Check out this glorious chart of fermented food across the globe | Yahoo Lifestyle

Fermented food has had a long, long history, going back thousands of years. Humans first started out fermenting with dairy as far back as 10,000 BCE. That is a lot of fermentation, aka controlled decay. Fermentation not only creates more complex flavor in foods, it lengthens shelf life, creates different nutritional profiles, and makes some food easier to digest.