food industry. There
are different fungal species that produce certain enzymes which have paved their
ways into food bioprocessing (Table 4.2).
4.3 Fermentation Processes
Since the fermented food products have different names in different regions, an
attempt to classify these products on a regional basis is pretty worthy. Based on the
kind of products formed, it will be easier to divide a line between beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), condiments and flavouring agents (like soy sauces
(Samson et al. 2004) and pastes), proteinaceous meat substitutes like tempe (Nout
1995) and bread or cake-like products (e.g. idli (Batra 1986)). The fermented products can also be classified based on the different fungal species involved in the fermentation process (Ko 1986; Nout et al. 2007). Basically there are three different
types of fermentation processes (Nout and Aidoo 2002).
R. Kumari et al.