Fermented Products

Production of Idli

1. The seeds of the dahl (black gram) are soaked in water for 1-3 hours to soften them and to facilitate

decortication, after which the seeds are mixed and pounded with rice in a proportion of three parts of the beans

and one of rice.

2. The mixture is allowed to ferment overnight (20-22 hours). In the traditional system the fermentation is

spontaneous and the mixture is leavened up to approximately 2 or 3 times.

3. The organisms involved in the acidification have been identified as Streptococcus faecalis, and Pediococcus

spp.

4. The leavening is brought about by Leuconostoc mesenteroides, although the yeasts, Torulopsis candida and

Trichosporon pulluloma have also been found in traditional Idli.

5. The fermented batter is steamed and served hot. Idli is highly nutritious, being rich in nicotinic acid,

thiamine, riboflavin, and methionine.

Fermented Foods from Soybeans

1. Fermented soybean products have been made and consumed in large amounts in countries of the Orient

for thousands of years.

2. It has been suggested that the Buddhist religion which emphasizes the absence of meat from the diet

may have been responsible for the development of soy-based foods in China, Japan, Korea, and other

oriental countries.
 Table shows some soy foods and where they are consumed.

3. The use of some of them has spread to other parts of the world including the US and parts of Europe.

4. The soybean plant itself Glycine max is a legume believed to have originated from Eastern Asia. It is now

grown around the world.

5. The soybean seed has an unusual composition. It is rich in protein and oil, and comparatively low in

carbohydrates.

6. Its average composition is 42% protein 17% carbohydrate, 18% oil, and 4.6 ash. Sucrose, raffinose,

stachyose and pentosans are among the carbohydrates.

7. The beans are rich in phospholipids, nucleic acids, and vitamins especially thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin.

8. It should be noted that the composition of soybeans varies from place to place.

9. The amino acid composition of its protein is also unusual among plant proteins in that it contains high

amounts of methionine which is more characteristic of animal than plant proteins.

10. Soybean is a very nutritious food. However, it has shortcomings which are ameliorated by fermentation.

11. Soybeans contain compounds which make the legume unattractive until they are removed by the various

stages involved in their processing by fermentation.

12. First, they contain carbohydrates, which are not absorbed until they reach the colon, where the gases

produced when they are broken down by microorganisms give rise to flatulence.

13. These carbohydrates include the oligosaccharides, raffinose and stachyose and the polysaccharide,

arabinogalactan.
14. Second, soybeans have a bitter and ‘beany’ taste when crushed. This is because the lipoxygenase enzyme

which helps produce this taste and the substrate (oil) are held in separate compartments in the tissues of the

seeds until the latter are broken or crushed.

15. Third, soybeans contain anti-nutritional factors such as trypsin inhibitor, hemagglutinins and saponins.

16. Finally, even after cooking, about 1/3 of the protein of soybeans cannot be digested.

17. The soaking of the soybean preceding cooking leaches out a large proportion of the flatulence producing

carbohydrates.

18. The ‘beany’ flavor is due to the presence of several carbonyl compounds such as hexanol and pentanol.

19. These are removed by the action of microorganisms.

20. Fermentation also reduces the carbohydrates of rice and proteins of the bean to lower molecular weights,

hence rendering them more digestible.

21. Finally, the anti-nutritional factors are destroyed by boiling. In addition to all this, fermentation by R

oligosporous produces an anti-oxidative compound (41, 61, 7 trihydroxy-bisoflavane) which is absent from

raw soybean, and which helps preserve the fermented foods.

22. The fermented foods derived from soybean (soy sauce, miso, natto) will be considered.

Soy sauce

1. Soy sauce known as shoyu in Japan is a salty pleasantly tasting liquid with a distinct aroma and which is

made by fermenting soybeans, wheat, salt with a mixture of molds, yeasts and bacteria.

2. Five different types of shoyu are recognized by the Japanese Government, depending on the proportions of

the ingredients used and the method of preparation.

3. Koikuchi-shoyu is the most produced, forming 85% of the total produced. It is this type which is also best

known in countries outside the orient.

4. Koikuchi-shoyu is deep red-brown in color and is an all purpose seasoning, with a strong aroma and myriad

flavor.

Soy sauce manaufacture: The manufacture of koikuchi-shoyu can be divided into four sections:

i) The preparation of the ingredients;

ii) Koji preparation;

iii) Brine fermentation;

iv) Refining process

Preparation of the ingredients:

1. Whole wheat is roasted and then coarsely ground.

2. Roasting adds color and flavor to the resulting sauce and kill surface organisms as well as facilitates

enzymatic hydrolysis of the grain.

3. Soybeans, usually defatted, are cooked under high pressure and temperature for a short time after a previous

soaking in water.

Koji preparation:

1. Whole wheat and soy prepared as described above are used for the preparation of koji.

2. A koji starter, or seed mold or inoculum is first prepared from the spores of several different strains of

Aspergillus oryzae or Asp soyae

3. By inoculating the spores of the fungi on to a mixture of boiled rice and wood ash or mineral salts and

spreading the mixture thinly at 30°C for up to five days.

4. The koji starter (also known as tane koji) is used to inoculate equal amounts of the wheat and soy prepared

as above.

5. This used to be turned manually in shallow trays, but is now also being done mechanically.

6. The mixture is put into large vats and aerated by forced aeration.
7. The important requirements of koji are that it should have high protease and amylase activities. As these

are dependent on temperature and humidity, the latter are strictly controlled.

8. After two to three days koji is harvestod as a greenish-yellow material due to the spores of Aspergillus.

Brine Fermentation:

1. Koji is introduced into deep fermentation tanks to which an equal volume of salt solution 20-23% is added.

2. The resulting mixture, known as moroni is allowed to ferment for 6-8 months.

3. It is frequently mixed to distribute the material and to eliminate undesirable anaerobic organisms.

4. During the period, koji enzymes hydrolyze proteins to amino acids and low molecular weight peptides;

much of the starch is converted to simple sugars which are then ferrmented to lactic acid, alcohol and CO2.

5. The pH drops from around 6.5-7.0 to 4.7-4.8.

6. The effective salt concentration is about 18 % (because of the dilution with added koji); it is never allowed

to fall below 16% otherwise putrefactive organisms might develop.

7. There are three stages in the fermentation of moromi, which is brought about by osmophilic strains of

microorganisms, after the release of simpler substances by the fungi of the koji.

8. In the first stage, Pediococcus halophilus produces lactic acid, causing a drop of the pH.

9. In the second stage Saccharomyces rouxii develops and produces alcohol.

10. In the last stage, Torulopsis yeasts develop. These produce phenolic compounds which are important

components of koichuki-shoyu flavor.

11. The organisms are selected by the conditions of the fermentation, but pure cultures as used more and more

nowadays to ensure a more consistent flavor.

Refining:

1. The final state consists of pressing the fermented moromi to release the soy sauce.

2. Hydraulic presses are used in modern production. The raw soy sauce is heated to 70-.80°C to pasteurize it,

to develop color and flavor and to inactivate the enzymes.

3. After clarification by sedimentation the sauce is bottled under aseptic conditions, sometimes with the

addition of preservatives as well.

4. In China ‘tamari-shoyu’ which forms less than 3% of Japanese sauce, is the main type of shoyu.

5. The two differ in that tamari has a higher proportion of soybeans (90% instead of 50%).

6. Furthermore, tamari sauce is not pasteurized.

7. Due to the low quantity of rice, little alcoholic fermentation occurs in tamari because of the paucity of

sugars.

Miso

1. Miso, a fermented paste of soybean, wheat and salt is the most important of the soy fermented products in

Japan.
2. There are many types of bean pastes. They are also popular in China, Korea and other parts of the Orient,

where the different types of paste produced vary according to the proportions of wheat, soybean and salt used,

and the lengths of the fermentation and ageing.

3. In Korea they are known as ‘jang’; ‘miso’, and ‘shoyu’ in Japan, ‘tao-tjo’ in Indonesia and Thailand and

‘tao-si’ in the Phillipines.

4. In Japan the average annual consumption is 7.2 kg per person, 80-85% being used in the miso group and

the rest as seasonings for various types of foods.

5. Most miso in Japan has a consistency like peanut butter, the color varying from a creamy yellowish white

to very dark brown.

6. The darker the color in general, the stronger the flavor. It is distinctively salty and has a pleasant aroma.

Manufacture of Miso:

1. Miso production is basically similar to that of shoyu or soy sauce.

2. There are however two basic differences in the production of the two foods.

3. First, the koji or shoyu is made by using a mixture of soybeans and wheat. In koji-making for miso, only

the carbohydrate material (rice or barley) is used.

4. Soybeans are not used for making koji miso except in the case of soybean miso. Second, no pressing is done

after miso fermentation.

5. Since the material is a paste; the absence of pressing affects the cost of miso.

6. The organisms involved in the fermentation are the same, but Streptococcus faecalis is also included.

7. After fermentation, the resulting koji is mixed with salt, cooked soybean, pure cultured yeasts, and lactic

acid bacteria and then fermented for a second time.

8. It is then aged and packaged as miso; sometimes it may be freeze-dried before packaging.
Natto (Fermented whole soybean)

1. Whereas soy sauce (shoyu) and miso (bean paste) originated from China, nato, fermented whole soybean

is an indigenous Japanese food, originating there more than 1,000 years ago.

2. There are two types of natto, itohiki-natto and hamma-natto. Hama-natto is produced by the action of

Aspergil1us.

3. It is produced only in limited quantities. Natto therefore usually refers to the second and commoner type

itohiki-natto.

4. This second type is fermented by Bacillus natto.

5. The shape of cooked whole soybean grains is kept, but the surface of each grain is covered with a viscous

material consisting of glutamic acid polymers produced by B natto.

6. The manufacture is uncomplicated. Cooked soybean grains are inoculated with the Bacillus and put into a

small tray, covered, and incubated at 40°C. After 14-18 hour, the packed tray cooled to 2-7°C and then shipped

to the market.

7. It is cheap and nutritious and natto is usually served with shoyu and mustard.

Tempeh: Oncom and related foods

1. Tempeh is a popular Indonesian food made by fermenting soybean with strains of Rhizopus.

2. Especially in the Indonesian Island of Java, tempeh is a key protein source and 30-120 gm is consumed

daily per person.

3. It therefore replaces meat in the grain-centered local meal.

4. It is also eaten in Surinam and New Guinea, but not in the colder regions of the Orient.

5. Traditional tempeh preparation varies in minor details. Essentially air-dried soybeans are soaked in water

and the seed coats are removed.

6. The dehulled beans are boiled in water, drained, cooled, and inoculated with one of the traditional mold

inocula.

7. The beans are then packed in small parcels and incubated at room temperature of about 25°C for

approximately 40 hour.

8. Fermentation is regarded as complete when the beans have become bound tightly by the mold mycelium

into compact white cakes, which are usually consumed within a day or two.

9. It can then, after fermentation be deep-fried for 3- 4 minutes or boiled for 10 minutes.

10. Although several species of Rhizopus may be used, Rhizopus oligosporous Saito has been shown to be the

species producing tempeh.

11.The fungus is strongly proteolytic but has only weak amylase activity, desirable qualities since soybean is

high in proteins, but relatively low in carbohydrate content.

12. The proteolytic enzyme of Rhisopus oligosporous is not inhibited by inhibitory factors in soy bean.