History of fermentation, how it came into existence, it's utilization by people in different periods of history, and the current scenario.

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HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT OF
FERMENTATION

2. Introduction
• Humans have been fermenting food since the
Neolithic age.
• Fermentation technology is the oldest of all
biotechnological processes.
• Louis Pasteur in 1857  Science behind
Fermentation.
• “Ferment” derived from Latin verb “Fervere”,
meaning “to boil”.
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Fig 1.1 : Louis Pasteur

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• Fermentation or simply culturing occurs all because
of microbes.
• Microbes can be found everywhere on Earth,
including the soil that grows our food and also inside
our stomach.
• Microbes form communities called cultures and
colonize.
• These organisms consume the available sugar without
the presence of oxygen.
• This process is known as anaerobic digestion.
Fig 1.2 : Saccharomyces cerevisiae
& Wine Fermentation

4. How Did Fermentation Start?
• No definite answer to this question just like human evolution.
• No proper record of when and where it started.
• Signs of induced fermentation dates back to as far as 6,000 B.C.
• Fermentation is as old as humanity.
• Some date it back to 8,000 B.C., same time as development of
agriculture.
• Likely that it started spontaneously.
• It is considered that milk was the first to be fermented,
unintentionally, way back in 10,000 B.C. 4
Fig 2.1 : Artistic impression of
earliest alcohol fermentation in
Egypt

5. • There is a theory that yogurt was first produced in goat bags
draped over the backs of camels in North Africa at
temperatures of 40°C.
• One of the earliest record of fermentation dates back to 6,000
B.C. in The Fertile Crescent, “ The Cradle of Civilization ”.
• Use of fermentation for beverages has existed since the
Neolithic age.
• Ayurveda mentions the use of wines as medicine.
• Fermented foods have a religious significance in Judaism and
Christianity.
• The Baltic god Rugutis was worshiped as the agent of
fermentation.
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Fig 2.2 : The Fertile Crescent
Fig 2.3 : Depiction of Jesus
with wine

6. • Some of the signature fermented food:
a). Dosey from India
b). Kimchi from Korea
c). Sauerkraut from Germany
• Fermented foods are also used in Eastern cultures for
medicinal purposes.
• Links between fermented foods and health can be traced back
as far as ancient Rome and China.
• They remain an area of great interest for researchers in
modern times.
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Fig 2.5 : Fermenting Sauerkraut
Fig 2.4 : Fermented dosey batter

7. • Usage of fermentation for preserving of fish.
• Discovered recently in the Scandinavian region of
Southern Sweden.
• 2,00,000 fish bones uncovered from a storage pit dating
back to 7,000 B.C. – Early Mesolithic age.
• Pine barks and Seal fat used instead of salt.
• Buried in muddy soil after wrapping with wild boar’s
skin.
• Skillful way of preservation.
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Fig 3.2 : The remains of a large-
scale storage for fermented fish
Earliest Evidence of Fermentation
Fig 3.1 : Wrapping of fish

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• Around 8,000 B.C. – Humans produced bread and alcoholic beverage for the first time.
• Around 4,000 B.C. to 1,000 B.C. – Production of rice wine and usage of fermented soybean
to treat skin infections by the Chinese.
• 4,000 B.C. – Use of yeast to make bread and wine by the Egyptians.
• 1,750 B.C. – Sumerians fermented barley to beer.
• 300 B.C. – Preservation of vegetables using fermentation by the Chinese.
• 220 B.C. – Start of use of fermented tea to treat a variety of illnesses.
• Around 210 A.D. – Greek physician Galen believed that digestion operated in the same way
as grape fermentation, in the liver.
Timeline of Fermentation

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• Till 17th century – Believed that fermentation is a mystical process.
• 1659 – Thomas Willis wrongly attributed disease and fever with fermentation of
blood.
• Mid 17th century – Van Helmont believed that digestion, breathing and other
biological processes were carried out by a ferment.
• 1680 – Anton van Leeuwenhoek observed the ‘ferment’ and found them to be yeast
spores. True scientific study of yeast and fermentation began after this observation.
• 1781 – First attempt at artificially producing yeast by Thomas Henry. Beginning of
biological engineering of yeast.
• 1789 – First account of the chemical changes occurring during fermentation using
yeast was published by Lavoisier. He gave a chemical equation and became the first
person to apply the principle of conservation of mass in chemical reaction.

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• 1815 – Gay-Lussac revised the balance of Lavoisier’s
equation. Later in the 20th century the empirical
equation was updated to
C6H12O6 ⇋ 2CO2 + 2CH3CH2OH
This equation is still know as the Gay-Lussac equation.
• 1840 – “Fermentation is a result of process occurring in living beings”, conclusion by Theodor
Schwann.
• 1857 – Louis Pasteur referred to fermentation as “the result of life without air”. He found that air
has always been considered the enemy of wine and can inhibit fermentation – termed as the
Pasteur effect. He found that lactic acid was a by product and was the reason why wines turned
sour. He also led the development of pasteurization of milk and foods prone to spoilage.
Regarded France’s greatest scientist.

11. • 1858 – Moritz Traube published experimental evidence
finally suggesting that fermentation itself is a living
process.
• 1907 – German zymologist Eduard Buchner showed
that enzymes in yeast cells, not the yeast cells
themselves cause fermentation. Won the Nobel prize.
• 1927 – Hans Euler-Chelpin and Arthur Harden
managed to describe what happens in sugar
fermentation and the action of fermentation enzymes
using physical chemistry. Won the Nobel prize in 1929.
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• 1940 – Technology was developed
to use fermentation to produce
antibiotics.
• Present day – Fermentation is used
to produce chemicals, medicines
and acholic beverages in industrial
scale.
• Fermentation has been on a wild
ride over the course of human
knowledge.
Fig 4.1 : Making of Penicillin

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• 8,000 B.C. – The first was likely made of clay-
earthenware.
• 7,000 B.C. – Scandinavian people used skins of Wild
Boars and Seals to bring about fermentation.
• 1,250 - 1,000 B.C. – The Shang and Western Zhou
Dynasty of China used bronze vessels.
• 800 - 600 B.C. – Fermentation was brought about in
Amphoras pottery.
• 57 B.C. - 935 A.D. – Vegetables were started to be
fermented in stoneware jars, onggi to produce
Kimchi.
Fermentation Vessels Over The Years
Fig 6.2 : Amphoras pottery
Fig 6.1 : Early Neolithic age clay jars

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Fig 6.3 : Bronze vessel for fermenting wine Fig 6.4 : Korean Onggi pots

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• During WWI – Chaim Weizmann developed a
fermenter for producing acetone. Maintaining
aseptic conditions became important.
• 1930s – The first big capacity (above 20L)
fermenter for the production of compressed yeast
was used. This was large cylindrical tank.
• 1934 – Two German inventors Strauch and
Schmidt patented a system in which the aeration
tubes were introduced with water and steam.
• 1944 – Penicillin was produced using submerged
culture fermentation technique by Pfizer.
Fig 6.5 : Erecting Fermenters for acetone production
Fig 6.6 : Pfizer owned Fermenter

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Fig 6.7 : Design of a modern day basic industrial fermenter

17. • Present day – In the present scenario
fermentation is knowingly carried out by
every household in the world producing
ready to eat foods, e.g., homemade curd.
• “Fermentation jars” are available in the
market.
• But these are used domestically, catering to
a single family.
• There are billion-dollar businesses too that
are built around this simple phenomenon.
• Fermentation has been on developmental
track ever since it’s discovery.
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Fig 6.8 : Fermentation kit; It’s contents inside

18. References
• Fermentation: A History by eatCultured
• The History and Health Benefits of Fermented Food by Robin Foroutan for Food &
Nutrition
• Sauerkraut: The Quintessential Eastern European Vegetable by Barbara Rolek for
The Spruce Eats
• The Science of Winemaking Yeasts by Paul Adams for Seven Fifty Daily
• What is Fermentation? by Healthy Hildegard
• Images from google
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