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Food Science & Technology vocabulary · Food Processing

Fermentation

Meaning in food science & technology, with examples

/ˌfɜrmənˈteɪʃən/nounCore term

In food science & technology, fermentation means: A process in which microorganisms such as bacteria, yeasts or molds change sugars and other components of food, producing acids, alcohol or gas and new flavors.

In Turkish: fermantasyon, mayalanma

How it is used

Behind yogurt, cheese, bread, beer, wine, pickles, vinegar and sucuk. Producers control fermentation with starter cultures, temperature and time, and follow it by measuring pH or acidity. The verb is 'ferment': the milk is fermented at 42 °C.

Example sentences

  1. We stop the fermentation when the yogurt reaches pH 4.6 and then cool it quickly.

  2. Slow fermentation of the bread dough often means the yeast was too old.

Common collocations

  • lactic acid fermentation
  • alcoholic fermentation
  • starter culture
  • fermentation time
  • fermented product
  • yeastA single-celled fungus that ferments sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide; it is used to make bread, beer and wine but can also spoil juices and sweet foods.
  • bacteriaSingle-celled microorganisms that multiply quickly in suitable conditions; some cause food poisoning or spoilage, while others are used to make foods like yogurt and cheese.
  • pHA scale from 0 to 14 that shows how acidic or alkaline a food or solution is; 7 is neutral, lower values are acidic and higher values are alkaline.
  • acidityThe amount of acid in a food, often measured by titration and expressed as a percentage of the main acid, such as lactic, citric or acetic acid.
  • microorganismA living organism too small to see without a microscope, such as a bacterium, yeast or mold; some spoil food, some cause disease and some are useful.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Food Processing

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