Most people are familiar with foods like bread and cheese, but many don't know how they are created. The processes by which they, and many other products, are created are carried out using the method known as fermentation. Fermentation creates many foods and drinks that we all come to regularly eat and drink. Such examples include dairy products and yogurt created by lactic acid fermentation. Alcoholic beverages are prepared through a process called ethanol fermentation. The use of fermentation was an important tool for ancient societies, which gave way to the development of staple crops that governed their lives, such as wheat and grapes. This gave rise to new techniques for creating foods that would not have been possible without fermentation methods. The discovery of the fermentation process and its development over the centuries then led to its emergence as an important aspect of food and beverages, as well as a process used in several industries to make different useful products. Fermentation, as the author indicates. Anne M. Helmenstine is “the biochemical conversion of sugars, starches or carbohydrates, into alcohol and organic acids, by bacteria and enzymes” (“What is Fermentation?”). In short, it is a change between a sugar like glucose and a simpler compound. The history of fermentation dates back to the Neolithic period, a time when the first agricultural communities began to develop (Shurtleff and Aoyagi). Humans began using this process to prepare many types of foods before it was discovered that fermentation was responsible for creating the desirable foods and drinks they enjoyed. The word "fermentation" comes from the Latin...... middle of paper ...... multitude of abilities that play a more important role in our lives than one might think. It produces a wide variety of foods that could not have been prepared without its process, such as bread and cheese. Alcoholic beverages such as wine and beer would not be possible without the use of ethanol fermentation. Many would not be able to enjoy the flavors created by the process and which are exclusive to fermented foods. Not limited to creating food and drinks, fermentation also plays an important role in making many other products that affect our daily lives, from the fuel you use to the medications you take. Fermentation and its development have brought great benefit to society in the development of foods and beverages, the creation of many products, and are having a great effect on the world with the emergence of new innovative ways of using the process..