The Effect of Yeast on Different Fruit Juices

Researched by Kristyn S.
2001-02

PURPOSE

HYPOTHESIS

EXPERIMENT DESIGN

MATERIALS

PROCEDURES

RESULTS

CONCLUSION

RESEARCH REPORT

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PURPOSE
The purpose of this experiment was to determine the amount of fermentation of four different
fruit juices after adding yeast.
I became interested in this idea when I saw the fruit in my familys refrigerator starting to
ferment.
The information gained from this experiment may be used by wineries to determine which
fruit juice ferments best.
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HYPOTHESIS

My hypothesis is that the fruit juice with a higher percentage of sugar will produce more
fermentation.
I base my hypothesis on the World Book Encyclopedia, which states,
"Yeast breaks down sugar obtained from fruit juice into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide gas
for use in wine."
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EXPERIMENT DESIGN
The constants in this study were:

The temperature.

The amount of juice (250ml).

The amount of yeast (1g)

Size and shape of container

Time allowed to ferment.

Method of measurement.

The manipulated variable was the type of fruit juice.

The responding variable was the amount of fermentation as shown by the reduction of sugar.
To measure the responding variable I used a brix meter to find the percentage of sugar before
and after fermentation for each sample to calculate the difference.
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MATERIALS
QUANTITY

ITEM DESCRIPTION

Brix meter

16

Transparent containers

12g

Yeast

25000ml

Orange juice

1250ml

Apple juice

1250ml

Cranberry-grape juice

Cylinder

Gram scale

Thermometer

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PROCEDURES
1. Gather materials.
2. Label four containers OJ control 1,2,3 and 4.
3. Label four containers as oj1, oj2, oj3, and oj4.
4. Label four containers as ap1, ap2, ap3, and ap4.
5. Label four containers as cgr1, cgr2, cgr3, and cgr4.
6. Add 250ml of orange juice to each of the containers labeled OJ control 1,2,3 and 4.
7. Add 250ml of orange juice to each of the containers labeled OJ 1,2,3 and 4.
8. Add 250ml of apple juice to each of the containers labeled AP 1,2,3 and 4.
9. Add 250ml of cranberry-grape juice to each of the containers labeled cgr 1,2,3 and4.
10. Measure the sugar in each of the juices before adding the yeast, record results.
11. Add one gram of yeast to each of the containers labeled OJ 1,2,3, and 4.
12. Add one gram of yeast to each of the containers labeled AP 1,2,3, and4.
13. Add one gram of yeast to each of the containers labeled cgr 1,2,3, and4.
14. Allow the juice to ferment for 72 hours.
15. Use the brix meter to measure the sugar after the fermentation process, record results.
16. Subtract first measurement from the second measurement, record results
17. Compare which fruit juice produced the most fermentation, record results.
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Results
The original purpose of this experiment was to determine the amount of fermentation of 3
different fruit juices after adding a certain amount of yeast.
The results of this experiment were that the orange juice produced the most fermentation.
Also the orange juice turned foamy on the surface. On the bottom of each container for each
sample a "gooey" substance formed. The apple and cranberry-grape juice turned murky from
the yeast and after a while bubbles formed on the surface.

See data and graphs.

Conclusion
My hypothesis was that fruit juices with a higher percentage of sugar would produce more
fermentation.
The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted, because the orange juice, which
had the highest sugar content, produced the most fermentation.
Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if using more yeast wold produce more
fermentation or if using another type of juice with two of them mixed together like the
cranberry-grape juice, would produce less fermentation.
My findings should be useful to wineries because I found that the juices I used produced a
large amount of fermentation therefore might make good wine.
If I were to conduct this project again I would do more trials, do a replication of the entire
experiment, use more varieties of juices and use a better method of measurement .
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Research Report
Introduction
Fermentation has been around for a very long time. People have used it for making bread,
beer, wine and other products. There have been scientists and chemists who have
discovered new things about fermentation. There are many types of fermentation including
fermentation of fruit juices, malted grain and other sugars.

Fermentation
Fermentation is a chemical process that breaks down organic matter. Microbes like bacteria
carry out this process. Mold and yeast act upon molasses and mineral salts to create
penicillin. Yeast breaks down sugar taken from malted grain and turns it into ethyl alcohol
and carbon dioxide gas to make beer. French Scientist Louis Pasteur discovered that
microbes ferment beer and wine. Sugar from grape juice breaks down the same way to
make wine. Fermentation is also used to make bread, cheese and yogurt. Sometimes
fermentation can be unhealthy; for example milk that has been fermented turns sour. There
are 1900 other types of fermentation found. Fermentation is also used to make certain
drugs, vitamins and some chemicals.
In 1810 French chemist Joseph Louis GayLussac showed that alcoholic fermentation is
expressed by this equation:

C6H12O6=2CO2 + 2C2H5OH. In 1837 it was independently suggested by German

physiologist Theodore Schwann, Botanist Friedrich Kutzing and French physicist Charles
Cagniard de la tour that alcoholic fermentation requires yeast cells and it is a physiological
function of these organisms.

Fungi
Fungi are organisms that lack chlorophyll, the green matter that plants use to make their
food. Fungi cannot make their own food, instead they absorb it from around them.
According to mycologists there are over 100,000 species of fungi. Yeasts and other onecelled fungi are too small to be seen without a microscope. Most types can be seen with the
unaided eye. Some of the most common fungi are mildews, molds, mushrooms and plant
rusts. Fungi break down complex animal and plant materials into simple compounds. This
process of decomposition enriches the soil and makes essential substances available to
pants in a form they can use. Through decomposition, fungi also return carbon dioxide to
the atmosphere, where green plants reuse it to make food.

Yeast
Yeast is a single celled organism. Yeast is a fungus that exists almost everywhere in nature,
including the air. Bakers use yeast to make bread rise. Yeast is used for making beer, wine,
and other alcoholic beverages. It consists of masses of microscopic organisms. There are
600 species of yeast, but only a few are used commercially. Yeast grows fast, and it grows
best in sugar. Yeast cells reproduce by fission and budding. Bud swelling forms on a yeast
cell wall, and then it breaks off to form a new single cell.
In the early times yeast was used for bread, beer, wine and other products. In the 1600s
Dutch Scientist Anton Van Leeuwenhoek discovered yeast cells. In 1860 French Scientist
Louis Pasteur confirmed that live yeast organisms cause fermentation of beer and wine.

How Yeast Is Used

Since yeast fungi lack chlorophyll, yeast rely on other plants to supply their food. They eat
sugar from sources like fruit, grain, nectar and molasses. Yeast cells produce a chemical
called enzymes and ferments that break down their food. Some yeast break down sugar
into alcohol and carbon dioxide gas, this process is called fermentation. Bakers yeast is
used as a leavening, a substance that makes bread rise. Sugar is needed for fermentation.
Bakers may add sugar to the dough to hasten fermentation. Yeast breaks down sugar into
alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. A substance in the dough called gluten traps the bubbles
from the gas. As the gas bubbles expand, the gluten stretches causing the bread to rise. The
alcohol produced by fermentation evaporates when the bread is baking. When being baked,
the bread yeast is destroyed.
Yeast used in wine acts on the sugar in grapes and other fruits to produce alcohol and
carbon dioxide gas through fermentation. Most wines allow the gas to escape into the air.
In some champagnes and sparkly wines the gas remains to provide the drinks natural
bubbles.

Brewers yeast cannot act directly on the grain used for beer, so brewers convert the starch
in the grain into sugar by means of a process called malting. Yeast is then added to convert
the sugar into alcohol. The gas formed during fermentation is pumped off the beer and then
added again to carbonate it.
Yeast is also used for the production of a dietary supplement called single cell protein.
Yeast produces large amounts of particular vitamins and is used in the commercial
production of vitamins. Yeast used in brewing can absorb and store vitamins from their
food. People eat these yeasts as vitamin supplements. Certain yeast fungus can produce
large amounts of useful substances such as fat, glycerol, industrial alcohol and various
enzymes. The yeast is used in the commercial production of these substances.

How Yeast Is Made

Before the commercial production of yeast in the 1890s, yeast fungi from the air leavened
the bread that people baked. Homemakers prepared dough and left it uncovered and yeasts
landed on it and began the fermentation process. Later excess yeast from the beer and
winemaking industries was used in breadmaking. This yeast is called barm. When bakers
yeast first became an industry, manufacturers grew yeast fungi on malted grain. Today
bakers yeast is produced on molasses, which consists mostly of sugar. Bakers yeast is
manufactured in two forms, dried grains and moist cakes. Cakes of yeast are made up of
live, active cells. Yeast cells in dried grains are live but not active. Dried yeast must be
mixed with warm water before yeast fungi can grow. Yeast cakes must be refrigerated, but
they spoil after about six weeks. Dried yeast doesnt need to be refrigerated but it will last
longer.

Fruit
Fruit is the part of a flowering plant that contains the plant's seeds. In this sense, fruits
include acorns, cucumbers, tomatoes and wheat grains. Horticulturists define fruit as an
edible, seed-bearing structure that (1) consists of fleshy tissue and (2) is produced by a
perennial. Therefore horticulturists would classify cucumbers, tomatoes and rhubarb as
vegetables. Yet a botanist would classify them as fruits.
The word "fruit" refers to juicy, sweet or tart kinds of food that people enjoy as snacks or
desserts. The word also comes from the Latin word "frui", meaning to enjoy. Popular fruits
are apples, bananas, grapes, oranges, pears and strawberries. Many fruits are nutritious and
appetizing. For example: oranges and strawberries contain large amounts of vitamin C.
Most fruits have high sugar content, so they provide quick energy. Fruits cannot supply a
well balanced diet because they do not supply enough protein.

Types of Fruit
Temperate fruits must have annually cold seasons to grow properly. They must be raised
chiefly in temperate zones, regions between tropic and polar areas. Most temperate fruits
grow in Europe and North America, but some grow in Asia and Australia, which have
major producing areas. Principal temperate fruits include apples, apricots, cherries,

peaches, pears and plums.

Subtropical fruits can grow in warm or mild temperatures, but can only survive a light
occasional frost. Most widely grown subtropical fruits are the citrus group, which include
grapefruit, lemons, limes and oranges. Other subtropical fruits are dates, figs, olives and
avocados.
Tropical fruits are raised mainly in the tropic areas and cant survive even a light frost.
Bananas and pineapples are the best known tropical fruits grown throughout the tropics
and much of each crop is exported. Other tropical fruits are acerolas, cherimoyas, litchis,
mangoes, mangosteens and papayas.

Sugar
Green plants produce sugar, but most table sugar comes from sugar cane or beets. Other
sources of sugar are cornstarch, milk, maple syrup and honey. Sugar belongs to the class of
foods called carbohydrates. Carbohydrates provide energy for plants and animals. There
are two kinds of sugar monosaccharides and disaccharides. Monosaccharides are the
simplest carbohydrates, include glucose and fructose. Glucose is the most important
carbohydrate in the blood. Fructose is found in fruits and vegetables. Common
disaccharides include lactose and maltose. Lactose is found in milk and is used in the
production of some medications. Maltose is formed from starch and it is used in the
production of bread and baby food.

Summary
There are many different things needed for fermentation including, yeast, fruit juice or
malted grain, and sugar. Fermentation produces many products like bread, cheese, yogurt,
wine and beer. One unhealthy product of fermentation is fermented milk.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ammariti, Joe F. "Fungi." World Book Encyclopedia. 1998.
Ashe, Arthur J. III. "Fermentation." World Book Encyclopedia .1999.
Ashe, Arthur J. III. "Yeast." World Book Encyclopedia. 1998.
"Fermentation." 11-14-01
http://pasture.ecn.purdue.edu/~agen5561bread/html/fermentation.html
Jules, Janick. "Fruit." World Book Encyclopedia, 1998

Moore, Paul H. "Sugar." World Book Encyclopedia.1998.

"Sugar." The New Book of Popular Science. Grolier, Inc.: Danbury, CT. Volume. 1979.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the following people. Without their help, my project would not have
been possible.
* My dad for transporting me to Tree Top to pick up a tool I needed for my experiment,
buying me the supplies I needed for my experiment and picking me up after school from
SOAR.
* John Baranowski of Tree Top for lending me that tool and explaining how to use it.
* My sister Kaity for taking pictures of my experiment.
* My mom for helping me to make things better.
* Mrs. Helms for helping me with my display and showing me how to do things.
* Mr. Newkirk for always helping me with everything that has to do with my science project.

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