I eat yogurt for one main reason: I like it. I like the smooth texture, the refreshing ever-so-sour taste combined with my homemade raspberry jam, and the fact that it allows me to eat without cooking or resorting to bread. (And I appreciate the fact that my kids will eat it, too, without much fuss, leaving me to meet the new day with a newspaper and relative quiet.)
Yogurt has been around for centuries, if not millennia. It most probably originated as an accident; according to legend, somewhere in Central Asia. Milk left out overnight was attacked by naturally occurring bacteria, and the result not only tasted good but kept well. Having been assailed and partially eaten by good-natured bacteria, yogurt was much less likely to become the target of other, harmful ones. It had one additional advantage: a much lower lactose content — the milk sugars are mainly what the bacteria eat — that made it much easier for humans to digest. (Lactose intolerance is far more common among Asians than among Europeans.)
The use of benign bacteria is one of the triumphs of cooking, an introduction of culture into a world where fire had been considered the only way to make food safe. Much like breadmaking, this ancient craft hasn’t been fully understood until quite recently.
Yogurt is the result of a chemical miracle conducted principally by two bacteria. Streptococcus thermophilus, bacteria that love warmth (and don’t leave behind harmful spores), work with Lactobacillus bulgaricus to transform lactose to lactic acid. As the milk’s pH lowers, its proteins coagulate, creating yogurt’s creamy texture.
Even though yogurt probably originated in Asia, the world’s yogurt belt stretches from Northern Africa up through Greece and parts of Eastern Europe and east through the Caucasus to the Indian subcontinent. Yogurt lovers in those parts of the world use it for all kinds of purposes, including sauces, marinades and cheeses. While consumption in the United States still lags far behind that of Europe, popularity has been growing; U.S. sales of refrigerated yogurt rose by 55 percent between 2005 and 2010, according to the research firm Mintel.
I started to make my own yogurt a few years ago. At first I was curious whether it could be done without such special equipment as a yogurt maker. Luckily, the level of precision required at entry level is not high, especially if you don’t mind if the results vary. The only things you need, really, are clean kitchen equipment and a starter culture. This starter can be bought from specialist cheese-making shops or found in other plain yogurts.
_1337038921.jpg)
Loading...
Comments