Development of fermentation
How has fermentation changed over the years?
History of fermentation
Fermentation, although officially discovered in 1857, has been a significant part of human history long before that, dating back to ancient times. This remarkable process has shaped the diets and cultures of our ancestors, playing a crucial role in food preservation and flavor enhancement. Dive in to explore the fascinating journey of fermentation and its impact on our lives through the ages!
Early Civilisation
Ancient Fermentation
Modern Fermentation
Hall of Fame
Who are the people who heavily influenced the development of fermentation?
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Pasteur's contributions
1854-1861
Germ Theory
1854:
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Pasteur was a professor of chemistry and dean of the science faculty at the University of Lille
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Was asked to investigate issues on alcoholic production at a local distillery, thus he began studies on alcoholic fermentation
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Investigated on lactic acid and butyric acid fermentation
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1857:
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Pasteur became a manager and director of scientific studies at the École Normale Supérieure
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Found the germ theory, stating that specific organisms are associated with particular fermentation types
1861
Pasteur Effect
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While experimenting with yeast, Pasteur discovered:
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Fermentation could be stopped by passing oxygen through fermenting fluids
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Growth of yeast cells increased while fermentation rate decreased
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Introduced terms: anaerobic and aerobic to the scientific community
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This phenomenon, where oxygen inhibits glucose fermentation in yeast, was named "Pasteur effect" by Otto Warburg in 1930
1862-1863
Pasteurisation
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Pasteur was asked by the emperor of France, Napoleon III, to study wine contamination
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Originated Pasteurisation --- a heat treatment process to partially sterilise a product for consumption
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Discovered that pasteurisation for wine had the optimal temperatures of 50–60 °C
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Studied beer fermentation
Buchner's contributions
1896
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During his vacation at Munich, Buchner performed experiments in his brother Hans's laboratory
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​Extracted "yeast juice" by grinding yeast cells with quartz sand and diatomaceous earth, then pressing the mixture to obtain a liquid extract
1907
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of cell-free fermentation​