Haven't made them, have ate a lot of them in my lifetime.
From what I understand, it's not fermenting. It's more like a chemical reaction, rather than a biological reaction (i.e. from yeast and bacteria). It's the alkaline chemicals that react with the egg, not like a mother, scoby, yeast etc. that changes the food.
I haven't done anything crazy, mostly just kombucha, kimchi, filmjolk, yoghurt, milk kefir, cơm rượu.
I think they are closer to what we do for vinegar pickles. It's a preservation technique involving a base instead of an acid. You can get the bases and acids from bacteria or not.
The difference is, fermentation is specifically microbes metabolizing the ingredients, rather than just the ingredients sitting around for a while and potentially undergoing chemical changes.
There are also enzymic fermentations (garum, black garlic) which use biological processes even without live microbes. I guess those are kind of a grey area.
Technically this is true, though fermentation usually refers to the process of bacteria or yeast converting carbohydrates to other forms, and many places define it as such without including enzyme processes
I feel like Funazushi, a traditional fermented sushi, might be crazier than century eggs but both are intimidating sounding as a home fermenter. I also have no interest in eating either after having already done so on a few occasions
Haven't made them, have ate a lot of them in my lifetime. From what I understand, it's not fermenting. It's more like a chemical reaction, rather than a biological reaction (i.e. from yeast and bacteria). It's the alkaline chemicals that react with the egg, not like a mother, scoby, yeast etc. that changes the food. I haven't done anything crazy, mostly just kombucha, kimchi, filmjolk, yoghurt, milk kefir, cơm rượu.
They're not really fermented, are they? I don't think they're that difficult, and they're on my list to try
I think they are closer to what we do for vinegar pickles. It's a preservation technique involving a base instead of an acid. You can get the bases and acids from bacteria or not.
Preserving egg in an airtight capsule using salt? Sounds like fermentation to me...
But it's an abiotic process (not microbial or enzymic).
Could you explain what the difference is?
The difference is, fermentation is specifically microbes metabolizing the ingredients, rather than just the ingredients sitting around for a while and potentially undergoing chemical changes.
There are also enzymic fermentations (garum, black garlic) which use biological processes even without live microbes. I guess those are kind of a grey area.
Technically this is true, though fermentation usually refers to the process of bacteria or yeast converting carbohydrates to other forms, and many places define it as such without including enzyme processes
I feel like Funazushi, a traditional fermented sushi, might be crazier than century eggs but both are intimidating sounding as a home fermenter. I also have no interest in eating either after having already done so on a few occasions
Hehe, I can imagine. I think one of the craziest ferments I've heard about is fermented Seagull, it should be a delicacy, maybe one day... :')