What is Yoghurt?

 

Yoghurt is made from milk and therefore will often contain the following:

  • Milk Fat (4.1%),
  • Protein (3.3%),
  • Lactose (4.5%),
  • Minerals (1%), and
  • Water (87%).
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    But yoghurt is thick!

     

    Yes, and that is because of the action of special bacteria on the milk. The bacteria used include Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidus.

     

    "Umm, what was that?" Igor asked.

     

    These are the scientific names for the bacteria. They might sound long and complicated, but the names usually have a meaning. For example, 'philus' in Latin means 'friend of' or 'like', so acidophilus means "likes acid". So L. acidophilus is a bacterium that is able to live in acid. If we make it simple, we can see that yogurt usually contains acidophilus and bifidus bacteria. You'll often see these names on yoghurt packages.

     

    These are some of the few bacteria that can survive the long trek through the human stomach. It seems that these bacteria help us humans by continually working all the way through our digestive system where they help to keep everything balanced. This means that they help to fix flatulence, and get rid of the negative affects of the bad bacteria that sometimes flourishes in the intestine.

     

    How do these bacteria get into yoghurt?

     

    If we use fresh milk, the milk will "sour" by itself but it's hard to control the process so its safe and tastes good. So the 'friendly' bacteria are introduced into milk under industrially controlled conditions. The bacteria eat up the natural milk sugars and release lactic acid as a waste product. The acid (pH = 4-5), in turn, causes the milk proteins to become a thick mass or curd and prevents the growth of other dangerous bacteria.

     

    What else is in yoghurt?

     

    In commercial yoghurt, sugar, honey and fruit are often added.

     

    Yoghurt also contains calcium, riboflavin and protein. The amount will depend upon whether skim milk or full cream milk is used.