How was yeast made in Jesus' time?

Answer 1

Yeast is not made. Yeast is a living organism that is in the fungi familiy and has, as its relatives, mushrooms, toadstools - and even the diseases thrush and athlete's foot! Yeast, being a fungus, cannot photosynthesise like green plants and so grows and feeds on living or dead tissue (such as bracket fungi that live and feed on fallen trees in woodlands, or athlete's foot that grows and reproduces on moist skin between the toes). In Biblical times yeast could be obtained from all sorts of sources. For example, when grapes ripen the 'bloom' on a grape (that bluish white haze that forms on the surface of each grape) is made up of millions of natural yeast cells that travel through the air (like pollen) and, when they settle on a suitable surface like a grape, thrive and reproduce. Crushing the grape and skin releases the yeast that will ferment wine naturally without the need to add further yeast. Removing the yeast by washing grapes, and allowing the yeast to grow and reproduce by mixing with water containing sugars (eg natural sugars from dates or other fruit) will, over time, produce enough yeast to make bread rise. However, at certain times of the year (eg the Passover) Jewish Law forbade the use of yeast ( as a luxury) and so flat, unleavened bread was eaten instead. Wine however, made from yeast was allowed, as the alcohol content of wine (even when mixed with substantial quantities of water) acted as a disinfectant and made a drink that was not only palatable, but safe to drink, as much of the water in those days was germ-laden.