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Ethanol fermentation, also called alcoholic fermentation, is a biological process which converts sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose into cellular energy, producing ethanol and carbon dioxide as by-products. Because yeasts perform this conversion in the absence of oxygen, alcoholic fermentation is considered an anaerobic process.
The natural occurrence of fermentation means it was probably first observed long ago by humans. [3] The earliest uses of the word "fermentation" in relation to winemaking was in reference to the apparent "boiling" within the must that came from the anaerobic reaction of the yeast to the sugars in the grape juice and the release of carbon dioxide.
In ethanol fermentation, one glucose molecule is converted into two ethanol molecules and two carbon dioxide (CO 2) molecules. [10] [11] It is used to make bread dough rise: the carbon dioxide forms bubbles, expanding the dough into a foam. [12] [13] The ethanol is the intoxicating agent in alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer and liquor. [14]
The process of fermentation at work on Pinot noir. As yeast consume the sugar in the must it releases alcohol and carbon dioxide (seen here as the foaming bubbles) as byproducts. The role of yeast in winemaking is the most important element that distinguishes wine from fruit juice.
During fermentation, glucose is consumed first by the yeast and converted into alcohol. A winemaker that chooses to halt fermentation (either by temperature control or the addition of brandy spirits in the process of fortification ) will be left with a wine that is high in fructose and notable residual sugars.
Grapes being trodden to extract the juice and made into wine in storage jars. Tomb of Nakht, 18th dynasty, Thebes, Ancient Egypt. Sourdough starter. In food processing, fermentation is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohol or organic acids using microorganisms—yeasts or bacteria—without an oxidizing agent being used in the reaction.
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A 16th-century brewery Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, at home by a homebrewer, or communally. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BC, and archaeological evidence ...