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Yeast is one of the oldest microbes that have been used by humans for their benefit. The oldest fermentation was used to make beer in Sumeria and Babylonia as early as 7,000BCE.
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by: Alexandra Bradshaw and Raphael Arriaga Period 5
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By 4,000 BCE, Egyptians used yeasts to bake leavened bread. Bread was vital because it was the main food source of many ancient civilizations of the time.
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Another important ancient product of fermentation was wine, made in Assyria as early as 3,500 BCE. It served as a replacement for water due to the fact that it was so scarce to find clean water at the time.
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The Chinese developed fermentation techniques for brewing and cheese making. In 500 BCE, the first antibiotic, moldy soybean curds, is put to use to treat boils. This creation was a start to what we now know as modern medicine.
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In 100BCE, Rome had over 250 bakeries which were making leavened bread. A baker discovered that a little dough raised in this manner could be used as a starter for the next batch of bread. The portion of bread kept to start the next batch was called leaven.
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A.D. 100: The first insecticide is produced in China from powdered chrysanthemums. These boils were caused by the bacteria Staphylococcus, which causes this skin infection.
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During in 400 BCE, the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates used fruit-derived vinegars to treat wounds, coughs and other sicknesses. The vinegar killed the harmful bacterias, being on of the first probiotics.
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The use of molds to saccharify rice in the koji process dates back to around 700 C.E. The meaning of this process has created a culture made by growing different fungi on cooked grains or legumes in a warm, humid place.
