Ethnic fermented foods and beverages of Goa

Abstract

The natives, through centuries, followed indigenous traditional processes of food and beverage preparations which can be viewed under three categories, based on the key ingredients used: (i) plant saps/juices; (ii) lentil, i.e., urid dal; and (iii) crude solar salt. These processes possibly involve natural spontaneous uncontrolled fermentations, initiated and sustained by mixed microbial cultures that grow either simultaneously or succession. These microbial cultures are inherent microflora of coconut palm sap sur, cashew apple juice nero, lentil urid dal, raw tender mango tor, and fresh mackerel bangde and additionally the microbes present in Goan crude salt gaunti mith which is added to the processes as preservative or flavoring. Unknowingly, the indigenous people particularly of Reinder, Kazkar, Ramponkar, and other communities have been carrying the food and beverage preparations, exploiting the potential of inherent microflora to produce madda feni, caju feni, salted fish, and other indigenous foods. In this chapter we have documented the ethnic fermented foods and beverages of Goa.