What? The "yogurt" you drink may not be real yogurt...

A while ago, a popular yogurt brand was discussed online because of its high price, suspected non-dairy creamer, and the use of ice cream milk instead of yogurt as the base. What is the difference between non-dairy creamer, milk and yogurt? How should we choose yogurt from the dazzling array of supermarket shelves? Let's learn about it today~

Image source: 36kr.com

01 What is the difference between non-dairy creamer, milk powder and yogurt?

Yogurt is a product made from raw cow (sheep) milk or milk powder, which is sterilized and fermented according to a specific process. The two most commonly used fermentation bacteria are Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, which are used in almost all yogurts.

Lactobacillus bulgaricus (left) and Streptococcus thermophilus (right)

Image source: sohu.com

During the fermentation process, not only are the original nutrients in the milk retained, but most of the lactose is also converted into lactic acid, which can eliminate or alleviate the symptoms of lactose intolerance in the drinker. Therefore, the fermentation process makes the nutrients in the milk more easily absorbed by the human body.

Yogurt making process

Image source: self-made by the author

Unlike yogurt, which is made from raw cow (sheep) milk or milk powder, non-dairy creamer is made from refined vegetable oil or hydrogenated vegetable oil, casein, etc. , and is commonly known as creamer because it looks like milk powder. Milk pulp is made by mixing fresh milk, water, sweeteners, flavors, etc. , and is mostly used in the production of ice cream.

Non-dairy creamer

Image source: zhihu.com

Milk pulp image source: zhihu.com

The biggest difference between non-dairy creamer, ice cream milk and yogurt is that the nutritional content is quite different . Yogurt is made by adding fermentation bacteria to milk, which contains more lactic acid bacteria and protein, which can promote digestion and enhance immunity. Non-dairy creamer and ice cream milk are non-fermented desserts with high fat or sugar content.

02

How to tell whether the "yogurt" you drink is yogurt?

We see different kinds of yogurt on the market, including old yogurt, skim yogurt, Greek yogurt, Icelandic yogurt, Australian yogurt, etc. How can we tell whether they are yogurt?

We can find some clues from the name.

Yogurt can be roughly divided into these categories: plain yogurt, flavored yogurt, and fermented milk.

Plain yogurt is the most primitive yogurt. It has no additional additives except fermentation bacteria, and retains the original taste and nutrition of the yogurt.

Flavored yogurt is made by adding fruits, nuts, sugar, honey, spices, etc. to original yogurt.

Whether it is plain yogurt or flavored yogurt, it is made from raw cow (sheep) milk or milk powder, and is fermented with only two probiotics, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus . Fermented milk is also made from raw cow (sheep) milk or milk powder, which is sterilized and then fermented, but there are no requirements for the inoculated bacteria during its fermentation process .

We can see the difference between the three from the ingredient list:

The ingredient list of original yogurt and flavored yogurt includes two probiotics, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, but fermented milk does not.

Original yogurt Image source: sohu.com

Flavored yogurt

Image source: sohu.com

Fermented milk Image source: sohu.com

Of course, it may not be enough to identify yogurt by its name. Some products have very confusing names. At this time, it is important to look at one indicator: whether the protein content in every 100g/ml is ≥2.3g .

The left side is yogurt, the right side is not

Image source: zhihu.com

03 The thicker the yogurt, the better the quality?

Now that we know how to identify yogurt, let’s take a look at the consistency of yogurt.

Some yogurts are thicker, some are thinner. Are there any differences in their nutritional value?

The nutritional value of yogurt has nothing to do with its consistency .

From the perspective of production technology, yogurt can be divided into two types: coagulated type and stirred type.

The coagulation type is to put milk and fermentation bacteria directly into the yogurt cup for fermentation. During the fermentation process of lactic acid bacteria, a large amount of lactic acid will be generated, which will cause the tight double helix structure of milk protein to gradually become fluffy and interweave into a mesh structure. Water molecules are wrapped in the fluffy mesh, forming a curd phenomenon. The bowl-shaped and canned "old yogurt" commonly seen on the market is the coagulation type.

Image source: zhuanlan.zhihu.com

The stirred type is first fermented in a fermentation tank, then stirred evenly before filling. Stirring destroys the network structure of milk protein, releasing water molecules, and visually becomes thinner. Most cup yogurts are relatively thin.

Image source: zhihu.com

Some yogurts also add thickeners such as xanthan gum, gelatin, and carrageenan in order to pursue a thicker texture and taste. These food gums are themselves conventional food raw materials and will not have a significant impact on the quality of the yogurt .

Do you know more about yogurt after reading this? In summary, knowing how to read the ingredient list is the key. To distinguish between sour milk and fermented milk, you should mainly look at whether it contains two probiotics, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Yogurt is only considered yogurt if the protein content per 100g/ml is ≥2.3g. Finally, whether it is thick or thin, it is good yogurt.

Author: Wang Zhengyuan, deputy chief physician of Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, PhD in Nutrition Editor: He Huizi