The Historical Processes of Bread, Beer, Wine (Saccharomyces Cerevisiae) and Yogurt

Abstract

Bread, beer, wine and yogurt having a vital role in nutrition and historical processes are the basic elements of all the societies in the world. Moreover, they reflect the cultural history of ethnic communities. It is stated that when and where these nutrients were discovered; in Mesopotamia (7000 BC) for beer, in Persia (6000 BC) for wine, in Egypt (3500 BC) for bread and in Central Asia (800 AD) for yogurt. The common features of bread, beer, wine and yogurt are to be the product of fermentation, also a variety of microorganisms take charge in these processes. The main species of microorganisms for the fermentation of bread, beer, and wine is Saccharomyces cerevisiae. There are publications showing that this microorganism is also involved in the production of traditional yogurt, however, it is also reported that it may be exist in yogurt via contamination. It is given to provide information about the origin of human history and fermentation technology by making comprehensive examinations due to the reasons such as largely influencing of the genetic diversity of the species of microorganisms involved in fermentation by technological advancement throughout the history, and leading to changes in fermented products with natural genetic drift and migration. In this review, historical processes of bread, wine, and beer which take part in traditional foods forming a common cultural ties between communities, the main agent of these fermented foods Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and yogurt having place especially in the food culture of Turkish society were studied.