1. Introduction

1. Introduction

Fermentation of food products provide enzymes necessary for digestion. This is important because humans are born with a finite number of enzymes, and they decrease with age. Fermented foods contain the enzymes required to break them down. Fermentation also aids in pre-digestion. If we can find out which kinds of rice and ferment the fastest, we could speed up the fermentation process to be mass-produced in factories faster and more efficiently. (masterclass,2022)

Fermentation is another anaerobic (non-oxygen-requiring) pathway for breaking down glucose, one that's performed by many types of organisms and cells. In fermentation, the only energy extraction pathway is glycolysis, with one or two extra reactions tacked on at the end. (khan academy,2015)

It involves glycolysis, but not the other two stages of aerobic respiration. Many bacteria and yeasts carry out fermentation. People use these organisms to make yogurt, bread, wine, and biofuels. Human muscle cells also use fermentation. (khan academy,2015)

Along with aerobic respiration, fermentation is a method to extract energy from molecules. ... Yeasts convert (break down) sugar-rich molecules to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide. Basic mechanisms for fermentation remain present in all cells of higher organisms. (Liu,2014)

1.1 Background information

Fermentation is the chemical process by which molecules such as glucose are broken down anaerobically. More broadly, fermentation is the foaming that occurs during the manufacture of wine and beer (Britannica,2021).

Fermentation is one of the processes of food production which would help poor families to increase their health potential since it helps to break down food into simpler substances. There are rich in beneficial probiotics and have been associated with a range of health benefits from better digestion to stronger immunity (Han,2022).

1.2 Specific topic and its importance

Our aim of the experiment is to find out which rice is the fastest to be fermented so that people can use that rice to make rice wine at a faster rate. Fermentation products are important because humans are born with a finite number of enzymes, and they decrease with age(Coyle,2020). Fermented foods contain the enzymes required to break them down. Fermentation also aids in pre-digestion. If the enzymes run out, we would not be able to digest our foods (Daisy,2020).The fermentation of rice is also an example of fermentation. The importance of fermenting rice is the after product of fermentation, which is rice wine. Rice wine is an important food/drink/seasoning in Chinese and Japanese cuisine. Such in Japanese cuisine, rice wine is used as a sweetener called "mirin". Rice wine can also be used to enhance the body’s metabolism and improve blood circulation (Rucker,2007).

1.3 Previous research

We found a research document on the rate of fermentation of glucose, which is also found in rice.

The fermentation of glucose happens when there is an absence of oxygen, fermentation is essential to a cell’s ability to respire. The yeast would use the carbohydrates and glucose from the glucose to obtain. This paper has found that as the concentration of glucose increased, the average rate of alcohol (or ethanol) production also increases at 0.00169 per 0.15 M of glucose.(Flores, Neal, Nguyen, Capper, Fielder, 2018)

One could use a particular kind of grape with a high concentration of glucose sugar in order to produce a wine with better quality and taste. These findings could also lead to other ways of manipulating the output of anaerobic production to vary caloric content, bubbles (carbon dioxide output), and sugar (Querol, 1994).

1.4.1 Specific objectives of the research

However, in order to verify my hypothesis, I had to carry out a verification exercise to show the relationships between the rate of fermentation of yeast on different types of rice and to make sure that the bags of rice were airtight.

1.4.2 Research Questions

Which type of rice affects the rate of fermentation?

In particular, the 6 types of rice we are interested to find out are Thai Jasmine rice, glutinous rice, basmati rice, red rice, mixed rice and short-grain rice. We have chosen these types of rice because they are easily found in Singapore and the majority of Singaporeans eat them on a daily basis.

1.4.3.1 Independent variable

The independent variable is the type of rice.

1.4.3.2 Dependent variable

The dependent variable is the concentration of alcohol in the rice wine after fermentation.

1.4.3.3 Controlled variables

(a) The sampling should be done on the same day.

(b) The sampling period should be after the same amount of time of fermentation for every type of rice

(c) The sampling method should be the same (use of alcohol refractometer).