QandAs: Food

What Is Yogurt?

Answer:
The word yogurt originates from Turkey. Originally,

the word was written as yoghurt in early translations. In Bulgaria, the term translates to “sour milk.” Archaeologists have found evidence of cultured milk products such as yogurt being used as far back as 4,500 years ago. The earliest yogurt was probably created by spontaneous fermentation by the wild bacteria Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp bulgaricus.

The earliest use of yogurt was by nomadic Turks during medieval times. Its use was originally recorded in the books “Mahmud Kashgari” and “Kutadgu Bilig,” which were both written in the eleventh century. The first European use of yogurt was in France. Francis I suffered from severe diarrhea, and no French doctor was able to help. An ally sent a doctor which was able to cure him with yogurt. Until the 1900s, yogurt was a staple in the diets of people in the South Asian, Central Asian, Western Asian, South Eastern European, and Central European regions of the world. It was once hypothesized that yogurt was responsible for the usually long lives of people in Bulgaria, but this has never been proven.

The first industrial production of yogurt was begun in 1919, in a small business in Barcelona named Danone (“little Daniel”). The brand was later brought to the United States under the name Dannon. Yogurt with fruit jam added was first patented in 1933. Dannon introduced this to the United States in 1947.

From a health standpoint, yogurt is very rich nutritionally with protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. It has more nutritional benefits than milk. Even people with moderate lactose intolerance can eat yogurt without bad effects, due to the fact that the lactose in the milk precursor are converted to lactic acid by the bacteria culture. This means that the consumer does not have to process the milk sugar in their body. Yogurt also has some medical uses, especially with gastrointestinal issues and in preventing diarrhea. Some studies have show yogurt to help prevent vulvovaginal candidiasis, although the evidence is far from conclusive. Yogurt is also believed to aid in gum health, most likely due to the probiotic effect of lactic acids.

Today, yogurt is available in many flavors and varieties, and there is something for everyone.