Fish Products and Byproducts Technology

Unit 1 - Principles of Fish Preservation

1.5.8. Fermentation
The fermentation processes are those in which organic catalysts (enzymes or ferments) break down complex organic molecules to simpler ones. Many of the processes used in fish preservation aim at keeping the fish flesh as near as possible to its original condition. With fermentation, however, we are considering methods by which the wet protein is broken down to simpler substances which are themselves stable at normal temperatures. In some of the processes we shall be considering, breakdown is only partial and is controlled by the addition of salt; thus the process is designed to produce a particular flavour as well as to preserve the product.