Last Name 1
Name
Professor’s name
Environmental Microbiology
Due date
Microbes in Cooking
Humans are surrounded by several types of microorganisms that have adapted to all types
of habitats and ecosystems. Microbes are ubiquitous and found everywhere including air,
water, and land. Millions of microorganisms live inside people symbiotically. Some of
them are benign and are responsible for the breakdown of matter into materials that plants
can use in nutrients. They are essential to human health and culture in several ways,
serving to ferment foods, treat sewage, produce enzymes, fuel, and other bioactive
compounds, (Karki et al., n.d.). Indeed, Lang et al. (2014) conducted a research to
estimate the total number of microbes consumed daily by an average American adult.
They found that Americans likely consume about106 to 109 microbes daily. Nonetheless,
microbes seem unavoidable, especially during the cooking process. They are used in
baking bread, fermenting meat, making sourdough. However, bad microbes have been
attributed to the loss in cooking quality. Discussed in this report, is a summary of
microbes in cooking, following a review of various primary sources.
MICROBES IN BAKING BREAD
Bread-making is an aerobic process in which the major products of fermentation are water
and carbon dioxide. The act of yeast, which is a microbe, softens leavened bread. A yeast,
referred to as Saccharomyces cerevisiae enhances the flavor and the texture of the bread. It
, Last Name 2
ferments sugars in the dough mixture, as shown in figure 1, to make carbon dioxide bubbles and
alcohol. The gas is then trapped in the sticky proteins of the dough and causes it to rise, while the
alcohol is converted into compounds, which influences the taste of the bread. The role of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae in cooking has been researched in various studies such as that of Nagai
et al. (2018), who concluded that bread of high quality could be made using foreseen yeast strain
YTPRI obtained from pear Red Bartlett fruits. This research thus revealed that different yeast
conditions also play an ultimate role in the quality of bread that is made.
Source: (Microbiology Society).
Various studies have set out to determine other possible ways from which yeast for baking
can be manufactured. Karki et al., (n.d.) conducted such as aimed at isolating yeast strains that
could be used by bakers to make bread. The study then compared this yeast with the commercial
baker’s yeast that is used in Nepal. From differential tests that included microscopic and
morphological observation and biochemical and physiological depiction such as lactose
utilization tests and nitrate reduction, the study selected eight strains as the likely Saccharomyces
strain. These strains were evaluated in terms of how effective they were in leavening using tests
like invertase test, osmotolerance, tolerance to ethanol, and stress exclusion test (Karki et al.,
n.d.). Of the eight strains, the three most efficient strains SUGI, MUR3B, and ENG isolated from
Name
Professor’s name
Environmental Microbiology
Due date
Microbes in Cooking
Humans are surrounded by several types of microorganisms that have adapted to all types
of habitats and ecosystems. Microbes are ubiquitous and found everywhere including air,
water, and land. Millions of microorganisms live inside people symbiotically. Some of
them are benign and are responsible for the breakdown of matter into materials that plants
can use in nutrients. They are essential to human health and culture in several ways,
serving to ferment foods, treat sewage, produce enzymes, fuel, and other bioactive
compounds, (Karki et al., n.d.). Indeed, Lang et al. (2014) conducted a research to
estimate the total number of microbes consumed daily by an average American adult.
They found that Americans likely consume about106 to 109 microbes daily. Nonetheless,
microbes seem unavoidable, especially during the cooking process. They are used in
baking bread, fermenting meat, making sourdough. However, bad microbes have been
attributed to the loss in cooking quality. Discussed in this report, is a summary of
microbes in cooking, following a review of various primary sources.
MICROBES IN BAKING BREAD
Bread-making is an aerobic process in which the major products of fermentation are water
and carbon dioxide. The act of yeast, which is a microbe, softens leavened bread. A yeast,
referred to as Saccharomyces cerevisiae enhances the flavor and the texture of the bread. It
, Last Name 2
ferments sugars in the dough mixture, as shown in figure 1, to make carbon dioxide bubbles and
alcohol. The gas is then trapped in the sticky proteins of the dough and causes it to rise, while the
alcohol is converted into compounds, which influences the taste of the bread. The role of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae in cooking has been researched in various studies such as that of Nagai
et al. (2018), who concluded that bread of high quality could be made using foreseen yeast strain
YTPRI obtained from pear Red Bartlett fruits. This research thus revealed that different yeast
conditions also play an ultimate role in the quality of bread that is made.
Source: (Microbiology Society).
Various studies have set out to determine other possible ways from which yeast for baking
can be manufactured. Karki et al., (n.d.) conducted such as aimed at isolating yeast strains that
could be used by bakers to make bread. The study then compared this yeast with the commercial
baker’s yeast that is used in Nepal. From differential tests that included microscopic and
morphological observation and biochemical and physiological depiction such as lactose
utilization tests and nitrate reduction, the study selected eight strains as the likely Saccharomyces
strain. These strains were evaluated in terms of how effective they were in leavening using tests
like invertase test, osmotolerance, tolerance to ethanol, and stress exclusion test (Karki et al.,
n.d.). Of the eight strains, the three most efficient strains SUGI, MUR3B, and ENG isolated from
