History and Culture of Indian Ethnic Fermented Foods and Beverages

Tamang, Jyoti Prakash

doi:10.1007/978-981-15-1486-9_1

Cited by 18 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…While there is limited evidence on the health benefits of fermented foods during pregnancy, India is among very few countries that encourage the consumption of fermented foods during pregnancy in its national food guide [ 70 ]. There are more than 350 types of fermented foods in India [ 71 ], and these foods are common in every food culture—modern or traditional; rural or urban or tribal. They can be prepared at home or through self-help groups and are convenient to produce through the decentralized THR production models.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal Diets in India: Gaps, Barriers, and Opportunities

et al. 2021

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Suboptimal dietary intake is a critical cause of poor maternal nutrition, with several adverse consequences both for mothers and for their children. This study aimed to (1) assess maternal dietary patterns in India; (2) examine enablers and barriers in adopting recommended diets; (3) review current policy and program strategies to improve dietary intakes. We used mixed methods, including empirical analysis, compiling data from available national and subnational surveys, and reviewing literature, policy, and program strategies. Diets among pregnant women are characterized by low energy, macronutrient imbalance, and inadequate micronutrient intake. Supply- and demand-side constraints to healthy diets include food unavailability, poor economic situation, low exposure to nutrition counselling, food restrictions and taboos, adverse family influence and gender norms, and gaps in knowledge. Intervention strategies with potential to improve maternal diets include food-based programs, behavior change communication, and nutrition-sensitive agriculture interventions. However, strategies face implementation bottlenecks and limited effectiveness in real-world at-scale impact evaluations. In conclusion, investments in systems approaches spanning health, nutrition, and agriculture sectors, with evaluation frameworks at subnational levels, are needed to promote healthy diets for women.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal Diets in India: Gaps, Barriers, and Opportunities

et al. 2021

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“…Consumption of ethnic fermented foods in India is mostly based on the food preference of the ethnicity, locally available substrates of plant and animal sources and also the geographical locations (Figure 1). Due to multi‐ethnicity and varied ago‐climatic locations, more than 1000 common, uncommon, rare, exotic and artisan fermented foods and beverages are prepared and consumed in different geographical regions of India (Das et al, 2016; Maheshwari et al, 2020; Rai et al, 2016b; Rasane et al, 2017; Satish Kumar et al, 2013; Tamang, 2010, 2015, 2020; Tamang et al, 2012, 2021; Thapa, 2016), and some of them are listed in Table 1.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Salted and sun dried fish products are mostly prepared in North East India (Thapa, 2016) and coastal regions of India (Saritha et al, 2012). Drinking of animal milk and its fermented products is the ancient food culture of many communities in India (Tamang, 2020), among which yogurt‐like dahi (Figure 2f), fermented milk product from cow/buffalo/yak milk, is common with different vernacular names, along with other major and minor fermented milk products which are community‐specific and regions‐based (Mallappa et al, 2021; Rai et al, 2016b; Sarkar, 2008). Wine‐making and beer‐brewing are not the ancient Indian dietary culture (Tamang, 2020), instead cereal‐based mild alcoholic beverages are prepared by using traditionally prepared dry amylolytic starter cultures (Anupma et al, 2018) in the Indian Himalayan regions and tribal‐dominated regions in India.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Ethno-microbiology” of ethnic Indian fermented foods and alcoholic beverages

Tamang

2022

Journal of Applied Microbiology

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The concept of "ethno-microbiology" is to understand the indigenous knowledge of the Indian people for production of culturally and organoleptically acceptable fermented foods by natural fermentation. About 1000 types of common, uncommon, rare, exotic and artisan fermented foods and beverages are prepared and consumed in different geographical regions by multi-ethnic communities in India. Indian fermented foods are mostly acidic and some are alkaline, along with various types of alcoholic beverages. A colossal diversity of microorganisms comprising bacteria mostly belongs to phylum Firmicutes, filamentous moulds and enzyme-and alcohol-producing yeasts under phyla Ascomycota and Mucoromycota, and few bacteriophages and archaea have been reported from Indian fermented foods. Some microorganisms associated with fermented foods have functionalities and health promoting benefits. "Ethno-microbiology" of ethnic Indian people has exhibited the proper utilisation of substrates either singly or in combination such as fermented cereal-legume mixture (idli, dosa and dhokla) in South and West India, sticky fermented soybean food (kinema and related foods), fermented perishable leafy vegetable (gundruk and related foods), fermented bamboo shoots (soibum and related foods) and fermented fish (ngari and others) in North East India, and fermented meat and sausage-like products in the Indian Himalayas, fermented coconut beverage (toddy) in coastal regions, and various types of naturally fermented milk products (dahi and related products) in different regions of India. This review has also highlighted the "ethno-microbiology" knowledge of the people involving the consortia of essential microorganisms in traditionally prepared amylolytic starters for production of cereal-based alcoholic beverages. The novelty of this review is the interpretation of ethno-microbiological knowledge innovated by ethnic Indian people on the use of beneficial microorganisms for food fermentation to obtain the desired fermented food products for consumption. K E Y W O R D Sbacteria, ethno-microbiology, fermented foods; alcoholic beverages, India, yeasts and moulds How to cite this article: Tamang, J.P. ( 2022) "Ethno-microbiology" of ethnic Indian fermented foods and alcoholic beverages.

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“…It is reported that more than 350 types of major traditional beverages are prepared using indigenous knowledge. These homemade beverages, prepared informally at the local or family level, are region-specific and prepared manually by mixing old starter culture with the raw material (Tamang, 2020). The World Health Organization (WHO, 2014) has also reported the importance of traditional beverages in cultural and social events.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparation of Alcoholic Beverages by Tribal Communities in the Indian Himalayan Region: A Review on Traditional and Ethnic Consideration

Rawat

Pandey

Debbarma

et al. 2021

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) is the center of the diverse food culture comprising fermented and non-fermented ethnic foods and alcoholic beverages. Diverse tribal communities in IHR (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Laddakh, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Tripura) have been long known for their rich culture and food habits. Having strong ritual importance among the ethnic people of the IHR, alcoholic beverages are being consumed in various cultural, social, and religious events for ages. Consumption of in-house prepared alcoholic beverage is the socio-cultural tradition in India as well as across the globe. The processes and ingredients involved in alcoholic beverage preparations vary with raw material availability in different regions. The majority of the fermented drinks are cereal-based with a significant proportion of various plants and fruits as the main raw material, making a beverage more unique in taste. Some plant ingredients used for traditional alcoholic beverages have potential nutraceutical as well as therapeutic properties that are well documented. These properties could constitute an additional economic value for traditional alcoholic beverages commercialization, which, in turn, could promote the local rural economy. Until now, such beverages have only received marginal attention by ethnobotanists and few studies concern traditional fermented beverages in the IHR. In this view, the current review focused on preparation, diversity, cultural, and economic significance and health benefits of ethnic beverages used by tribal communities in the IHR.

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History and Culture of Indian Ethnic Fermented Foods and Beverages

Cited by 18 publications

References 115 publications

Maternal Diets in India: Gaps, Barriers, and Opportunities

Maternal Diets in India: Gaps, Barriers, and Opportunities

“Ethno-microbiology” of ethnic Indian fermented foods and alcoholic beverages

Preparation of Alcoholic Beverages by Tribal Communities in the Indian Himalayan Region: A Review on Traditional and Ethnic Consideration

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