Table 5.1 Microorganisms associated with fermented foods from tropical roots/ tubers crops
Fermented foods | Type of fermentation | Microorganisms involved | Reference
Cassava
Gari | Solid state fermentation | Lactobacillus plantarum, Geotrichum candidum, Leuconostoc, Corynebacterium | Ray and Ward, 2006
Fufu | Submerged fermentation | Alcaligenes, Candida, Citrobacterfreundii, Geotrichum spp., Candida spp., Streptococcus, Clostridium spp. Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp | Ray and Sivakumar, 2009
Lafun | Submerged fermentation | Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Streptococcus, Klebsiella, Corynebacterium, Candida | Ray and Ward, 2006
Chickwanghe | Submerged fermentation | Streptococcus faecalis, Bacillus lichenoformis | Ray and Ward, 2006
Agbelima | Solid state fermentation/ Submerged fermentation
Lactobacillus spp. (Lb. plantarum, Lb. brevis); Leuconostoc mesenteroides; Bacillus spp. (B. subtilis, B. licheniformis,B. cereus, B. mycoides and B. polymixa); Penicillium spp.; Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei; Zygosaccharomyces spp. | Ray and Sivakumar, 2009
Attieke and Placali | Solid state fermentation | Leuconostoc spp., Ladobacter spp., Enterococcus faecalis | Ray and Ward, 2006
Kivunde | Submerged fermentation | Lactobacillus spp. | Ray and Ward, 2006
Tapai | Solid state fermentation | Chlamydomocular oryzae | Ray and Sivakumar, 2009
Sweet potato
Sour starch | Solid state fermentation | Lactobacillus spp.; Leuconostoc spp. Lactobacillus spp. L. manihotivorans | Ray and Ward, 2006
Soy sauce | Submerged fermentation | Aspergillus oryzae, A. sojae | Ray and Sivakumar, 2009
Vinegar | Submerged fermentation | Acetobader sp. | Panda, 2012
Sochu | Submerged fermentation | Saccharomyces cerevisiae | Panda, 2012
Sweet potato curd, yoghurt, lacto juice and lacto pickle | Submerged fermentation | Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Leuconostoc spp. | Mohapatra et al., 2007; Panda et al., 2008; Panda et al., 2009
Anthocyanin rich wine and beer | Submerged fermentation | Saccharomyces cerevisiae | Panda et al., 2013; Ray et al., 2012; Panda et al., 2012
5.2.4.2 Cassava Bread
Wheat flour is replaced by cassava flour for bread-making in Southeast Africa, as wheat is an imported commodity. Composite cassava flour is used in the manufacture of baked products in African countries. Recently, the Government of Nigeria mandated the flour mills to include a minimum of 10 % high-quality cassava flour (HQCF) into wheat flour for making composite flour meant for baking purposes (Shittu et al., 2008). Effects of differently processed cassavas (sun-dried, roasted and fermented) on composite cassava-wheat-maize bread quality containing cassava levels from 20–40 % (w/w) was evaluated in combination with high-methylated pectin (HM pectin) added at levels of 1–3% (w/w) according to a full factorial design. With a high level of cassava, bread with roasted cassava had a higher volume compared with sun-dried and fermented cassava. The pectin level had a significant effect on improving the volume in high-level roasted cassava bread. Crumb firmness similar to wheat bread could be obtained with sun-dried and roasted cassava flours. Roasted cassava bread was the only bread with a crust colour similar to wheat bread (Eduardo et al., 2013).
5.2.4.3 Fermented Starch Derived Products in Latin America
The total consumption of fermented cassava starch (polvilho azedo) and starch-based products (biscuits and “cheese” bread, etc.) in Brazil is around 50 000 tonnes per year (Cereda and Vilpoux, 2006). Fermented (sour) cassava flour is a traditional product of Latin America, especially Columbia and Brazil, which is produced by fermentation of moist starch extracted from the cassava root. Cassava starch is extracted by washing, peeling and grating the roots, then placing the paste under abundant water to release starch granules and separate them from fibres and soluble components. After fermentation of 20–70 days, the starch is extracted and sun-dried. The starch flour is in high demand in Brazil, for production of fried goods, traditional cheese breads and other baked goods (Lacerda et al., 2005). In the southern, central and western regions of Latin America, the main cassava-based fast-food is pao de queijo, which is bread made of sweet and sour cassava starches, cheese and eggs, and is consumed in every family. In Colombia, sour cassava starch is used to prepare snacks and traditional gluten-free cheese breads called pan de yuca and pan de bono.
5.2.4.4 Cheese Bread
Cheese bread is made with fermented starch or with a mixture of 50/50 fermented and non-fermented starches, supplemented with milk, fat, eggs, meat and cured cheese of the Parmesan type (Escouto and Cereda, 2000). It is found in most of the bakeries and bars in southern Brazil. The main characteristic of this product is its expansion properties during baking without using specific agents such as yeast or baking powder.
5.2.4.5 Coated Peanuts
In Brazil, peanuts coated with fermented starch called “Japanese peanuts” are common. Traditionally, the coating is made from half-natural cassava starch and half-fermented starch. This product is found in supermarkets all over Brazil.
In Paraguay and Colombia, the fermented starch is known almidon agrio. In Paraguay, the fermented cassava starch is used to make chipas, a baked product similar to Brazilian cheese bread (Cereda and Vilpoux, 2006).
5.2.4.6 Fermented Cassava Beverages
Beers and wines are the two major types of non-distilled fermented beverages. Cassava roots can be processed into wine and beer. The usual procedure is the same as making traditional rice wine or beer, whereby the starch is hydrolyzed into fermentable sugar by application of either commercial enzymes (i.e. Termamyl α-amylase and amyloglu-cosidase or a crude preparation from Aspergillus spp. grown on cereals (e.g. koji)) and the mash is subsequently fermented into beer (Rajagopal, 1977) or wine (Wanlapatit et al., 2004). Cassava wine, produced by the above processes, did not contain any harmful chemicals or hazardous metals. Yuwa-Amornpitak et al. (2012) demonstrated the production of herbal wines from cassava. Antioxidant-rich herbal wines were made from 13 % cassava starch. Natural flavour and colour was extracted from 1 % dried herb with boiled water and used for wine-making. Gelatinized starch was hydrolyzed by Sumizyme for 2 h in a rotary shaker at 30 °C, thereafter dried yeast was added for converting sugar to ethanol. Ethanol concentration of herbal wines was around 48–52 g/l. TPC and DPPH activity were higher than the control wine (no herb extracted). The highest DPPH activity and TPC were detected from herbal wines make from the bud of the Nymphaea lotus.