The buzzword in probiotic is “fermentation”
The process of fermentation commences when there is growth of micro-organisms on the food, and it starts to break the food down. While this happens, probiotic is formed. The fermentation process also help to lengthen the storage life of the food, and make it more digestible.
In East Asia, food fermentation is an intricate form of art and science. In countries like Korea and Japan, the natives have painstakingly prepared fermented food like kimchi which may take over as long as couple of weeks. For Japanese, sushi is a form of slightly fermented food.
You can refer to this post to understand the fermenting tradition of kimchi in South Korea.
Japanese discover that by storing fish with rice actually help to store the fish so that the fish will not rot so fast. Rather the fish will break down in a more controlled rate. This is because of the probiotic found in the rice called “Bacillus” which makes the process slows down. In other words, the bacteria in the rice helps in the storage of the fish to make it fresher for a long period.
All around the world, there are so many accounts of how ancient people used the fermentation process to create new category of food that are wholesome and healthy. Some research suggests that ancient Egyptians fermented their beverages through complex brewing methods to prepare their fermented milk beverage.
Hence probiotic is not a new fad of food, but something that has been in our food culture for centuries.
