BREAD MOLD

Bread Mold

Table of Contents

Introduction1

The formation process2

Types of bread molds3

Health risks3

Benefits5

Colors6

Which bread molds the fastest?6

Growth of molds in bread6

Conclusion8

References9

Bread Mold

Introduction

Broadly molds may be defined as fungi that grow on plant or animal matter and are microscopic. Mold is a member of the fungi kingdom, which is a separate categorization from plants and animals. Fungi cannot get energy from the sun directly as they do not have chlorophyll. There are many species of fungi ranging from a few thousand to over 300,000 but, how many species exist, we cannot tell precisely. Molds comprise of many cells unlike bacteria that consist of just one cell. These molds are mostly threadlike in structure and have the fundamental property of spore production like any other fungi. Sometimes, molds can be seen with the naked eye though some others are microscopic. Microscopic examination shows them like mushrooms. The body has the following parts:

Threadlike roots that grow on the food and lives on it too

Above the roots, they have a stalk that is thicker than the rest of the structure of mold

Spores that grow at the end of the stalks

The color of the mold comes from the spores. The mold spreads with air. The air blows the mold and spreads on food. The molds spores carried by air land on an item and reside there. They grow a root and stalk and then new spores are born on top of those stalks. Hence, the process continues and molds spread. So if, one loaf in a packet of bread molds, it is highly likely that other loafs will get effected too. The root of the mold is somewhere deep down the food that it is growing on and is difficult to see. The moldy food items not only have mold but, they also contain a lot of bacteria as a bacterium grows in moldy places. The formation process

Bread molds float to land on a food item through the air. Bread is one perfect base area for molds to grow. There is a great deal of controversy as to whether bread molds are plants or not. Some say bread molds are plants and they grow much faster than the plants that grow in our backyard. The spores on top of the mold are the reproductory organ that travels through the air and lands on a place where it can grow. Since bread is warm and moist, it is the most lucrative place for these spores to land. The spores, when they land on the bread, get stuck with the surface and begin to grow their roots. The spores consist of two branches, long and short. The short branch eats the food it affects whereas the longer branch helps it to spread.

When bread gets stale, it gets moist. Like seeds grow in moist and warm soil similarly spores too grow on warm and moist surfaces. Others, who do not believe that bread molds are plants, say that it is a form of ...