Angels And Demons In The Food World

The wonderful reaction

in the cellar

In the 16th century， the Dutch Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek firstly created the microscope that can magnify matters 200 to 300 times. Since then people began to know the third type of life except for animals and plants. In the middle of the 19th century， the French had been plagued with the metamorphism of wine， which had a big influence on the countrys economy. The French microbiologist Louis Pasteur found that the fermentation of alcohol was caused by saccharomycetes. This research not only solved the puzzle of the metamorphism of wine， but also established the foundation of modern microbiology.

Delicacy，

angelical microorganisms

Ever since the French Louis Pasteur found the lactobacillus and made clear the mystery of the fermentation， various fermented foods such as beer and cheese began to show up on peoples dining table. Vinegar is an important kind of condiment made by microorganisms in the long-term production practice in our country. Its brewing process includes the starter-making of aspergillus， saccharify， alcoholic fermentation， acetic fermentation and a series of stages. The main ingredients include acetic acid， various amino acids， organic acids and vitamins. Vinegar can be said to be another great invention same as wine.

In the nature， there is another natural microbial food， they are various kinds of fungi. They are microorganisms that can be eaten directly， including shiitake， mushroom， needle mushroom， lucid ganoderma， agaric， etc. The abundance of their species is startling.

Mildew， the devil ecru of microorganisms

As for microorganisms， people always think of the bacteria in their first impression. Bacteria may has bad reputation forever as it causing food deterioration and human diseases. The mildew of food is caused by moulds. Such bacteria are pathogenic， their metabolites are also sources of many diseases.

Its true that the deterioration of different foods refer to totally different microorganisms， processes and products， therefore the foods present different smells and appearances. For example， food with protein as main ingredient may produce amino acid， ammonia gas， hydrogen sulfide， etc. These matters all have special smells， which is the reason why bad food always sends out a nasty smell.