Yogurt (; US: /‘joUg@rt/, from Turkish: yogurt) also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt, is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as yogurt cultures. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and characteristic tart flavor. Cow’s milk is the milk most commonly used to make yogurt. Milk from water buffalo, goats, ewes, mares, camels, yaks and plant milks are also used to produce yogurt. You can homogenize or not homogenize the milk. It can be pasteurized, or raw. Every type of milk has its own unique results.
Yogurt (; , from Turkish: yogurt) also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt, is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The yogurt culture bacteria is used to make yogurt. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and characteristic tart flavor. Cow’s milk is the milk most commonly used to make yogurt. Yogurt can also be made from milk from cows, goats or camels. You can homogenize or not homogenize the milk. It may be pasteurized or raw. Every type of milk has its own unique results.
A culture of Lactobacillus subsp. delbrueckii is used to make yogurt. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus bacteria. In addition, other lactobacilli and bifidobacteria are sometimes added during or after culturing yogurt. Some countries require yogurt to contain a specific amount of colony-forming units (CFU) of bacteria; in China, for example, the requirement for the number of lactobacillus bacteria is at least 1 million CFU per milliliter.
To produce yogurt, milk is first heated, usually to about 85 degC (185 degF), to denature the milk proteins so that they do not form curds. The milk is then allowed to cool to 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees F) after heating. The bacterial culture is mixed in, and that temperature of 45 degC is maintained for 4 to 12 hours to allow fermentation to occur.