How do you know if the yogurt has been fermented or not? Well, if it is sweet it is likely not fermented. If it is really thick, it likely hasn't been fermented. If it has some fake coloring in it, it is likely not fermented either. What does all this mean? Let's look at how yogurt is made.
Commercially-produced yogurt is often made from dried milk and milk proteins and re-hydrated with water. An acid is added to the milk to thicken it. Then a bunch of sugar is added to it (we just go to have everything sweet!). After the sugars are added only then are the probiotics (which are often freeze dried, meaning 95% of the microbes are dead!) added and the "yogurt" is put in the chiller to prevent fermentation. This means no fermentation occurs at all in the process.
This process is completely different than how traditional, real, yogurt is made. None of the milk sugars have been fermented and broken down, nor have any of the beneficial enzymes or other metabolites been produced. As for these sugary non-fermented yogurts, this means that all the health benefits that are touted about the probiotic aspects of yogurt are not really true. When you consume these popular yogurts, you are consuming quite a lot of sugars and some fairly ineffective microbes. It is totally different than if you consume a traditional, fermented milk product that is thicker than milk and pretty sour in taste, not sweet. Take a look at these resources on how to make your own REAL yogurt:
- Sandor Katz, in his book, The Art of Fermentation, has a very traditional recipe for making home made yogurt. You can read about it here: http://www.splendidtable.org/story/yogurt-an-excerpt-from-the-art-of-fermentation.
- For those of you who prefer the thicker Greek style yogurt: http://www.happysimpleliving.com/2011/03/06/make-your-own-homemade-greek-yogurt/.
*photo from: Image by Profet77 from Pixabay.
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