Microbes can be both useful and harmful. One of the main ways in which microbes are beneficial is in the food industry. Cheese, bread, yoghurt, chocolate, vinegar, and alcohol are all produced through the growth of microbes.

The microbes used to make these products cause a chemical change known as fermentation – a process by which the microbes break down the complex sugars into simple compounds like carbon dioxide and alcohol.

This lesson plan will introduce the concept of useful microbes by looking at how fungi makes bread dough rise and identify other microbes that are used to make other food products.