Microbes in Household Products 🧫➡️🏠

We meet friendly microbes every day—they quietly turn raw ingredients into tasty, nutritious foods and drinks, while also keeping many harmful germs away.:contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

1. Curd Creation 🥛→🍶

  • Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) such as Lactobacillus grow in warm milk and make acids that thicken and partly digest milk proteins, transforming milk into curd.:contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
  • A spoonful of curd works as a “starter,” adding millions of LAB that multiply and finish the job.:contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
  • Curd gains extra vitamin B12, boosting its food value.:contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
  • These same LAB settle in our stomach and crowd out disease-causing microbes.😊:contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

2. Fluffy Fermented Doughs 🍚🥞

  • Dosa and idli batters puff up because fermenting bacteria pump out carbon dioxide: \( \text{CO}_{2} \).:contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
  • The gas bubbles give batter its airy, spongy texture.😋:contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

3. Bread Rising 🍞

  • Baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ferments bread dough, again releasing \( \text{CO}_{2} \) that makes the loaf light and soft.:contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}

4. Traditional Drinks & Fermented Foods 🍹🍲

  • Toddy, enjoyed in parts of southern India, forms when palm sap ferments naturally.:contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}
  • Microbes also ferment fish, soybean, and bamboo shoots, turning them into flavorful delicacies.😎:contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}

5. Cheesy Delights 🧀

  • Cheese varieties differ because of the specific microbes invited to “ripen” them.:contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}
  • Swiss cheese sports big holes created by the hefty \( \text{CO}_{2} \) output of the bacterium Propionibacterium sharmanii.🕳️:contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}
  • Roquefort cheese is ripened with a special fungus that builds its famous aroma and flavor.🧑‍🍳:contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12}

Quick Recap ✨

Microbes ferment, flavor, and fortify our everyday foods—adding vitamins, creating textures, and defending our gut. Celebrate these invisible kitchen partners!🌟

Important Concepts for NEET 🎯

  1. LAB in curd formation and their role in vitamin B12 enrichment.:contentReference[oaicite:13]{index=13}
  2. Carbon dioxide-driven puffing of fermented batters and breads. (\( \text{CO}_{2} \)):contentReference[oaicite:14]{index=14}
  3. Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) as a key fermenter in bakery science.:contentReference[oaicite:15]{index=15}
  4. Propionibacterium sharmanii producing holes in Swiss cheese.:contentReference[oaicite:16]{index=16}
  5. Microbe-specific ripening (fungus in Roquefort, diverse microbes in toddy and fermented vegetables) leading to unique flavors.:contentReference[oaicite:17]{index=17}