Pulses are the edible seeds from a legume plant, including beans, peas, lentils, lupin and other protein grains. They have great benefits for food security, nutrition, health, climate change and biodiversity. According to the UN, the cultivation of pulses is an effective strategy for achieving its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as they can contribute to the development of sustainable food systems and the eradication of world hunger and poverty (1).

Fermentation is a promising strategy for producing value-added, nutritious, and palatable pulse-based foods. Culinarily speaking, the fermentation of pulses can enhance their texture, appearance, colour and flavour. Regarding human health benefits, the fermentation of pulses can enhance protein digestibility, vitamin content, and bioavailability of minerals and reduce the content of non-nutritive compounds like flatulence-causing oligosaccharides. In addition, fermented pulses can contain beneficial microorganisms that could promote gut health.

The production process of fermented foods is often environmentally friendly, requiring low inputs of water and energy and limiting waste production. The shelf-life can be increased, helping to reduce food waste and energy-intensive logistics. Finally, fermented pulses address the demand for more nutritious plant-based protein options, addressing the need to decrease reliance on animal-based proteins.

For the above reasons, faba bean and yellow pea have great potential. We use them as study objects in the HealthFerm project, which will investigate the molecular changes caused in various foods by designed fermentation processes and their effects on food quality and health.

(1)    https://www.fao.org/world-pulses-day/en/

Cereals are the primary source of energy, carbohydrates and protein in the human diet (1). They also supply most dietary fibre, especially when whole grain products are consumed. Dietary fibres are paramount for gastrointestinal and overall health but are deficient in European diets, leading to a fibre gap.

Among cereals, wheat is Europe’s most produced and processed crop (2). Oats are much less produced and consumed, but their high-quality protein and dietary fibre and their suitability for coeliacs make them unique among cereals.

Fermentation can positively affect the taste, texture and even health-related properties of wheat-based products (3). It could also represent a new way to expand the use of oats in emerging plant-based foods such as dairy alternatives and meat analogues. Indeed, while oats are increasingly used to make such products, some of these plant-based alternatives are poor in protein and fibres and must be improved in taste and texture. Fermentation could help to solve these issues.

For the above reasons, wheat and oats have great potential. We use them as study objects in the HealthFerm project, which investigates the molecular changes introduced in various foods by designed fermentation processes and their effects on food quality and health.

(1)    https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuab084

(2)    https://www.fao.org/

(3)    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fm.2009.07.011

Fermented foods have been a part of the human diet for millennia. Today, there are roughly 5000 varieties of fermented foods and beverages prepared and consumed worldwide, contributing to 5-40% of the human diet (1). Fermented foods and beverages were defined in 2021 by ISAPP as “foods made through desired microbial growth and enzymatic conversions of food components” (2). A broad range of fermented foods exist, being produced from diverse food substrates, such as vegetables, grains, milk, fish and meat. Fermentation can increase the shelf-life of foods and can add new tastes and textures to foods. Fermented foods often contain live microorganisms, e.g. yoghurt, cheese and kombucha. However, in several fermented foods, the microorganisms are not alive anymore, for example, in bread, pasteurised fermented vegetables, soy sauce and wine.

During fermentation, microorganisms transform the food matrix and synthesise new components. A wide diversity of microorganisms can be used to produce fermented foods. The most familiar fermented foods require lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, bacilli or other bacteria, yeasts, or filamentous fungi (2). During fermentation, several food components, e.g., carbohydrates, proteins and fibres, are transformed into other products, such as organic acids, gas or alcohol. Furthermore, microbes can also synthesise new molecules, e.g., B vitamins or antioxidants. The microorganisms used in food fermentation can originate from the raw material or manufacturing environment or be added as starter cultures. Choosing specific starter cultures may enable the precise modulation of certain food properties.

(1) https://doi.org/10.1039/D1FO03989J

(2) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-020-00390-5