Wednesday

Yeast.... it's many uses.



Yeast is a commercial leavening agent containing yeast cells; used to raise the dough in making bread and for fermenting beer or whiskey


 If you have ever baked a loaf of bread, or experimented with brewing beer or wine, it is likely that you have used yeast as an ingredient.  If so you may have wondered why it was so important to include this seemingly trivial component in your recipe.  Perhaps you even wondered, where does yeast come from?




However, this familiar product has an intriguing and unusual history with ancient origins.
 
Egyptian hieroglyphics offer some of the earliest proof that yeast was used as a baking and brewing ingredient over 5,000 years ago.  Grinding stones, baking ovens for yeasted bread, and sealed urns containing cooking and brewing ingredients have also been discovered amidst ancient Egyptian ruins.


The Bible also makes reference to leaven, a soft, doughy type of bread.  Yeasts left over from brewing or wine making were used as starter cultures for these biblical leaven recipes. 


Where does yeast come from?  While the earliest uses of yeast can be traced to ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Middle Easter and even primitive European cultures, yeast is certainly not native to any of these places.  




 The fact of the matter is, nearly 2,000 unique species of yeast can be found universally occurring across the globe, in the air, and in the soil; where ever there exists natural plant matter.


Yeast is actually a tiny microorganism, classified in the plant kingdom of Fungi.  Where does yeast come from?  In essence, yeast could be considered a mushroom or mold variety that feeds on the natural sugars found in grains, fruits and vegetables; producing carbon dioxide as a byproduct of its consumption.


Yeast has been around for so long, it has come to be recognized as ‘the oldest plant cultivated by humans.’

It wasn’t until 1859 that Louis Pasteur,    a French chemist and microbiologist sought out a superior answer to the question; where does yeast come from.  Pasteur discovered that yeast was actually a living, single cell organism, able to actively grow and reproduce.  He identified that fermentation was actually a form of cellular respiration carried out by yeast cells.  This ground breaking discovery forever negated the idea of spontaneous generation, and led to drastic improvements in food preservation and sterilization. 

 The next time you bite into a sandwich, take a moment to observe the tiny air bubbles that give the bread its spongy texture.  These bubbles were created by active yeast, which caused carbon dioxide to rise through the baking bread.   It may surprise you to think that the very yeast cultures that gave rise to your lunch sandwich could be thousands of years older than you.
Just today I used Yeast to make my pizza dough. 

I'm joining Jenny Matlocks







12 comments:

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

I have a friend who is experimenting with wild yeasts, she gets some pretty interesting results!

Donna@Conghaile Cottage said...

WOW, Love your post! It hits me close to home BECAUSE I have a continuous FEAR of yeast. I can bake or cook ANYTHING "unless" it contains yeast. It's a phobia I EARNED back when I was first married in the early 70s and tried my hand at making bread. I NEVER got the hang of it due to the fact "I killed the yeast EVERY TIME"!!! One Day though I will figure it out...It is #1 on my "Bucket List"!
Thank you so much for your post. It's a bit of encouragement to me!
Have a wonderful week,
Hugs,
Donna

Tina´s PicStory said...

this macro shot is so cool! :)

Unknown said...

Thank you! I learned a lot!

Jo said...

Kudos on an interesting post ... I have managed to kill a few in the past but I have since gotten much better with it.

Rinkly Rimes said...

Thanks for those interesting facts.

EG CameraGirl said...

Great explanation! So, what time are you serving pizza? I don't want to be late. :))

anitamombanita said...

That was interesting!

Judie said...

When my rolls didn't rise at Christmas, I cried, "Oh! I killed the yeast!" My granddaughter thought I was trying to be funny until I explained that yeast is a living organism.

Anonymous said...

Interesting Y

Pondside said...

I've killed a lot of yeast in my time, but still, I love the smell of yeasty bread rising - nothing better!

Jenny said...

I love the smell of bread rising!

And pizza dough? Yum. One of my favorite things in the world!

This was really a fascinating post. You taught me a lot I didn't know!

Now...I need to make some bread!

Thanks for linking up.

A+