Yeasts and Bacteria. Indiginous methods for food preparation are important. Can I ask for an important aspect of food preparation to be considered in responses: how are yeast and bacterial cultures maintained and treated? Their nature and quality are of course critical to breads, beers, yogurts and cheeses, with impact on digestibilty, uses, and safety of foods. There is usually involvment of local strains, perhaps not formally cultured but carried to the food product from skin, earthenware or leather containers, or the local environment. Others are maintained as cultures or by keeping back some mixture each time the food is prepared. 'Modernization' will threaten microbial strains introduced in food preparation.
Prof. JS (Pat) Heslop-Harrison