Importance of Glucose in Yeast Fermentation
In fermentation, microorganisms interact with complex molecules, converting them into simple molecules. Yeasts are microorganisms that break down sugars, releasing byproducts like carbon dioxide, alcohol and lactic acid. Glucose is the simplest form of sugar and the foundation of all carbohydrates. Does this Spark an idea?
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Bread and baked goods
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Glucose is the building block for all carbohydrates because of its ability to interact with yeast in fermentation. Yeasts feed off the sugars in bread dough to produce carbon dioxide, giving dough its ability to rise. Glucose keeps baked goods moist longer because of its hydrophilic, or water-bonding, quality.
Wine
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Yeast interacts with the glucose in crushed fruit, resulting in alcohol. In wine making, yeasts feed off of the sugars in crushed fruit during fermentation. The byproduct is alcohol.
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Beer
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Glucose is an essential part of yeast fermentation in beer production. Beer is made through the fermentation of a grain, specifically barley. Yeasts convert sugars in water-soaked barley, resulting in alcohol. Sake--a Japanese wine--is made similarly, with yeasts breaking down the sugars in rice, producing alcohol.
Liquor
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Yeasts feed off the sugars in the distillation process of hard liquor. Some liquors are fruit-based and some grain-based. The common factor among liquors is sugar, or glucose, with which yeasts interact to produce alcohol. In yeast fermentation of liquor, the alcohol will kill the active yeasts when the alcohol reaches a concentration of 20 percent.
Chocolate
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Yeast fermentation of the sugars in the cacao bean begin the process of making chocolate. Yeasts begin the fermentation of cacao beans by breaking down sugars in the beans and surrounding pulp, producing alcohol. To make chocolate, bacteria are added after the yeast fermentation, converting the alcohol into acetic acid. The beans are then roasted, which develops the chocolate flavor.
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References
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