Food Fermentation Technology and Bioprocess Engineering

Fermentation sits at a rare intersection of disciplines. It is, at once, a matter of microbiology, since it depends on the specific metabolic capabilities of bacteria, yeasts, and molds; a matter of biochemistry, since it unfolds through defined enzymatic pathways acting on defined substrates; and a matter of engineering, since translating a kitchen-scale fermentation into a reliable, reproducible industrial process requires careful attention to bioreactor design, sterility, monitoring, control, and scale-up. Few texts attempt to hold all three of these perspectives together in a single, connected narrative. This book is an attempt to do exactly that.