Lactobacillus Bulgaricus Grigoroff (Bulgarian Yoghurt)
Milk curdles and the process has fascinated people for centuries. Any milk that is kept in a goat or kidskin bag will sour. The transformation of milk into a dense substance, led a number of ancient healers to believe that there was a living creature in the milk. The living creature transpired to be bacteria and was discovered by Louis Pasteur in the mid 19th Century. Bacteria can make fresh milk sour and can create a unique taste.
According to some linguists, the word yoghurt does not derive from Turkish, but from Old Bulgarian. It consists of two words ‘yog’ which means ‘dense’ or ‘thick’ and ‘urt’ – literally meaning ‘thick milk’. Bulgarian yoghurt is unique, unlike kumis in Central Asia, Russian kefir or Turkish yoghurt. Its production is not possible without constant contact with Bulgaria. The reason for this was not clear until the end of the 19th Century following a discovery by Bulgarian microbiologist Stamen Grigorov. Born in 1878, near the western Bulgarian town of Tran, Grigorov studied natural science in Montpelier, France and later medicine in Germany. When returning from Studen Izvor, Grigorov’s wife prepared a pot of yoghurt for the journey, Grigorov analysed the remains and discovered an unknown rod-shaped bacterium. In 1905, Grigorov presented an official report on Bulgarian yoghurt to the Pasteur Institute in Paris. In recognition of the work, the name Grigorov was added to the title of the bacterium Lactobacillus bulgaricus.
However, the bulgaricus strain mutates and degenerates when outside Bulgaria. The director of the Pasteur Institute and winner of the Nobel Prize for medicine, Ilya Mechnikov, valued immense benefits from Bulgarian yoghurt and considered it to be the elixir of external youth. Grigorov’s discovery helped Mechnikov understand why Bulgarians live longer than people from other countries when those nations enjoyed a higher standard of living. The benefits of yoghurt include that it is rich in amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, Calcium and Phosphorus. It has a proven healing effect on gastro-intestinal infections, improves the metabolism, burns fat, assists tissue growth, stimulates the immune system, clears toxins from the blood and normalises cholesterol levels.
Also made under licence in Japan, the Japanese Ambassador to Bulgaria Mr Tsunehalu Takeda said “about 24 million Japanese eat Bulgarian yoghurt daily”.
Normally eaten from a pot with a spoon, from an English perspective it becomes a tasty, healthy breakfast when mixed with muesli and a sliced banana. Summertime variations include tarator, a cold soup made from diluted yoghurt, cucumber, finely-chopped dill, garlic, salt, olive oil and ground walnuts. Dehydrated, this is known as tzatziki in Greece and cacik in Turkey but found on Bulgarian menus as Snezhanka. Ayryan is another yoghurt transfusion, particularly appetising when the yoghurt is prepared with sparkling water. When accompanied by the cult summer drink Mastika, from the ouzo family, Ayryan becomes as popular as the summer sun.
Milk curdles and the process has fascinated people for centuries. Any milk that is kept in a goat or kidskin bag will sour. The transformation of milk into a dense substance, led a number of ancient healers to believe that there was a living creature in the milk. The living creature transpired to be bacteria and was discovered by Louis Pasteur in the mid 19th Century. Bacteria can make fresh milk sour and can create a unique taste.
According to some linguists, the word yoghurt does not derive from Turkish, but from Old Bulgarian. It consists of two words ‘yog’ which means ‘dense’ or ‘thick’ and ‘urt’ – literally meaning ‘thick milk’. Bulgarian yoghurt is unique, unlike kumis in Central Asia, Russian kefir or Turkish yoghurt. Its production is not possible without constant contact with Bulgaria. The reason for this was not clear until the end of the 19th Century following a discovery by Bulgarian microbiologist Stamen Grigorov. Born in 1878, near the western Bulgarian town of Tran, Grigorov studied natural science in Montpelier, France and later medicine in Germany. When returning from Studen Izvor, Grigorov’s wife prepared a pot of yoghurt for the journey, Grigorov analysed the remains and discovered an unknown rod-shaped bacterium. In 1905, Grigorov presented an official report on Bulgarian yoghurt to the Pasteur Institute in Paris. In recognition of the work, the name Grigorov was added to the title of the bacterium Lactobacillus bulgaricus.
However, the bulgaricus strain mutates and degenerates when outside Bulgaria. The director of the Pasteur Institute and winner of the Nobel Prize for medicine, Ilya Mechnikov, valued immense benefits from Bulgarian yoghurt and considered it to be the elixir of external youth. Grigorov’s discovery helped Mechnikov understand why Bulgarians live longer than people from other countries when those nations enjoyed a higher standard of living. The benefits of yoghurt include that it is rich in amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, Calcium and Phosphorus. It has a proven healing effect on gastro-intestinal infections, improves the metabolism, burns fat, assists tissue growth, stimulates the immune system, clears toxins from the blood and normalises cholesterol levels.Also made under licence in Japan, the Japanese Ambassador to Bulgaria Mr Tsunehalu Takeda said “about 24 million Japanese eat Bulgarian yoghurt daily”.
Normally eaten from a pot with a spoon, from an English perspective it becomes a tasty, healthy breakfast when mixed with muesli and a sliced banana. Summertime variations include tarator, a cold soup made from diluted yoghurt, cucumber, finely-chopped dill, garlic, salt, olive oil and ground walnuts. Dehydrated, this is known as tzatziki in Greece and cacik in Turkey but found on Bulgarian menus as Snezhanka. Ayryan is another yoghurt transfusion, particularly appetising when the yoghurt is prepared with sparkling water. When accompanied by the cult summer drink Mastika, from the ouzo family, Ayryan becomes as popular as the summer sun.