What exactly is yeast?

[spidey07]

Think about it. Some organism that consume sugars and farts CO2. Plant, animal, hell I don't know. What's even more concerning is you can keep it, air tight, in the dark and it's effectively dead for years.

But add water and a food source and this thing, whatever it is, comes to life. Maybe it came from outer space on a meteor. Whatever it is, it isn't quite right but I'm glad it landed on this planet because of the things we can make with it.

 

[beepandbop]

It is an organism related if not IN the FUNGI family.

 

[FoBoT]

think of it like little itty bitty mini cows

 

[JohnCU]

it's what i have growing in my vagina

 

[FoBoT]

it's what i have growing in my vagina

no, those are centipedes

 

[JohnCU]

:awe: :awe: :awe:

 

[JulesMaximus]

All I know is it makes bread rise and taste great!

 

[spidey07]

no, those are centipedes

Serious thread is serious.

What the hell is this thing? Wikipedia says it's the earliest known domesticated organism!
D:

 

[lxskllr]

Single cell plants, aren't they?

 

[Capt Caveman]

Serious thread is serious.

What the hell is this thing? Wikipedia says it's the earliest known domesticated organism!
D:

Go back to P&N, you'll make more sense over there...

 

[spidey07]

Single cell plants, aren't they?

You would think. But these bastards don't need any light.

To touch on the beer/spirits aspect most of the producers keep their yeast strains under lock and key. In a safe. Literally in a cold dark safe and just go grab some and reproduce it, but never destroying or harming the original blob.

 

[beepandbop]

You would think. But these bastards don't need any light.

they're fungi

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

I have an active yeast culture growing in my fridge at this very moment. It's a sourdough bread starter, and it has been alive continuously for over 100 years.

I bet you could email someone here and get some answers.

 

[FoBoT]

 

[Iron Woode]

yeast is a fungus. everyone knows this.

 

[spidey07]

I have an active yeast culture growing in my fridge at this very moment. It's a sourdough bread starter, and it has been alive continuously for over 100 years.

I bet you could email someone here and get some answers.

Thanks. I've heard about the sourdough "mothers". It just seems a little freaky and fascinating at the same time. See my post about spirit/beer producers, their yeast and it's very DNA is super secret.

 

[spidey07]

<snip>

Where the hell do you come up with this shit?

 

[waffleironhead]

It is a magical being that turns sugar in alcohol.

 

[spidey07]

It is a magical being that turns sugar in alcohol.

If it really is a fungus then it once again confirms that fungi are our best friend. Not plant, not animal, but wonderful gift from the stars that allows us to get drunk, make bread and hallucinate all at the same time.

Praise be the fungi.

Think about what fungus has done for you today. Eat bread? Fungi. Drink? Fungi. Trip? Fungi. Unami? Fungi.

 

[FoBoT]

Where the hell do you come up with this shit?

its on the internet
believe it or not, there are a bunch of people with even less stuff to do than us and they put stuff like that on the intraweb ^_^

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Thanks. I've heard about the sourdough "mothers". It just seems a little freaky and fascinating at the same time. See my post about spirit/beer producers, their yeast and it's very DNA is super secret.

Yeah I sold AreaCode707 a couple of daughters from my starter for like $5 a while back. I know that people sell starters on eBay for roughly $5-$10 plus shipping. They can kind of be a pain to maintain properly. In order to keep it active enough for cooking I feed it 2 cups of flour every 3-5 days, but it has sat unfed in my fridge for almost 2 months before and was still easily revived after a couple of feeding cycles.

Some info on maintaining a sourdough starter.

 

[destrekor]

There's a lot of strange little things about various critters.

Think of all those little baddies that turn into spores. They're effectively frozen in time while the world around them moves on, and then when the environment provides a suitable spot, POOF the little thing comes to life.
And then the notorious ones kill us at that point. Bastards. They come from the past to kill us.

 

[Miramonti]

It is a magical being that turns sugar in alcohol.

What's remarkable is that people have known about fermentation for 8,000 years.

Since fruits ferment naturally, fermentation precedes human history. Since ancient times, however, humans have been controlling the fermentation process. The earliest evidence of winemaking dates from eight thousand years ago, in Georgia, in the Caucasus area.[1] Seven-thousand-year-old jars containing the remains of wine have been excavated in the Zagros Mountains in Iran, which are now on display at the University of Pennsylvania.[2] There is strong evidence that people were fermenting beverages in Babylon circa 5000 BC,[3] ancient Egypt circa 3150 BC,[4] pre-Hispanic Mexico circa 2000 BC,[3] and Sudan circa 1500 BC.[5] There is also evidence of leavened bread in ancient Egypt circa 1500 BC[6] and of milk fermentation in Babylon circa 3000 BC.

 

[Iron Woode]

beer dates back to 9000 BC.

Beer is one of the world's oldest prepared beverages, possibly dating back to the early Neolithic or 9000 BC, and is recorded in the written history of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.[8] The earliest Sumerian writings contain references to a type of beer. A prayer to the goddess Ninkasi, known as "The Hymn to Ninkasi", serves as both a prayer as well as a method of remembering the recipe for beer in a culture with few literate people.[5][6] A beer made from rice, which, unlike sake, didn't use the amylolytic process, and was probably prepared for fementation by mastication or malting,[9] was made in China around 7,000 BC.[10]

 

[SSSnail]

All I know is it makes bread rise and taste great!

I wish it did the same to vaginas...:awe: