Meaning & use
fermenter
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
A container or machine in which microorganisms turn sugars into alcohol, acid, or gas under controlled conditions.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a fermenter, the fermenters, or two fermenters.
Patterns
- a fermenter for something
- grow something in a fermenter
- a stainless-steel fermenter
The brewery bought a new stainless-steel fermenter to handle larger batches.
Yeast is added to the fermenter, where it slowly turns the sugar into alcohol.
Scientists grew the bacteria in a sealed fermenter for three days.
nouncountabletechnicalrare
An organism, such as a yeast or bacterium, that causes fermentation.
Grammar: Countable and rather formal; in everyday speech people usually say 'the yeast' or 'the bacteria' instead.
Patterns
- a natural fermenter
- be a fermenter of something
Certain wild yeasts act as natural fermenters on the surface of grapes.
The lab identified the fermenter responsible for the sour taste.
Word forms
| plural | fermenters |
|---|
Common combinations
- stainless-steel fermenter
- The winery cleaned each stainless-steel fermenter before the harvest.
- in the fermenter
- The mixture sat in the fermenter for ten days.
- add yeast to the fermenter
- They add yeast to the fermenter once the liquid has cooled.
- industrial fermenter
- Antibiotics are produced in huge industrial fermenters.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bioreactor
- A broader technical term for any vessel used to grow cells or microorganisms; a fermenter is the specific kind used for fermentation.
- vat
- A large general container for liquids; it does not imply that fermentation is happening.
- crock
- An everyday word for a ceramic pot used in home pickling or fermenting; less precise than fermenter.
Word family
- ferment verb
- To undergo or cause fermentation.
- fermentation noun
- The process by which microorganisms break down sugars.
- fermented adjective
- Having gone through fermentation, as in fermented cabbage.
Commonly confused: fermenter or fermentor?
fermenter vs fermentor
A less common spelling of the same word; both are accepted, but fermenter is more usual.
Practice
The brewer transferred the liquid into a large steel ___ to begin fermentation.
Choose one answer.
A fermenter is the container, so it fits after 'a large steel'. 'Fermentation' is the process, 'fermenting' is a verb form, and 'fermented' is an adjective or past verb, so none can be the object of 'into' here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fermenter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.