Fermentation

Fermentation is a living process, not a style. Microbes transform a food’s sugars into gas, acid, alcohol, and flavor compounds. Wild yeast and Lactic acid bacteria are two of the workers. Bread, cheese, and wine hire them for different jobs. They are not the same job.

Bread. In dough, fermentation is timed against gluten strength and oven schedule ¹. Flour paste is the habitat. Application: Bulk fermentation and Sourdough.

Cheese. Milk is the habitat; lactose is the sugar; cultures acidify and help the curd. Application: Cheese and Cheese cultures. Do not copy the dairy make onto this page.

Wine. Grape must is the habitat; glucose and fructose are the sugars; yeast makes ethanol. Application: Wine. Spontaneous wine yeast and a sourdough starter are cousins, not twins.

Jam is usually not a ferment. Heat, sugar, and pectin are a different preservation chemistry — Preserving. Pickles and vinegar would be the sour-preserving neighbors; they are not built here yet.

What to observe in any ferment: bubbles or gas, a sour or alcoholic smell, a change in taste, and whether the smell is clean. Time is a proxy. Temperature, inoculation, and the food’s composition move the clock.