Questions below are based on the following passage on Fermenting.       Before the days of refrigerators, people had to do something to keep their foods from going bad. Fermentation is one of those incredible preservation methods still used today. You can preserve foods in so many different ways: You can freeze them, can them, dry them for storage, or ferment them. These days, few people know and love the art of fermentation, but it’s an art that has existed for many years past and, when you discover it, a world of splendor opens up!     Fermented foods are returning to the modern kitchen.... Show more

Questions below are based on the following passage on Fermenting.    
 
Before the days of refrigerators, people had to do something to keep their foods from going bad. Fermentation is one of those incredible preservation methods still used today. You can preserve foods in so many different ways: You can freeze them, can them, dry them for storage, or ferment them. These days, few people know and love the art of fermentation, but it’s an art that has existed for many years past and, when you discover it, a world of splendor opens up!    
Fermented foods are returning to the modern kitchen. The art of fermentation precedes history and happens by capturing and controlling the growth of bacteria, molds, and yeasts, and falling in love with the presence of lactobacilli found on the surface of all things. You’ll discover more about the importance of these healthy living microbes in fermentation as you read on.    
Fermentation is a unique, natural, and fun way to preserve your food, discover new flavors and recipes, and go on a mind-bending adventure through various cultures and through an ancient history of food that has existed for centuries around the world. If you’re lucky, fermentation can even act as a tool for self-discovery and a vehicle for self-exploration in health and healing.    
Fermented foods are all around you. You may not realize it, but you’re likely already a consumer of one or more fermented food products. Have you had any sourdough bread, soy sauce, tofu, yogurt, cheese, or a glass of cider or wine lately? Does your sandwich come with a salty pickle or some sauerkraut on the side? You can thank the process of fermentation for these items.    
Fermentation turns sugars to alcohol or other acids using yeast and bacteria. The chemical change often involves increasing the acidic environment and develops in places without oxygen (anaerobic conditions). It’s a low-cost, highly efficient way of preserving foods.    
Fermented foods have existed for centuries as populations around the globe learned how to capture the slow decomposition process of organic materials and preserve them by adding salts, sugars, or yeasts. They controlled mold and promoted good bacteria with the intention of maximizing the shelf life of their foods, enhancing flavors, or gaining health benefits.    
Getting to know the art of fermentation also gets you familiar with the beauty of bacteria and its desirable presence in your food products. The changes caused by fermentation can be both good and bad. When fermentation occurs naturally, the food can smell or taste “off” (think of sour milk), but when you control the fermentation process, you can actually have some incredible results! When you execute fermentation processes properly, something that could have turned rotten instead turns into a consumable product. That’s right — bacteria, yeasts, and molds will soon become your new best friends.    
When fermenting foods, the key to developing the perfect environment and flavor and gaining all the great health benefits is to be confident, experiment, and do your best to create the utmost environment for fermentation, with proportional ingredients to support its growth. Some recipes are more challenging than others or require longer fermentation time, but plenty of fun and simple recipes are out there for beginners.

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