Global Ingredients In Use:<br>Acidifiers with Culture
Its modern forms include an entry from Extremedrinks (ExtremeGroup, London), a company that introduced kombucha energy drinks in Portugal, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the U.K., notes Mintel International's (Chicago) Global New Products Database. All these introductions are far-removed from its Asiatic origins.
Many traditional ethnic foods utilize bacteria like kombucha to produce lactic, citric, acetic and other acids. Louis Pasteur identified microorganisms as the root of food spoilage in 1864; however, our ancestors already had learned they could ferment foods by using such acid-producing organisms. Yogurt, for example, long ago was “developed” by Asiatic nomads who may have discovered that milk placed in a goatskin pouch on a hot day produced a food that was safe to eat and lasted much longer than the fresh milk. Other ethnic-oriented, fermented foods, such as sourdough bread and sausages, originally became a part of American cuisine because of their extended shelflife, eventually becoming mainstream foods.