Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Types of Fermented Products
There are three kinds of fermented fi sh products:
Fish sauce
. The fi sh fl esh is converted into a liquid fi sh sauce;
Fish paste
. The fi sh is converted into a paste;
Dry/salted fi sh
. The fi sh, whole or in pieces, retains as much as
possible of its own structure.
Fermented fi sh products such as fi sh sauce and fi sh paste are eaten
mainly in South-East Asia, whereas dried fi sh are consumed in many
parts of Asia and Africa. Fermented fi sh products are an important protein
supplement. They contain a number of essential amino acids which can
form an important addition to the daily diet. For example, fi sh sauce
contains a lot of the amino acid lysine (Khem, 2009; Dincer et al., 2010).
This amino acid is found only in small quantities in rice. The quality of the
resulting product depends on the fat content of the fi sh, the enzyme activity
in the fi sh fl esh, contaminations in the salt used and the temperature.
Fish Used
Often the surplus or the side catch of the main catch are fermented. These
fi sh would otherwise be lost to spoilage. Mostly small kinds of fi sh are
used. Table 6.1 lists the different kinds of fi sh used in South-East Asia for
fermentation.
Table 6.1
Saltwater and freshwater fi sh and crustaceans which are mainly used in the
fermentation methods of South-East Asia
Product group
Species
Saltwater fi sh
African moonfi sh, anchovies, croaker, herring, deep-
bodied herring, fi mbriated herring, mackerel, round
scad, sea bream, sole, tuna
Freshwater fi sh
Carp, catfi sh, climbing perch, gourami, mudfi sh
Shellfi sh and crustaceans
Shrimp, mussels, oysters, octopus
FISH SAUCE
Fermented fi sh sauces have been consumed since ancient times and the
earliest reported is
garum,
which was highly prized in the Roman era
(Badham, 1854). In Asia and in particular those areas with an extensive
coastal line and high ambient temperature and relative humidity as found
in South-East Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines
and Indonesia, the use of fermentation method for fi sh and shrimp has
been of great value from ancient times (Lopetcharat and Park, 2002). These
methods have been refi ned over the centuries. Some fi sh sauces are made
from raw fi sh, others from dried fi sh, some from only a single species,
others from whatever is dredged up in the net, including some shell fi sh;
