The two molds, occasionally three when brewing tamari soy sauce, are used in the brewing process. These molds are only used for brewing when making traditional soy sauces, which takes much time to make. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used to convert some of the sugars to ethanol which can possibly undergo secondary reactions, which help to create other flavors. The specific microbe that does this is the lactobacillus. It creates the lactic acids by breaking down the sugar. The mold in this process breaks down the grain proteins into amino acids and the protein fragments and starches into simple sugars. The amino-glycosimic reaction creates the dark brown color of soy sauce. This is also why we can buy soy sauce in a range of colors. All of the microbes mentioned are part of a culture. They enter the process mixed in the grain and soy.

Research Questions: how are the microbes used