example, they produce savory succinic acid, and transform amino acids in the liquid into “higher,” or longer-chain alcohols; they combine alcohols with acids to make fruitysmelling esters; they produce sulfur compounds reminiscent of cooked vegetables, coffee, and toast And when a yeast cell dies, its enzymatic machinery digests the cell and releases its contents into the liquid, where they continue to generate flavor Because growing yeast cells synthesize proteins and B vitamins, they can actually make a fruit juice or cereal mash more nutritious than it was when fresh The Qualities of Alcohol In chemistry, the term alcohol is applied to a large family of substances with a similar molecular structure Our everyday word alcohol refers to one particular member of this family, which chemists call ethyl alcohol, or ethanol In this chapter I’ll use alcohol in its common sense, but I’ll also refer to “higher” alcohols, or molecules in the alcohol family with more atoms than ethanol has Ethanol, or common alcohol The versatile ethanol molecule has one end that resembles the fatty-acid carbon chain of fats and oils, and one end that resembles water Alcoholic Fermentation Helped Form Modern Biology The mystery of fermentation attracted some of the best and most headstrong scientists of the 19th century, including Justus von Liebig and Louis Pasteur, and helped give rise to the science of microbiology The first microorganisms to ... resembles the fatty-acid carbon chain of fats and oils, and one end that resembles water Alcoholic Fermentation Helped Form Modern Biology The mystery of fermentation attracted some of the best and. .. of the best and most headstrong scientists of the 19th century, including Justus von Liebig and Louis Pasteur, and helped give rise to the science of microbiology The first microorganisms to... its common sense, but I’ll also refer to “higher” alcohols, or molecules in the alcohol family with more atoms than ethanol has Ethanol, or common alcohol The versatile ethanol molecule has one end