" first part
The subsequent production phases differ in relation to the type of yogurt we want to obtain, just as shown in the figure:
Compact Yogurt
Before operating the fermentation, aromas (coffee, chocolate, etc.) and / or fruit (jams, pieces of fruit treated to inactivate enzymes) are added; then proceed directly with the packaging. In this way the fermentation takes place directly inside the jars, left to incubate for about three hours at a temperature of 42-43 ° C; the inoculated bacteria then begin to ferment the lactose with lactic acid and produce aromatic substances. compact or whole clot precisely because the mass maintains a certain consistency by operating the fermentation inside the jar. In the last phase the product is subjected to a significant drop in temperature, which stops the activity of the microbial strains and enzymes, avoiding the consequent degradation of the product.
Creamy Yogurt
The first phase consists in incubation, in the same way as for compact yogurt. Cooling and the addition of aromas and fruit follows, which involves the need to stir the mass, breaking the clot and making the product more liquid and velvety; packaging and storage follows.
Drinking yoghurt
We proceed with the incubation, with the subsequent addition of aromas and fruit, to then mix and homogenize everything; the quantity of bacterial strains added is however lower than the other two types of yogurt and this allows to obtain a more liquid product.
Fruit Yogurt, Fruity, Whole or Lean
- FRUIT YOGURT: after breaking the clot, jam, seared chopped fruit, fruit juices up to a maximum of 30% can be added.
- FRUITY YOGURT: with the addition of natural flavoring and coloring.
- WHOLE YOGURT: 3% minimum in lipids.
- LEAN YOGURT: 1% maximum in lipids (in some products, starting from totally skimmed milks it reaches 0.1%)
Italian legislation prohibits the use of thickeners, gelling agents or compact yoghurt.
Nutritional Value of Yogurt
Compared to milk, yogurt contains less lactose, because this has been transformed into lactic acid by bacteria; it can therefore be considered a dietary product, also useful for those suffering from lactose intolerance. All the other nutritional principles, on the other hand, undergo an increase, due to the concentration of the product (see also: milk or yogurt?).
Calcium and phosphorus are more available and as such are absorbed in higher quantities than those present in milk, thanks to the acid environment.
The low pH of yogurt gives this food a high buffering power, which regulates the gastric pH making it easy to digest.
Yogurt has an antibiotic action on pathogenic intestinal microorganisms, even if it cannot be considered a probiotic because the bacterial strains it contains are foreign to the normal intestinal bacterial flora.
Finally, yogurt stimulates the fermentative intestinal flora to the detriment of the putrefactive one.
