African Fermented Vegetable Products

Abstract

Vegetable consumption is recommended for their health and nutritional benefits. Fermented vegetable products are part of several foods worldwide. In African countries, where refrigerated storage is rare, the fermentation process is usually used for prolonging the shelf-life of vegetables. Fermentation as one of the oldest methods of food preservation it is used to produce changes in both profile and types of bioactive compounds. Compared to the traditional fermentations of other raw materials like starchy foods or plant or animal proteins, research information on vegetable fermentation in Africa is limited. Fermented foods are major part of the daily traditional cultural diets in Africa, where lactic acid fermentation is of utmost significance. There are various factors (pH, oxygen availability, temperature, inoculum concentration, water activity, nutrients and selection of starter culture) that influence the activities of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) strains in the fermentation of African vegetable products. Also, the condition that lactic acid fermentations occur in vegetables are of three main sorts (dry-salted, brine-salted and un-salted). Salting in vegetable fermentation is an important step, provides a suitable condition for the LAB growth to impart on acidic flavour. Fermentation removes toxic substances from raw materials and improves the eating qualities. This chapter highlights the status of fermented African vegetable products, the microorganisms in fermentation of these products, the factors that control fermentation, and finally expatiate the fermentation of selected vegetables used in African food products.