# Disgusting Question: Bread made with vagina yeast? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620 "2012-07-27T23:15:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/1 "2012-07-27T23:15:48Z")
Title pretty much says it all. The gross hemisphere of my brain was thinking idly and wondered the titular question. Is it possible? Has it been done? Thanks for humoring my strange curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![QuercusMax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/8baadc/32.png) [@QuercusMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuercusMax)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/2 "2012-07-27T23:23:25Z")
They made beer that way: [http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=23562](http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=23562) Whether or not that’s actually true is another story. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/3 "2012-07-27T23:25:08Z")
There’s been [beer](http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=23562). ---
**Author:** ![IceQube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/4 "2012-07-27T23:27:57Z")
Cecil has you covered. > **[Is yeast infection yeast the same as cooking yeast?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342767/is-yeast-infection-yeast-the-same-as-cooking-yeast)** > > A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD Edit: whoops, it isn’t Cecil, but one of his slaves. Edit 2: whoops, multiple slaves. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/5 "2012-07-27T23:31:17Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > There’s been [beer](http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=23562). > [@Supposed Vagina Beer Brewer](#): > > By adding a trace amount of my vaginal yeast to regular brewer’s yeast, my “Original Pussy Beer” pays homage to beer’s ancient creators from “the cradle of civilization.” It appears the beer in question was made with regular brewer’s yeast, using only a “trace amount” of vaginal yeast. And even so, it sounds mighty suspicious. How did this woman even verify what she was adding to the beer was yeast? She doesn’t provide any details. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/6 "2012-07-28T00:37:59Z")
Brewer’s yeast is spent, it is a byproduct of beer, not an instigator. At least the kind you buy in stores. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/7 "2012-07-28T01:39:12Z")
brewer’s yeast is what a brewer uses to make beer, it is alive. also what a wine maker would use, though some difference from beer types. nutritional yeast can contain spent brewer’s yeast. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/8 "2012-07-28T12:38:33Z")
Just for the record, I don’t think that’s so disgusting or gross. Vaginas are nice places to visit! ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/9 "2012-07-28T13:27:11Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Just for the record, I don’t think that’s so disgusting or gross. Vaginas are nice places to visit! I agree, but unfortunately we’re talking about infected vaginas here, which makes it a little more questionable. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/10 "2012-07-28T15:02:51Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I agree, but unfortunately we’re talking about infected vaginas here, which makes it a little more questionable. The yeast is present in healthy clean vaginas. Just use your fresh bread water as a douche prior to mixing it with the bread. If the bread doesn’t rise you may have to resort to commercial yeast but you need to give it a bit more time as it will not be as concentrated. If it turns green or moldy Try the lady down the street. ---
**Author:** ![Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/13edae/32.png) [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interconnected_Series_of_Tubes)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/11 "2012-07-29T10:03:53Z")
I was going to wave my fists in the air and yell and be angry and go HEY CANDIDA ALBICANS IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT ORGANISM THAN BLAHBLAH but then I remembered a friend of mine’s work. Turns out vagina yeast can actually produce ethanol [after all](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16427751). So, there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/12 "2012-07-29T14:59:13Z")
> [@badger5149](#): > > The yeast is present in healthy clean vaginas. And in healthy throats and noses and intestines. It’s only a problem when it grows out of control. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/13 "2012-07-29T15:08:30Z")
The problem is going to be isolating it from all the other flora such as staphylococcus, etc, which are naturally present on the skin - I guess the way to do it would be to swab a sample onto agar and culture it there for a while, then pick out a sample from an identified colony, reculture etc until pure. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/14 "2012-07-30T13:02:41Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > The problem is going to be isolating it from all the other flora such as staphylococcus, etc, which are naturally present on the skin - I guess the way to do it would be to swab a sample onto agar and culture it there for a while, then pick out a sample from an identified colony, reculture etc until pure. Excellent point. You would likely end up with, at best, sourdough. Or much worse. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/15 "2012-07-30T17:37:00Z")
One time I made a batch of beer-the yeast that I added wasn’t doing much…so I added some bread yeast. Boy was that beer horrible (thin, sour, terrible). ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/16 "2012-07-30T17:38:46Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Excellent point. You would likely end up with, at best, sourdough. Or much worse. Sourdough can be made using “wild yeast” - that is, just leave the wet dough out for exposure to the air, and let whatever lands on it culture it. I know for sure that fecal coliforms are in the air anywhere you have people or animals… probably, anything that can be found anywhere on or in a person is also in the air around us. And yet, I don’t see recipes for these wild sourdoughs cautioning you about them going bad, etc. - even when starter cultures can be kept alive for months or years. Perhaps someone who is an expert with microbiology can explain the exact mechanism, but it seems clear that the medium (flour, water, salt) favors just a few types of organisms that we actually want and these outcompete anything else that might mix in. I hear that beer is not anywhere near so forgiving, though. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/17 "2012-07-30T17:49:59Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > Sourdough can be made using “wild yeast” - that is, just leave the wet dough out for exposure to the air, and let whatever lands on it culture it. I know for sure that fecal coliforms are in the air anywhere you have people or animals… probably, anything that can be found anywhere on or in a person is also in the air around us. And yet, I don’t see recipes for these wild sourdoughs cautioning you about them going bad, etc. - even when starter cultures can be kept alive for months or years. Depends on what you mean by “bad.”😃 I find it interesting that things like beer, wine, some cheeses, vinegar and even bread, not to mention lots of weird foods throughout the world, are basically just spoiled foods that spoiled in a way that preserved them from worse spoilage and kept them palatable. And nobody really understood why or how it worked until the microscope was invented. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/18 "2012-07-30T17:54:31Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > Sourdough can be made using “wild yeast” - that is, just leave the wet dough out for exposure to the air, and let whatever lands on it culture it. I know for sure that fecal coliforms are in the air anywhere you have people or animals… probably, anything that can be found anywhere on or in a person is also in the air around us. And yet, I don’t see recipes for these wild sourdoughs cautioning you about them going bad, etc. - even when starter cultures can be kept alive for months or years. > > Perhaps someone who is an expert with microbiology can explain the exact mechanism, but it seems clear that the medium (flour, water, salt) favors just a few types of organisms that we actually want and these outcompete anything else that might mix in. I’ve made sourdough cultures from wild-captured yeast; sometimes, they go foul and stinky at an early stage and you have to throw them out, but once you’ve got them on a roll, they tend to self-regulate - they typically comprise a collection of different strains of yeasts and bacteria (for example lactobacillus), which outcompete any incoming nasties by weight of numbers, and by their own tendency to acidify the mixture. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/19 "2012-07-30T18:07:38Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > One time I made a batch of beer-the yeast that I added wasn’t doing much..so I added some bread yeast. > Boy was that beer horrible (thin, sour, terrible). I did some reading. Beer yeast is a strain designed to work slowly and bring out subtle flavors. Bread yeast is bred to work fast, but can produce yucky flavors that won’t matter in bread. But will in beer, as you discovered. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620/20 "2012-07-30T18:08:53Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’ve made sourdough cultures from wild-captured yeast; And we’re back to the OP. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-question-bread-made-with-vagina-yeast/629620.md?page=2)