A Sweet Idea! The Effects of Sugar and Honey on Fermentation

Abstract

What sugar causes yeast to ferment the fastest? By measuring the CO2 production from different sugar solutions and honey in yeast, we can determine which sugar ferments faster. CO2 production is fit for measuring fermentation because when yeast is in the presence of sugar it produces CO2 only through fermentation not cellular respiration (Deken 1966). Our control group was yeast that had no sugar added while our experimental group consisted of yeast with four different types of sugars: sucrose, dextrose, fructose, and honey. We hypothesized that honey, compared to the other sugars, will ferment slower. Through our experiment we determined that honey ferments at a similar rate compared to the sugars within it. This was concluded because the amount of CO2 emitted from honey was similar to that of the other sugars.