We all have those family recipes that are passed down from generation to generation. From chocolate cookies to the secret sauce of spaghetti grandmother, these recipes connect us with our past and our loved ones. But some of these family recipes are slightly more unique than the rest – as the tradition of using ants for the production of yogurt.
A new study published in ISCAINGThe chronicle of this forgotten way of creating yogurt, which arose in the Balkans and Turkey, includes the premises of garbage in milk. The team of researchers went to Bulgaria to study this traditional technique for the manufacture of yogurt, and tried it for myself.
“Providing scientific evidence with these traditions has a deep meaning and goal, although they may seem strange and more like a myth, I think this is really fine,” said Leoni Dzhan, senior author of the Denmark Technical University, in Press releaseField
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Creation of yogurt with ants
Use of ants to make yogurt Once it was a very common practice in the Balkans and Turkey. Fortunately for the researchers, a member of their team had family members living in Bulgaria, who remembered this tradition and were able to convey their knowledge and recipe.
To make yogurt, researchers put four red wooden ants in a jar with warm milk, and then placed this jar in an ant to roam at night. When they went to check the jar in the morning, the milk was clearly thicker and began to become sour.
Of course, to complete the experiment, a test of taste was required. When sampling to yogurt created by the ant, the team noted that he tried sharp and herbal with a small taste of fat, fed by grass.
How do ants turn milk into yogurt?
After their Bulgarian experiment, the research group returned Jogurt to their laboratory in Denmark to conduct further tests. The science behind the process indicates three things: bacteria, acid and enzymes.
Ants of the red tree carry both lactic and acetic acid bacteria. This bacterium is similar to the one that occurs in the sourdough. When placing acids produced by this bacterium in milk, help in coagulation. In addition, anticic acid is released as part of the protective system of the ant and creates an ideal environment for the prosperity of yogurt microbes. Along with microbes, anti -antenaty enzymes help to destroy milk proteins, the result of which is the transformation of milk into yogurtField
“Today's yogurts are usually produced only with two bacterial strains. If you look at traditional yogurt, you have a much greater biodiversity that differs depending on the location, households and season. This brings more tastes, textures and personalities, ”Jan said in the press release.
Bringing the ants of yogurt to the modern world
After staying in the laboratory, the researchers collaborated with cooks in the Michelin's Alchemist two -star restaurant to check the possibilities ant Yogurt as a modern culinary option. The delightful offers in the menu of the anthole of Yogurt included sandwiches with ice cream in the shape of an ant, sharp cheeses and even craft cocktails with washing milk.
Despite the fact that an attempt to tasting menu with an ant yogurt may not be at the top of your list of food buckets, researchers find opportunities to include traditional methods in modern kitchen very exciting.
“I hope that people recognize the importance of the community and, perhaps, listen a little closer when their grandmother shares the recipe or memory that seems unusual,” said Veronika Sinotta from the University of Copenhagen, in the press release. “Training in this practice and the creation of a space for bio -cultural heritage in our grocery routes is important.”
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