EMCC Libraries: Agriculture & Food Science in Credo: Brewing and Distilling

Topics

Barley
Annual cereal plant (Hordeum vulgare and sometimes other species) of the family Gramineae (grass family), cultivated by humans probably as early as any cereal.
Grape
Common name for the Vitaceae, a family of mostly climbing shrubs, widespread in tropical and subtropical regions and extending into the temperate zones.
Honey
Honey, sweet, viscid fluid produced by honeybees from the nectar of flowers. The nectar is taken from the flower by the worker bee and is carried in the honey sac back to the hive.
Potato
Common name for a perennial plant (Solanum tuberosum) of the family Solanaceae (nightshade family) and for its swollen underground stem, a tuber, which is one of the most widely used vegetables in Western temperate climates.
Rice
Rice, cereal grain (Oryza sativa) of the grass family (Graminae), probably native to the deltas of the great Asian rivers—the Ganges, the Chang (Yangtze), and the Tigris and Euphrates.
Rye
A cereal grass, Secale cereale, native to W Asia but widely cultivated in cool temperate and upland regions.
Water
Chemical compound of hydrogen and oxygen elements - H2O.
Wheat
Cereal plant of the genus Triticum of the family Gramineae (grass family), a major food and an important commodity on the world grain market.
Wormwood
An aromatic perennial (Artemisia absinthium) cultivated as a flavouring, and also used in the preparation of absinthe liqueur.

Absinthe
Absinthe has the distinction of having been the single most widely banned alcoholic beverage in Western society.
Alcohol
One of the class of organic molecules containing an alkyl group connected to a hydroxyl group, ROH. The archetypal example ethanol, CH3CH2OH, is also commonly referred to simply as ‘alcohol’.
Beer
The United States is the largest producer of beer in the world (about six billion gallons annually), and approximately 85 percent of the volume of alcoholic beverages sold in the United States each year is beer.
Brandy
Strong alcoholic spirit distilled from wine or from marc, the residue of the wine press.
Champagne
Strictly speaking, champagne is a sparkling wine produced entirely from grapes grown in France's Champagne region, and essentially—but not exclusively—from the varieties Chardonnay,
Gin
Gin is a distilled alcoholic beverage that can be made from a variety of cereals and draws its signature flavor from the juniper berries that also give it its name.
Sake
Sake (pronounced “sah-keh”) is internationally identified as the Japanese alcoholic beverage, but it constitutes only about 12 percent of the volume of alcoholic beverages sold in Japan.
Sherry
A fortified wine produced in the Andalucía region of southern Spain and officially made in the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda DO areas.
Tequila
Tequila is a beverage distilled from the juice of the pias, the heart of the blue agave plant.
Vinegar
Sour liquid consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, produced by the action of bacteria on dilute solutions of ethyl alcohol derived from previous yeast fermentation.
Vodka
Vodka is a colorless, odorless, distilled beverage of common usage in Russia.
Whiskey
Spirituous liquor distilled from a fermented mash of grains, usually rye, barley, oats, wheat, or corn. Inferior whiskeys are made from potatoes, beets, and other roots.
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage obtained from the fermentation of a plant product, generally a fruit.

Distillation
Distillation, process used to separate the substances composing a mixture. It involves a change of state, as of liquid to gas, and subsequent condensation. The process was probably first used in the production of intoxicating beverages.
Fermentation
Process by which the living cell is able to obtain energy through the breakdown of glucose and other simple sugar molecules without requiring oxygen.

Vineyard
Vineyard, land on which cultivation of the grape—known as viticulture—takes place. As many as 40 varieties of grape, Vitis vinifera, are known.