Introduction

Perceptions of food vary historically and socioculturally. Fermented foods have been part of diets since ancient times and, in Spain, there are a wide variety of fermented foods. If the scientific literature abounds with knowledge about these foods from the historical, technological and nutritional point of view, there are few studies on the perceptions and uses of fermented products. From the perspective of the anthropology of food, this study sought to identify the knowledge, perceptions and uses concerning fermented foods.

Material and Methods

A cross-sectional and exploratory qualitative study was carried out based on three discussion groups with young adults in the city of Barcelona, dynamized through a script containing 24 questions. The discourses were transcribed and a thematic analysis was carried out.

Results

The category "fermented food" is diverse and polysemic. In general, the fermentation process was unknown, confusing, or explained with some difficulty. Individuals perceived the fermented products and their production processes from multiple dimensions expressed from dichotomous values that intersect pleasant and unpleasant to taste, traditional and novel, convenient and inconvenient for health, industrial and artisan/home made, trust/safety and distrust/risk. A low presence of these foods was observed in the declared diets.

Conclusions

Different rationalities were used to define fermented products: according to the fermentation process, culinary practices, food, and its composition and according to uses, table manners and the place it occupies in each food culture. Although the relationship between these foods and their effects on health occupied a prominent place in the discourses, the consumption criteria varied according to each fermented food and informant and, in general, their consumption was not due to their fermented condition.

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