Article by Dr. Simi Rezai-Ghassemi | Photgraphy by Janna Tamargo | Published October 16, 2024
Just because you can measure the bacteria and systemize the production, is it yoghurt? Ubiquitous, nutritious, versatile yoghurt is found all over the world and enjoyed in a variety of forms, from thick and creamy to sour and tangy. Served as sweet and savory drinks, cooked in vegetable borani, or enjoyed as a frozen scoop with pie. My first food memory is of eating yoghurt with my dad.
What is yoghurt?
Natural* traditional yoghurt is made by mixing yoghurt into warmed milk, leaving it undisturbed in a warm place to ferment into yoghurt. In other words, you have to have yoghurt to make yoghurt. Yoghurt is more digestible, its nutrients are more bioavailable and it keeps longer than milk.
The Definition of Modern Industrial Yoghurt: Rules, Regulations, and ISO Numbers
Modern industrial yoghurt is clearly defined by rules, regulations, and ISO numbers that govern the making and labeling of yoghurt. If a standard amount of Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus bacteria are added to milk, the product can be called yoghurt. It is produced in sterilized vats and at a very specific temperature. Then, it is packaged and kept in a fridge to ensure longevity and reduce contamination. Usually, this kind of yoghurt is also fortified with minerals, vitamins, and proteins. At the same time its color, texture, and flavor are adulterated with dyes, thickeners, and flavorings. Science and technology have created a variety and new products but can we call them yoghurt?
Based on what I’ve said above about how traditional yoghurt is made, some of you may be thinking of it as being sealed and sterilized. But, doesn’t that defeat the object of yoghurt or any other fermented food for that matter?
Interestingly, despite having an exact commercial recipe for making yoghurt there isn’t one spelling of the word. You can tell which side of the Atlantic people are from by the way they spell yoghurt / yogurt in English. Furthermore, yoghurt is a Turkish word and here too there isn’t a consensus on the meaning, it could either mean to thicken, or, to sleep. In my mother tongue—Azeri, which is a Turkic language— it is known as gatukh which means to mix. I postulate—as with other descriptive words for food in my part of the world—yoghurt is called gatukh because you mix yoghurt into milk to make it.
Talking of my neck of the woods, archeological findings tell us humans have been processing sheep and goat milk in the Caucuses for millennia. Milk has bacteria in it and when it secretes from the animal, it is exposed to environmental microorganisms. Depending on the said organisms it is turned into a variety of dairy products. Milk left on a counter will curdle or thicken and separate into curds and whey, and is known as clabber. It is in milk’s nature to transform/ferment and it is no surprise that it was one of the first processed foods we consumed.
Original yoghurt bacteria came from plants but we are not yet sure which specific plants these were. There are, however, various theories and being a galanthophile I love the idea it could have been snowdrops. Indigenous to the Caucuses, snowdrops flower in springtime when there would have been milk gluts. We can imagine that milk would have been collected in the same vessel over and over again. Once plant bacteria got into a batch of milk it fermented into yoghurt. Afterwards, when fresh milk was added to this container it would have been exposed to these bacteria and become yoghurt. Repeating the process would produce a more stable environment of bacteria and yoghurt.
The Complexity of Authenticity in Food: A Personal Perspective
As to the authenticity of yoghurt or any food for that matter, discussions about authenticity can be entertaining but our modern desire for exact science and logic makes authenticity hard to prove. If we consider authenticity from the point of view of the individual, are we talking about expectations? Take me, as an Azerbaijani from Iran. When in Tabriz I may expect yoghurt to have thick crinkly skin on top (lactoderm) and taste sour. I’d buy it twice a week from a yoghurt maker in a 1kg glazed earthenware bowl. Here in the UK, I expect it to come in either a glass jar or plastic packaging, be white in color, homogenized, and creamy. As for use, I eat it with most of my savory meals. Occasionally I dilute it, add mint, and drink it with ice as a thirst quencher. This might be very different from your expectations and how you use yoghurt. When we arrived in the UK in the 70s and the only yoghurt available to buy was a pink strawberry flavored yoghurt, you can imagine our surprise.
For me, when it comes to food, authenticity has as much to do with how I feel as it does with what I believe. My gut instinct guides me on its reliability and sincerity with regards to the ingredients and techniques used. We all feel it when we eat food made for us by an indigenous person, who we trust, knows the cultural wisdom and traditions of that food.
Authentic doesn’t mean original but rather particular. Without getting into a philosophical Discussion on authenticity, authentic modern yoghurt could be said to be made by mixing local yoghurt into local natural milk exposed to the environment it finds itself in. The climate, type of milk, and microorganisms will determine the texture and flavor. Every second, hour, and season the taste of milk will change depending on what the animal has eaten, the local flora, and the insects that get in contact with the milk. Therefore the yoghurt will be spatially and temporally authentic.
If I—an Azeri—make you yoghurt in my home in Bath in the UK with milk from local sheep, using a locally made yoghurt as the starter or even the yoghurt I brought back from Iran, is that authentic or inauthentic? We all have a perspective informed by our lives and cultures, not only regarding what yoghurt is but in the West, even how to spell it.
*In this article natural milk is milk from ancient local breeds of animals which roam freely in pasture with low, I’d like to say no pollution of the soil, water and air where bacteria, fungi and yeasts live in harmony.
