How Microbes in ‘Starter Cultures’ Make Fermented Sausage Tasty

Microbes in “starter cultures” impart a distinctive tang and longer shelf life to food like sourdough bread, yogurt and kimchi through the process of fermentation. To get a better grasp of how microbes do this in fermented sausages, such as chorizo and pepperoni, researchers reporting in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry carefully show that these tiny organisms change the composition of fatty acids in these meats, contributing to many desirable traits.