YOGURT PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION

INTRODUCTION

Yogurt is a food product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk:

fermentation of lactose by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on
milk protein to give yogurt its texture and its characteristic .

Yogurt is produced using a culture of Lactobacillus bulgaricus and

Streptococcus thermophilus bacteria. In addition, other lactobacilli and
bifidobacteria are also sometimes added during or after culturing yogurt.

Nutritional value

Yogurt is rich in protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B 12.

Yogurt contains varying amounts of fat. For example, some cows'-milk

yogurts contain no fat; others of low fat content have 2% fat and whole-milk
yogurt may have 4% fat.

It has nutritional benefits beyond those of milk, namely due to its probiotic
swhich benefits human health by improving lactose digestion,
gastrointestinal function, and stimulating the immune system.

individuals with lactose intolerance tend to tolerate yogurt better than other
dairy products due to the conversion of lactose in milk to glucose and
galactose and the fermentation of lactose to lactic acid carried out by the
bacteria present in the yogurt.

Ingredients

Milk :this depends on the type of yogurt to be prepared ie whole milk for
full fat yogurt, low fat milk for low fat yogurt, and skim milk for nonfat
yogurt.

Cream helps to adjust the fat content,

Non fat dry milk to adjust the solids content.

Stabilizers(alginates,gelatin,gums,pectinsand starch) : its used to improve
the body and texture by increasing firmness, preventing separation of the
whey and helping to keep the fruit uniformly mixed in the yogurt.

Sweeteners, flavors and fruit: are used to provide variety to the

consumer .

PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION

Food processing is a beneficial process because it helps to increase food

availability,to transform poor quality materials togood ones ,to increase the
shelf life,to ensure the supply of healthy and nutritious foods and to ensure
high standard products .

A food is considered preserved once it is stabilized with respect to safety and

quality.

Steps of yogurt processing and preservation.

Adjust Milk Composition & Blend Ingredients

Milk composition may be adjusted to achieve the desired fat and solids
content. Often dry milk is added to increase the amount of whey protein to
provide a desirable texture. Ingredients such as stabilizers are added at this
time.

Pasteurization

this is heat treatment that helps to denature the whey protein, the milk
mixture is heated at 85C for 30 minutes or at 95C for 10 minutes.

This allows the proteins to form a more stable gel, which prevents separation
of the water during storage.

The high heat treatment also further reduces the number of spoilage
organisms in the milk to provide a better environment for the starter cultures
to grow.

fermentation
Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. ferment lactose
(milk sugar) to produce lactic acid which decreases the pH and causes the
milk to form the soft gel that is characteristic of yogurt.

Other bacterial cultures, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus

subsp. casei, and Bifido-bacteria may be added to yogurt as probiotic
cultures.

Homogenization

The blend is homogenized in order to mix all ingredients thoroughly and

improve yogurt consistency.

Cooling

The milk is cooled at 42C to bring the yogurt to the ideal growth
temperature for the starter culture.

Inoculation with Starter Cultures

The starter culture are mixed into the cooled milk.

Holding

The milk is held at 42C until a pH 4.5 is reached. This allows the
fermentation to progress to form a soft gel and the characteristic flavor of
yogurt. This process can take several hours.

Cooling

The yogurt is cooled to 7C to stop the fermentation process.

Add Fruit & Flavors

Fruit and flavors are added at different steps depending on the type of yogurt

Package

The yogurt is pumped from the fermentation vat and packaged as desired,
under controlled environments.
REFERENCES

http://www.milkfacts.info/Milk%20Processing/Yogurt%20Production.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogurt