Ethnic fermented foods and beverages of Assam

Abstract

The human migration waves from varied places over long intervals constitute the ancestors of the present-day ethnic communities of Assam in Northeast India. During the course of assimilation, people of this region developed the art of fermenting various perishable, inedible raw agricultural commodities into palatable, preserved and organoleptically superior foods and beverages. Locally available biological resources such as cereals, legumes, bamboo shoots, milk and vegetables are commonly fermented by most of these communities. Ethnic fermented foods such as kharoli, kahudi, panitenga, khorisa, sukoti, namsing, etc. and rice-based alcoholic beverages like xaj and sai-mod are unique to Assam and carry the signatures of rich culture and traditions. Abundance of functionally important indigenous microflora such as Amylomyces rouxii, Rhizopus sp., Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus brevis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Meyerozyma guilliermondii, etc. bears the testimony of people's knowledge in customary microbiology. Preparation of most of the fermented products is a women-associated activity that has remained mostly home-based linking with and local market.