If the germ theory is relatively new, how do they think fermentation was happening (like wine, ale, yogurt etc.) thousands of years ago?

Question

If the germ theory is relatively new, how do they think fermentation was happening (like wine, ale, yogurt etc.) thousands of years ago?

In: 613

Answer 1

The yeast and bacteria present in fermentation is visible when it’s multiplying in the billions. People would collect the “mother” from a good fermentation and use it in the next. In selecting for the best yeasts and bacteria people bred strains that diverged from wild strains. Some might even call this domestication. This all happened well before germ theory. People knew what yeasts and bacteria were, they just didn’t know that it was made of billions of microscopic cells.