Yogurt

Lore & Background

They most likely found out how to ferment milk by chance, and yogurt was probably discovered independently in many different places at different times. The cuisine of ancient Greece included a dairy product known as oxygala, which was a form of yogurt, and Galen mentioned it was consumed with honey. The oldest writings mentioning yogurt are attributed to Pliny the Elder, who remarked that certain 'barbarous nations' knew how 'to thicken the milk into a substance with an agreeable acidity.' The use of yogurt by medieval Turks is recorded in 11th-century texts, including the Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk by Mahmud Kashgari and Kutadgu Bilig by Yusuf Has Hajib. Until the 1900s, yogurt was a staple in diets of people in the Russian Empire, Western Asia, South Eastern Europe/Balkans, Central Europe, and the Indian subcontinent. bulgaricus). Ilya Mechnikov was influenced by Grigorov's work and hypothesized that regular consumption of yogurt was responsible for the unusually long lifespans of Bulgarian peasants.

Reader's Guide

Its discovery was likely accidental, and it was probably developed independently in multiple regions. The main bacteria used are Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, and some countries regulate the bacterial content and labeling. Yogurt was introduced to the United States in the early 20th century, popularized by John Harvey Kellogg and later by Armenian immigrants Sarkis and Rose Colombosian, whose Colombo Yogurt became a major brand. By the late 20th century, yogurt had become a common American food item. Safety concerns include potential contamination with pathogens like Listeria and Salmonella, especially in traditionally prepared yogurts.

Did You Know?

• The word 'yogurt' is derived from Ottoman Turkish 'yoğurt' and is related to the verb 'yoğurmak,' meaning 'to knead' or 'to thicken.'
• In France, a product can only be labeled as 'yaourt' or 'yoghourt' if fermented exclusively by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.
• Colombo Yogurt was first delivered around New England in a horse-drawn wagon bearing the Armenian word 'madzoon.'