Micro organisms on your dining table

We all should have heard of the word Micro-organisms once in our life. So,who are these personnels? They are a group of organisms like us, but hide themselves in the world invisible to humans.Yes,they are invisible to our naked eye. I can hear your minds asking me, so,how did you see them ? Micro organisms are seen through microscopes,either light microscope or an electron microscope.

There is a wide variety of organisms under the category. The five major categories under the group micro organisms are; bacteria, fungi, certain algal species, protozoans, and viruses.

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They occupy a wide range of area within the ecosystems occupied by us, and they consume a lot of resources consumed by us too.Even though, there are many resources that they should need for survival,the major resource that they compete with us are mainly the food , but they never demand for the fres food as we do! They live a simple life,even by feeding on the left overs and the spoilt food that are kept aside by us.

Yes,they feed on our food,and either they impose a desirable effect to our food or they readily spoil our food.The specific groups of micro organisms readily do their respective duty.

Hence,from ancient times,micro organisms have been used in our daily life for various uses like, composting, in sewage treatment,as insecticides etc., These micro organisms are also successfully exploted in producing various kinds of food too.

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In the ancient times, there are no records that these microbes were identified and recorded before usage, but ,their effects on the food were individualistic,and the ancient men were skilled in getting the use of the correct microbes for the correct work.

These observations and their effects were later identified to be better useful in food processing industry also.

Dairy products

Dairy products are the products produced from Milk. Milk is processed using different chemical reactions and they are enhanced using different microbes.Thus,these micro organisms become effective in giving commercial value to the milk products.

Yoghurt

Yoghurt is a favourite dessert of most of us;especially the kids.Bacteria such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus are exploited in the production of Yoghurt. Milk posesses a compound called Lactose within it.The microbes first convert this lactose to lactic acid.As this creates an acidic environment within the milk, which stops the functioning of Streptococcus thermophilus and then initiates the functioning of Lactobacillus bulgaricus .

Simply, the formation of this acid clots the milk and solidifies the proteins of milk,thus completing the production of yoghurt,but there are various researches carried out in identifying the best temperatures for these bacteria to do their work optimally.Not only temperature other environmental factors and parameters are also considered and tested .As a result,there are new flavours and new varieties of yoghurts developed with commercially desired properties too.

Yoghurts a few years back could only be stored in a retail shop for 3 or 4 days.But , nowadays,they are kept for almost a month or more.

Curd production

Curd production too invloves a lot of micro organisms and their properties.

Curd also involves the same procedure as above.

You should have seen in various Television shows,that they prepare curd and yoghurt at domestic levels too.have you imagined where does these micro organisms come from ,when they are prepared at home ? There is an important step in the preparation;that is to add a previously prepared culture(which is usually an already available curd sample or a yoghurt sample)

Other important food and beverages used in producing microbes are

Bakery products

Bakery products are usually prepared using wheat flour. Yeast is a type of fungi.They are added to the flour dough prepared to make the product.Yeast respire,like us using the flour and releases Carbon dioxide gas.

The fermentation process made by the yeast gives a specific taste to the product as well as it gives the rised form to the product due to the release of carbon dioxide gas.These are bubble holes you see in your dinner bread.

Beverages

Wine production

Wine is made from grapes or other fruit. The grapes are first cleaned of leaves and stems and the fruit is crushed into must that is ready for fermentation. The yeasts used for the fermentation grow a film on the fruit or in the environment. These wild strains play an important role in the final properties of the drink. However, cultivated strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are often added to improve the consistency of the final product. There are hundreds of commercially available yeast strains for wine fermentation.

In the fermentation process, energy that is converted to heat is produced as well. It is important to keep the temperature in the fermentation vessel lower than 40ºC to keep the yeasts alive. To improve yeast growth, additional nutrients, like diammonium phosphate, are sometimes added in the fermentation step.

When making red wine, there is an additional fermentation step after alcoholic fermentation. Malic acid, naturally present in grape juice, can be converted to lactic acid by lactic acid bacteria naturally found in wineries or added artificially.

Beer production

Beer is the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the world. It is made most often of malted barley and malted wheat. Sometimes a mixture of starch sources can be used, such as rice. Unmalted maize can be added to the barley or wheat to lower cost.

Potatoes, millet and other foods high in starch are used in different places in the world as the primary carbohydrate source.

The process of making beer is called brewing. It includes breaking the starch in the grains into a sugary liquid, called wort, and fermenting the sugars in the wort into alcohol and carbon dioxide by yeasts. Two main species are used in the fermentation process: Saccharomyces cerevisiae (top-fermenting, since it forms foam on top of the wort) and Saccharomyces uvarum (bottom-fermenting). Top-fermenting yeasts are used to produce ale, while bottom-fermenting produce lagers. The temperature used for top-fermenting (15-24ºC) leads to the production of a lot of esters and flavor products that give beer a fruity taste. Hops are added to introduce a bitter taste and to serve as a preservative.

Brewer’s yeasts are very rich in essential minerals and B vitamins, with the exception of vitamin B12. Beer brewing in modern days is performed by added pure cultures of the desired yeast species to the wort. Additional yeasts species that are used in making beer are Dekkera/Brettanomyces. After the fermentation is finished, the beer is cleared of the yeasts by precipitation or with the use of clearing additives.

Other types of alcohol beverages are made by the fermentation activity of microorganisms as well. A few examples are sake (uses the fungus Aspergillus oryzae to facilitate starch fermentation from rice), brandy, whiskey (both are distilled alcohol), and other alcohol beverages with higher percentage of alcohol compared to wine and beer.

Vinegar

Vinegar is a food product made by acetic acid bacteria that can ferment the alcohol in alcoholic liquids to acetic acid.

At the domestic level……

The foods that are prepared by keeping overnight; basically exploit the functions of the general microbes in the air who feed on the food and the nutrient present in it.

The preparation of Dosai,Idlly, Hoppers involve this process, and your grandma will know about this better than anyone! She would just look at the extent of the dough-rise and tell you whether it is ready for food preparation or not.