Biology:Zymology
Zymology, also known as zymurgy,[lower-alpha 1] is an applied science that studies the biochemical process of fermentation and its practical uses. Common topics include the selection of fermenting yeast and bacteria species and their use in brewing, wine making, fermenting milk, and the making of other fermented foods.
Fermentation
Fermentation can be simply defined, in this context, as the conversion of sugar molecules into ethanol and carbon dioxide by yeast.
- [math]\displaystyle{ \mathrm{ C_6 H_{12} O_6 \rightarrow 2 CO_2 + 2C_2 H_5 OH } }[/math]
Fermentation practices have led to the discovery of ample microbial and antimicrobial cultures on fermented foods and products.[1][2]
History
France chemist Louis Pasteur was the first 'zymologist' when in 1857 he connected yeast to fermentation. Pasteur originally defined fermentation as "respiration without air".
Pasteur performed careful research and concluded:
Je pense que la fermentation alcoolique ne se produit jamais sans une organization simultanée, une développement, une multiplication de cellules … . Si l'on me demandai en quoi consiste la réaction chimique par laquelle le sucre et décomposé … je l'ignore complètement. I am of the opinion that alcoholic fermentation never occurs without simultaneous organization, development and multiplication of cells … . If asked, in what consists the chemical act whereby the sugar is decomposed … I am completely ignorant of it.
The Germany Eduard Buchner, winner of the 1907 Nobel Prize in chemistry, later determined that fermentation was actually caused by a yeast secretion, which he termed 'zymase'.
The research efforts undertaken by the Denmark Carlsberg scientists greatly accelerated understanding of yeast and brewing. The Carlsberg scientists are generally acknowledged[by whom?] as having jump-started the entire field of molecular biology.
Products
- All alcoholic drinks including beer, cider, kombucha, kvass, mead, perry, tibicos, wine, pulque, hard liquors (brandy, rum, vodka, sake, schnapps), and soured by-products including vinegar and alegar
- Yeast leavened breads including sourdough, salt-rising bread, and others
- Cheese and some dairy products including kefir and yogurt
- Chocolate
- Dishes including fermented fish, such as garum, surströmming, and Worcestershire sauce
- Some vegetables such as kimchi, some types of pickles (most are not fermented though), and sauerkraut
- A wide variety of fermented foods made from soybeans, including fermented bean paste, nattō, tempeh, and soya sauce
Notes
- ↑ From the Ancient Greek:, "the workings of fermentation".
References
Sources
- Demain, Arnold L.; Martens, Evan; Knol, Wieger (2017). "Production of valuable compounds by molds and yeasts" (in en). The Journal of Antibiotics 70 (4): 347–360. doi:10.1038/ja.2016.121. ISSN 0021-8820. PMID 27731337.
- Sreeramulu, Guttapadu; Zhu, Yang; Knol, Wieger (2000). "Kombucha Fermentation and Its Antimicrobial Activity". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 48 (6): 2589–2594. doi:10.1021/jf991333m. ISSN 0021-8561. PMID 10888589.
External links
- Winemaking: Fundamentals of winemaking: zymology
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