On Food and Cooking

again!

—   Transl. Miguel  Civil

The Nature of Alcohol

Alcohol molecules are made in many living
cells as a by-product of breaking down sugar
molecules for their chemical energy. Most
cells then break down the alcohol molecules
to extract their energy content too. The great
exception to this rule is certain yeasts, which
excrete alcohol into their surroundings. Like
the lactic acid in cheeses and pickled
vegetables, like the powerful aromas in herbs
and spices, the alcohol in wine and beer is a
defensive chemical weapon, which the yeasts
deploy to protect themselves against
competition from other microbes. Alcohol is
toxic to living cells. Even the yeasts that make
it for us can only tolerate a certain amount.
The pleasant feeling that it gives us is a
manifestation of the fact that it’s disrupting