This book describes the history, culture, production, microbiology, biochemistry, nutritional value, and roles of the diet of indigenous alkaline-fermented foods. The rise in pH during the production of these foods results in an environment that makes the substrate unsatisfactory for the growth of undesirable microorganisms and determines what microorganisms can survive, multiply, and carry out the fermentation. This book emphasizes the processes in the fermentations and the factors that influence the development of the characteristic microbiota and the biochemical and organoleptic changes induced by them.