Apple Surface Area Affects Mead Fermentation

Abstract

Yeast are fungal organisms that can produce energy in the absence of oxygen through fermentation ( Fig. 1 ). This allows for yeast to produce ethanol, the key component of alcoholic beverages ( Fig. 2). This study used fermentation to produce honey wine, or mead. Apples were added with varied surface area of apple slices to expose the yeast to different levels of sugar. We studied the effect of apple surface area on ethanol concentrations in the final product ( Figs. 3 6, Table 1).