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Is Making Yogurt from Milk a Classic Case of Traditional Fermentation?
Traditional fermentation examples include yogurt made by natural lactic acid bacteria converting milk sugars, distinguishing it from engineered precision methods for proteins like insulin or collagen.
Question
Which of these is an example of traditional fermentation?
A. Producing insulin in a lab
B. Making yogurt from milk
C. Engineering microbes to produce collagen
D. Creating synthetic nylon fibers
Answer
B. Making yogurt from milk
Explanation
Traditional fermentation involves the natural or spontaneous activity of microbes like bacteria and yeasts present in raw materials to convert sugars into acids, alcohol, or gases, preserving food and enhancing flavor without genetic engineering or lab-designed strains. Making yogurt exemplifies this by using lactic acid bacteria naturally occurring in milk (primarily Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus) to ferment lactose into lactic acid, thickening the milk and imparting its characteristic tangy taste—a practice dating back thousands of years across cultures. In contrast, options A and C represent precision fermentation with genetically modified microbes for specific proteins like insulin or collagen, while D is chemical synthesis unrelated to microbial action.