We have spoken before about the bacteria involved which can be one or more strains of the lactobacillus family or the streptococcus family. Now these bacteria just love sugar and they just eat it up – can’t get enough of it, and as they eat it they convert it to lactic acid which is what gives yogurt it’s tangy and slightly acidic taste.

But that is not all that happens. This feast for bacteria also coagulates or curdles the milk. What happens is that the proteins in the milk (casein) tangle together and form solid masses called curds. The remaining milk proteins form the liquid portion which is called whey. In milk roughly 80% of the milk proteins are casein which is why milk makes a lovely thick substance which we call yogurt.

For the fermentation process to occur, the milk needs to be kept at a constant temperature between 42 and 44 degrees Celsius – around 108 and 111 degrees Fahrenheit.  If the incubation temperature drops too low or goes to high, then the bacteria die and you can end up with an inferior end result.

I once had the temperature go too high while making a batch and I ended up with about 25% yogurt and 75% whey. Whey is the liquid made from milk protein that will sits on the top. Rather than waste the batch I just mixed them together and ended up with a tangy thick sort of milk and used it to make shakes.

Bookmark:

Related Posts

• January 9, 2010 -- Why The Yogurt Makers Make Homemade Yogurt? (0)
  Image by Suviko via Flickr Why did I start a blog on Yogurt you may ask. Well, it’s a bit of a long story, but in a nutshell. Yogurt has one of the highest amounts of calcium per calorie. Yogurt contains valuable pro-biotic sources, like Acid...
• January 26, 2010 -- What is a Probiotic Culture? (2)
  So what exactly is a probiotic culture? You will see this word probiotic many places online and the definition currently in use by the World Health Organization (WHO) is "Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a hea...
• February 4, 2010 -- The History of Yogurt (2)
  There is evidence that yogurt has been used as a food for at least 5500 years. It possibly originated in the region around Bulgaria where the local name for it means "sour milk" brought about by spontaneous fermentation of naturally occurring bacteri...
• January 17, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – The Yogurt Maker (0)
  So let's move onto what we need to make yogurt. First we have some decisions to make. We need to get a machine that will make the yogurt for us which is a fermentation process requiring regulated temperature for about 5 to 6 hours. There are tw...
• February 6, 2010 -- Why Yogurt Is So Good For You (4)
  Nutritionally speaking, yogurt is rich in vitamins B6, B12, and Riboflavin, calcium, protein, and probiotics. Vitamin B6 is used in amino acid metabolism, and helps to regulate sugar metabolism, histamine and neurotransmitter production . Vitam...

Vitamin B6 is used in amino acid metabolism, and helps to regulate sugar metabolism, histamine and neurotransmitter production .

Vitamin B12 is used in the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, in the formation of blood, is used in cell metabolism, DNA synthesis and regulation, fatty acid synthesis, and energy production. Vitamin B12 cannot be made by plants or animals, only bacteria is capable of producing it, and since yogurt is made by the fermentation of milk by bacteria, that is why is yogurt contains a plentiful supply.

Riboflavin is required in a large number of cellular processes, plays a major role in energy production, and is required to process fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.

Calcium is an essential mineral and is used in the building of bones and teeth, in fact, more than 90% of the calcium in your body is stored there. Daily requirements for calcium range from 1200 mg to 1500 mg. The calcium contained in milk and yogurt can be easily absorbed by the body unlike the calcium obtained from many supplements.

Proteins are chains of amino acids which are the basic building blocks of our bodies.

Probiotics are the good bacteria which live in the intestines and support the immune system and fight bad bacteria which cause abdominal and digestive problems, candida and other yeast infections.

One of the nice things about yogurt is it is safe to eat for people that are lactose intolerant as the lactose is converted to lactic acid during the fermentation process.

Bookmark:

Related Posts

• February 11, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – What Is Fermentation (2)
  In the case of Yogurt, fermentation is the conversion of carbohydrates (sugars) to organic acids by the action of bacteria. In yogurt made from milk, the carbohydrate is lactose (milk sugar) and the end result organic acid is lactic acid. We have ...
• February 4, 2010 -- The History of Yogurt (2)
  There is evidence that yogurt has been used as a food for at least 5500 years. It possibly originated in the region around Bulgaria where the local name for it means "sour milk" brought about by spontaneous fermentation of naturally occurring bacteri...
• January 26, 2010 -- What is a Probiotic Culture? (2)
  So what exactly is a probiotic culture? You will see this word probiotic many places online and the definition currently in use by the World Health Organization (WHO) is "Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a hea...
• January 18, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – Milk, The Main Component (0)
  Before we get in to what we do with milk it is only fair to mention that there are other things besides milk that can be used to make yogurt - we'll explore these other ones in a later article - but here is a short list of liquids you can use to make...
• January 17, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – The Yogurt Maker (0)
  So let's move onto what we need to make yogurt. First we have some decisions to make. We need to get a machine that will make the yogurt for us which is a fermentation process requiring regulated temperature for about 5 to 6 hours. There are tw...

For centuries, the entire area around the Mediterranean and Black sea have been eating yogurt of many different varieties and textures. This area extended to cover Egypt, the Middle East and India. It is not difficult to imagine how milk left out in the sun would start fermenting and someone would dip a finger into the thickened milk and have a “eureka” moment.

In 1919 a Jewish businessman living in Barcelona began industrialized production of yogurt called “Danone” which means “Little Daniel” after his son. Later, when this brand expanded to America, it went under the name Dannon which is a yogurt that contains live bacteria and is available all over America today.

Yogurt was first introduced to America in 1929 by an Armenian immigrant family who founded Colombo & Sons Creamery in Andover, Massachusetts using a traditional Armenian recipe. This business was bought by General Mills in 1993, but yogurt is still made at the same location today. You can find more information on this at the Massachusetts History Society and at the Colombo Yogurt website.

In 1947 Dannon introduced yogurt with fruit jam added to the bottom of the container.

In 1950 health guru Gayelord Hauser pushed yogurt into the public consciousness when he published “Look Younger, Live Longer” where he claimed yogurt was a wonder food. As a result, by 1968, sales of yogurt had increased by 500%.

Bookmark:

Related Posts

• February 11, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – What Is Fermentation (2)
  In the case of Yogurt, fermentation is the conversion of carbohydrates (sugars) to organic acids by the action of bacteria. In yogurt made from milk, the carbohydrate is lactose (milk sugar) and the end result organic acid is lactic acid. We have ...
• January 17, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – The Yogurt Maker (0)
  So let's move onto what we need to make yogurt. First we have some decisions to make. We need to get a machine that will make the yogurt for us which is a fermentation process requiring regulated temperature for about 5 to 6 hours. There are tw...
• February 6, 2010 -- Why Yogurt Is So Good For You (4)
  Nutritionally speaking, yogurt is rich in vitamins B6, B12, and Riboflavin, calcium, protein, and probiotics. Vitamin B6 is used in amino acid metabolism, and helps to regulate sugar metabolism, histamine and neurotransmitter production . Vitam...
• January 18, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – Milk, The Main Component (0)
  Before we get in to what we do with milk it is only fair to mention that there are other things besides milk that can be used to make yogurt - we'll explore these other ones in a later article - but here is a short list of liquids you can use to make...
• January 9, 2010 -- Why The Yogurt Makers Make Homemade Yogurt? (0)
  Image by Suviko via Flickr Why did I start a blog on Yogurt you may ask. Well, it’s a bit of a long story, but in a nutshell. Yogurt has one of the highest amounts of calcium per calorie. Yogurt contains valuable pro-biotic sources, like Acid...

You will see this word probiotic many places online and the definition currently in use by the World Health Organization (WHO) is “Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host”.

You are the host by the way. So these are microbes or “small organisms” are alive and when you have enough of them, they give you health benefits.

The most common forms of these microorganisms are lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria. Lactic acid bacteria convert lactose (milk sugar) to lactic acid and if you see the words lactobacillus or acidophilus, this is what is being talked about. This is one of the most common forms of probiotics.

The health benefits that are currently being studied include managing lactose intolerance, prevention of colon cancer, lowering cholesterol levels, lowering blood pressure, improving immune system functioning, preventing infections, reducing inflammation, preventing the growth of harmful bacteria while under stress, improving the absorption of minerals, improving some of the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and colitis, and relieving urinary tract infections.

That is quite a list for a little microorganism and it is very exciting that something so simple can confer such enormous health benefits. As I said, these areas are being studied at the present time, but it certainly seems that eating enough quantities of these microorganisms is to our benefit.

And of course, one of the best natural sources of these critters is Yogurt – and of course I would say homemade yogurt.

So these probiotics are the good guys of intestinal flora, but there are plenty of bad guys and these little miracle workers go to work killing off all the bad bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract – and it is those bad guys that cause a lot of your belly problems. 

Now, you may have heard that taking antibiotics kills of the good bacteria in your body, and this is true and the reason why doctors won’t give you antibiotics endlessly as the bad bacteria will pretty much make sure you get sick again and stay sick. The solution to this is to eat lots of good bacteria while you are taking antibiotics and straight after you have finished to get your levels of good bacteria back up again. And, the best way to do this is to eat lots of yogurt.

Next time I will talk about the process that actually goes on that creates yogurt from milk.

Bookmark:

Related Posts

• February 11, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – What Is Fermentation (2)
  In the case of Yogurt, fermentation is the conversion of carbohydrates (sugars) to organic acids by the action of bacteria. In yogurt made from milk, the carbohydrate is lactose (milk sugar) and the end result organic acid is lactic acid. We have ...
• January 9, 2010 -- Why The Yogurt Makers Make Homemade Yogurt? (0)
  Image by Suviko via Flickr Why did I start a blog on Yogurt you may ask. Well, it’s a bit of a long story, but in a nutshell. Yogurt has one of the highest amounts of calcium per calorie. Yogurt contains valuable pro-biotic sources, like Acid...
• February 6, 2010 -- Why Yogurt Is So Good For You (4)
  Nutritionally speaking, yogurt is rich in vitamins B6, B12, and Riboflavin, calcium, protein, and probiotics. Vitamin B6 is used in amino acid metabolism, and helps to regulate sugar metabolism, histamine and neurotransmitter production . Vitam...
• February 4, 2010 -- The History of Yogurt (2)
  There is evidence that yogurt has been used as a food for at least 5500 years. It possibly originated in the region around Bulgaria where the local name for it means "sour milk" brought about by spontaneous fermentation of naturally occurring bacteri...
• January 18, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – Milk, The Main Component (0)
  Before we get in to what we do with milk it is only fair to mention that there are other things besides milk that can be used to make yogurt - we'll explore these other ones in a later article - but here is a short list of liquids you can use to make...

Full fat milk, Half and half, 2% milk, non-fat milk, goats milk, soy milk, rice milk. If you can get calcium fortified products then that will increase the calcium content of the finished yogurt. Vitamin D is another thing that is added to some products which again will give you a more healthful yogurt.

All the instructions I have read say that you should boil the milk in a saucepan first in order to pasteurize the milk. Now, I can understand this for raw milk products – that is unpasteurized milks – but if you are using pasteurized milk, then I don’t see the point of this step. I did boil the first batch I made, but I wrecked a saucepan and found the burned milk at the bottom was really hard to get off.

As I always use pasteurized calcium fortified 2% milk, I just pour the milk into the inner 1 quart container and nuke it for about 6 minutes. This usually leaves the temperature a little bit too high. I just pull it out of the microwave and clip the thermometer to the side and wait for the temperature to fall to 40 degrees centigrade or about 104 degrees Fahrenheit. My thermometer has a handy green mark at the right temperature.

That’s it. Pour it. Nuke it. Cool it. The milk is ready now to make the perfect yogurt. All we need to do now is add the culture and leave it to incubate.

Bookmark:

Related Posts

• January 9, 2010 -- Why The Yogurt Makers Make Homemade Yogurt? (0)
  Image by Suviko via Flickr Why did I start a blog on Yogurt you may ask. Well, it’s a bit of a long story, but in a nutshell. Yogurt has one of the highest amounts of calcium per calorie. Yogurt contains valuable pro-biotic sources, like Acid...
• January 12, 2010 -- Wait A Minute – Those Numbers Don’t Seem Right (0)
  Yes, I noticed that as well. The quantities are not the same for all the entries and I guess it's easy to come at the top of the list if you just have more than anyone else. So, what I did is a bunch more research about this at the US Department o...
• February 11, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – What Is Fermentation (2)
  In the case of Yogurt, fermentation is the conversion of carbohydrates (sugars) to organic acids by the action of bacteria. In yogurt made from milk, the carbohydrate is lactose (milk sugar) and the end result organic acid is lactic acid. We have ...
• February 6, 2010 -- Why Yogurt Is So Good For You (4)
  Nutritionally speaking, yogurt is rich in vitamins B6, B12, and Riboflavin, calcium, protein, and probiotics. Vitamin B6 is used in amino acid metabolism, and helps to regulate sugar metabolism, histamine and neurotransmitter production . Vitam...
• February 4, 2010 -- The History of Yogurt (2)
  There is evidence that yogurt has been used as a food for at least 5500 years. It possibly originated in the region around Bulgaria where the local name for it means "sour milk" brought about by spontaneous fermentation of naturally occurring bacteri...

First we have some decisions to make.

We need to get a machine that will make the yogurt for us which is a fermentation process requiring regulated temperature for about 5 to 6 hours. There are two main types of Yogurt Makers on the market: The ones that have multiple small containers which sit in an enclosure and the single quart sized containers.

Here you can see an example of the multiple container type of Yogurt Maker. This one has space for 7 small containers.

Here you can see an example of a larger single container Yogurt Maker. This is the one I have and it’s been great to use with no problems whatsoever. It comes with a bag for making cheese, but I’ve not used that yet, and a thermometer. It makes two litres or one quart of yogurt at a time.

so, which type is better? My own thought on this is that it would be better to make a single batch of yogurt and then put it in smaller containers if so desired. With the smaller containers in these models you have to pour multiple times and apply smaller amounts of the starter culture and hope you get the amount right. I don’t like guessing about these things and so my preference is the single containers models. But, if price is a factor, then the multiple container types are cheaper to purchase.

Bookmark:

Related Posts

• February 11, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – What Is Fermentation (2)
  In the case of Yogurt, fermentation is the conversion of carbohydrates (sugars) to organic acids by the action of bacteria. In yogurt made from milk, the carbohydrate is lactose (milk sugar) and the end result organic acid is lactic acid. We have ...
• February 4, 2010 -- The History of Yogurt (2)
  There is evidence that yogurt has been used as a food for at least 5500 years. It possibly originated in the region around Bulgaria where the local name for it means "sour milk" brought about by spontaneous fermentation of naturally occurring bacteri...
• January 9, 2010 -- Why The Yogurt Makers Make Homemade Yogurt? (0)
  Image by Suviko via Flickr Why did I start a blog on Yogurt you may ask. Well, it’s a bit of a long story, but in a nutshell. Yogurt has one of the highest amounts of calcium per calorie. Yogurt contains valuable pro-biotic sources, like Acid...
• February 6, 2010 -- Why Yogurt Is So Good For You (4)
  Nutritionally speaking, yogurt is rich in vitamins B6, B12, and Riboflavin, calcium, protein, and probiotics. Vitamin B6 is used in amino acid metabolism, and helps to regulate sugar metabolism, histamine and neurotransmitter production . Vitam...
• January 18, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – Milk, The Main Component (0)
  Before we get in to what we do with milk it is only fair to mention that there are other things besides milk that can be used to make yogurt - we'll explore these other ones in a later article - but here is a short list of liquids you can use to make...

The first column (mg/ounce) shows how many milligrams of calcium there are in one ounce. The second column (% RDA) is what percentage of the recommended daily allowance one ounce would provide. The last column (ounces) is how many ounces you would need to consume to get your daily recommended allowance. The chart uses the upper recommended daily allowance of 1500 milligrams of calcium per day. So, if you are in one of the categories that needs less than that then you would not need less to get your daily recommended allowance.

As you can see, Cheese tops the chart followed by sardines, low fat yogurts, then milk, and finally whole fat yogurt.

It is interesting to me that Cheese, which is made from milk, is so much higher in calcium content and that whole fat products are so much lower. But, that will take more research and a future article.

Bookmark:

Related Posts

• January 13, 2010 -- A Look At the Numbers and a Gripe about Statistics (0)
  So here is the first chart again. The first column is the quoted measure. As pointed out in the last post, the measures are not in any way equal and therefore the rest of the numbers are very misleading. To even out the results and put everything ...
• January 12, 2010 -- Wait A Minute – Those Numbers Don’t Seem Right (0)
  Yes, I noticed that as well. The quantities are not the same for all the entries and I guess it's easy to come at the top of the list if you just have more than anyone else. So, what I did is a bunch more research about this at the US Department o...
• January 11, 2010 -- Let’s Talk About Yogurt and Calcium (0)
  I said in my last post that yogurt had one of the highest amounts of calcium by weight - so here, I wanted to expand on that a bit. So let's first take a look at a chart of different foods and their calcium content. Ten Best Foods For Calcium ...
• February 6, 2010 -- Why Yogurt Is So Good For You (4)
  Nutritionally speaking, yogurt is rich in vitamins B6, B12, and Riboflavin, calcium, protein, and probiotics. Vitamin B6 is used in amino acid metabolism, and helps to regulate sugar metabolism, histamine and neurotransmitter production . Vitam...
• January 18, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – Milk, The Main Component (0)
  Before we get in to what we do with milk it is only fair to mention that there are other things besides milk that can be used to make yogurt - we'll explore these other ones in a later article - but here is a short list of liquids you can use to make...

The first column is the quoted measure. As pointed out in the last post, the measures are not in any way equal and therefore the rest of the numbers are very misleading. To even out the results and put everything on a level footing, the Adjusted column represents what the actual measure would be in ounces with 1 cup being equal to 8 ounces. I had to omit the “oz” symbol as the spreadsheet would not calculate correctly with that in there, but they are in ounces. The third column Calcium mg is the amount of calcium that was measured in the study measured in milligrams. The last column Calories is the number of calories measure in the study.

Before we continue though there is one other thing I want to gripe about, and that is the Soy Beverage, calcium fortified is another example of trying to compare apples to oranges. Since none of the other samples were calcium fortified, it is not right to include the Soy in this list as there is calcium fortified milk which is not measured. So future displays of this chart will not include the Soy.

Now there are other foods that have calcium in them – lots of foods in fact – but they are generally very low in calcium. For instance, Spinach has calcium in it, but you would need to eat a veritable pile of Spinach to get your daily recommended allowance of between 1000mg and 1500 mg of calcium. So this chart just shows the foods with the highest amounts of calcium in them and there are many more foods which you could use to add to your daily calcium intake.

This chart is not much use to vegetarians as dairy products are naturally high in calcium and calcium fortified dairy products are even higher. But if you are the sort of vegetarian that can eat fish, then Salmon and Sardines are awesome sources of calcium.

So that is the first chart which is essentially, the top 20 calcium containing foods and I can see some yummy combinations in there already. Sardines and plain yogurt go great together and Salmon with a blue cheese sauce would be delightful. I am fortunate in so far as I love Cheddar cheese, Blue Cheese, Sardines, Salmon, yogurt, and 2% milk – as long as it is lactose free, so I can see some great possibilities.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at the second chart.

Bookmark:

Related Posts

• January 12, 2010 -- Wait A Minute – Those Numbers Don’t Seem Right (0)
  Yes, I noticed that as well. The quantities are not the same for all the entries and I guess it's easy to come at the top of the list if you just have more than anyone else. So, what I did is a bunch more research about this at the US Department o...
• January 11, 2010 -- Let’s Talk About Yogurt and Calcium (0)
  I said in my last post that yogurt had one of the highest amounts of calcium by weight - so here, I wanted to expand on that a bit. So let's first take a look at a chart of different foods and their calcium content. Ten Best Foods For Calcium ...
• January 14, 2010 -- How Much Do You Need To Eat? (2)
  Here is the second chart. The first column (mg/ounce) shows how many milligrams of calcium there are in one ounce. The second column (% RDA) is what percentage of the recommended daily allowance one ounce would provide. The last column (ounces) is...
• February 6, 2010 -- Why Yogurt Is So Good For You (4)
  Nutritionally speaking, yogurt is rich in vitamins B6, B12, and Riboflavin, calcium, protein, and probiotics. Vitamin B6 is used in amino acid metabolism, and helps to regulate sugar metabolism, histamine and neurotransmitter production . Vitam...
• January 18, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – Milk, The Main Component (0)
  Before we get in to what we do with milk it is only fair to mention that there are other things besides milk that can be used to make yogurt - we'll explore these other ones in a later article - but here is a short list of liquids you can use to make...

So, what I did is a bunch more research about this at the US Department of Health and Human Services. What I did is try to get all the quantities to be in ounces and then divide the calcium amount by the ounces to get a ranked list.

This first table shows the contenders and I set 1 cup = 8 ounces.

This next chart shows the results by weight along with the %RDA per ounce

I do have to say that these figures do not quite jive with other figures I have seen quoted on the net and there are some discrepancies here like adding calcium fortified soy milk, but not calcium fortified cow milk.

The final chart is order by mg of calcium per calorie – just in case the calories you consume are important to you.

Next post I’ll take a look at what these charts mean.

Bookmark:

Related Posts

• January 13, 2010 -- A Look At the Numbers and a Gripe about Statistics (0)
  So here is the first chart again. The first column is the quoted measure. As pointed out in the last post, the measures are not in any way equal and therefore the rest of the numbers are very misleading. To even out the results and put everything ...
• January 11, 2010 -- Let’s Talk About Yogurt and Calcium (0)
  I said in my last post that yogurt had one of the highest amounts of calcium by weight - so here, I wanted to expand on that a bit. So let's first take a look at a chart of different foods and their calcium content. Ten Best Foods For Calcium ...
• January 18, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – Milk, The Main Component (0)
  Before we get in to what we do with milk it is only fair to mention that there are other things besides milk that can be used to make yogurt - we'll explore these other ones in a later article - but here is a short list of liquids you can use to make...
• January 14, 2010 -- How Much Do You Need To Eat? (2)
  Here is the second chart. The first column (mg/ounce) shows how many milligrams of calcium there are in one ounce. The second column (% RDA) is what percentage of the recommended daily allowance one ounce would provide. The last column (ounces) is...
• January 9, 2010 -- Why The Yogurt Makers Make Homemade Yogurt? (0)
  Image by Suviko via Flickr Why did I start a blog on Yogurt you may ask. Well, it’s a bit of a long story, but in a nutshell. Yogurt has one of the highest amounts of calcium per calorie. Yogurt contains valuable pro-biotic sources, like Acid...

Ten Best Foods For Calcium

Bookmark:

Related Posts

• January 13, 2010 -- A Look At the Numbers and a Gripe about Statistics (0)
  So here is the first chart again. The first column is the quoted measure. As pointed out in the last post, the measures are not in any way equal and therefore the rest of the numbers are very misleading. To even out the results and put everything ...
• January 12, 2010 -- Wait A Minute – Those Numbers Don’t Seem Right (0)
  Yes, I noticed that as well. The quantities are not the same for all the entries and I guess it's easy to come at the top of the list if you just have more than anyone else. So, what I did is a bunch more research about this at the US Department o...
• January 14, 2010 -- How Much Do You Need To Eat? (2)
  Here is the second chart. The first column (mg/ounce) shows how many milligrams of calcium there are in one ounce. The second column (% RDA) is what percentage of the recommended daily allowance one ounce would provide. The last column (ounces) is...
• February 6, 2010 -- Why Yogurt Is So Good For You (4)
  Nutritionally speaking, yogurt is rich in vitamins B6, B12, and Riboflavin, calcium, protein, and probiotics. Vitamin B6 is used in amino acid metabolism, and helps to regulate sugar metabolism, histamine and neurotransmitter production . Vitam...
• January 18, 2010 -- Making Yogurt – Milk, The Main Component (0)
  Before we get in to what we do with milk it is only fair to mention that there are other things besides milk that can be used to make yogurt - we'll explore these other ones in a later article - but here is a short list of liquids you can use to make...