Dietary culture and antiquity of the Himalayan fermented foods and alcoholic fermented beverages

Abstract

One of the important dietary cultures of the Himalayan people is consumption of fermented foods and drinking of alcoholic fermented beverages, which are traditionally produced by the multiracial and multiethnic communities of the Himalayan people using their ‘ethno-microbiological’ knowledge of food fermentation. Besides delicacy, ethnical and cultural values, the Himalayan fermented foods are also the hubs of biological resources of beneficial and functional microorganisms which have been contributing health-promoting benefits to thousands of Himalayan people with a dearth of modern food products. There is no or rare publications on sporadic history, antiquity and origin of the Himalayan fermented foods. We designed questionnaire and sought information from different communities in different places of the Himalayas on oral history, legendries on origin and antiquity of fermented foods and alcoholic fermented beverages. Hence, the present article discusses the food culture, oral history, legendries and antiquity of some Himalayan fermented foods and alcoholic fermented beverages in the Himalayan regions, and also to validate the scientific evidence-based ethno-microbiological practices performed by the Himalayan people for food fermentation.