Commercial Uses

Yeasts are probably the oldest group of fungi to be domesticated because of the part they play in breadmaking and in brewing of alcoholic beverages. The common field mushroom has been cultivated for many years in Europe, and it is stated that an account of mushroom growing appeared in a French gardening book published in the mid-seventeenth century. Milk curd is inoculated with different species of Penicillium to give cheese characteristic flavours, e.g., Penicillium roqueforti is used to inoculate blue vein cheese. Within the last 20 years the cultivation of many mould species has become extremely important in the production of antibiotics, enzymes, and vitamins.