1. Fermentation: definitions

Fermentation is a term most often associated with beverages or dairy products, and always brings to mind a phenomenon taking place in a liquid medium, so why this a priori disconcerting title of fermentation in a solid medium?

To do this, we need to go back to the origins of the term.

Fermentations are very old, and have been used by mankind since the dawn of time. It has always been a means of preserving foodstuffs; wet products have always been impossible to preserve (except in polar zones!), as micro-organisms are always growing, and sterile environments do not exist in nature. Our distant ancestors learned to recognize "noble rot", i.e. foods that remained edible even after microbial growth, which, although not visible to the naked eye, altered the texture, appearance, smell and taste of the food, but remained safe to eat. This is how...