History+of+Fermentation

=Early Discoveries= Fermentation was one of the first chemical reactions observed by humans. The "spoilage" of food has been observed for thousands of years as a result of bacterial action. In the past, humans had discovered that this change could result in the formation of different products, like bread and wine. Fermentation was first investigated by Louis Pasteur in 1860. Louis called this process //la vie sans air// or life without air. After Louis found fermentation to be an anaerobic process, the mechanism that causes fermentation fell into a great debate. Scientists did not know whether this organism could ferment without a link to a living cell. A German chemist, Eduard Buchner, conducted a crucial experiment that would unveil the truth about the fermentor. Eduard ground up a group of cells with sand until they had been totally destoyed. Then he withdrew the liquid that remained and added it to a sugar solution. The German chemist believed that the process of fermentation could not occur without living cells, but his experiment had showed all that the ferments themselves could cause fermentation.