A Brief History of Yogurt
The word yogurt is comes from the Turkish verb “yogurmak” (to thicken). It is believed that yogurt was being made in Turkey as early as the 6th century BCE.
Central Asian herdsmen, who stored their extra goat’s milk in containers made out of animal stomachs to preserve it while on the go, found to their surprise, became thick and tart; but was still edible even after a surprisingly long period of time in the hot sun.
In many ancient Asian civilizations, yogurt was a part of their diet. Fans included Genghis Khan and his Mongol army – yoghurt was believed to give them strength and stamina in battle. The Indian emperor Akbar liked to spice up his yogurt with cinnamon and mustard seeds.
For centuries, yogurt was made only within the home and not for mass production. Till 1005 when Blugarian microbiologist Stamen Grigorov discovered Lactobacillus bulgaricus, the bacteria strain that ferments milk into yogurt.
