MiracleFood

YogurtthroughouttimebyAveryTollefson.
Mostly everyone hastriedyogurtintheirlifetime.WhetheritbeDannon,Yoplait,orhomemade.
But did you know yogurt is an incredibly old dish. The delicious snack dates back to 3rd
Millenium BC. One of the oldest trace of yogurt was amongst what would be known Turkey.
Theyfermentedmilkin sheepskinbagstoconserveit.Howevercomparedtotheyogurtwehave
today, theirs was much different. It came with much less flavors of course, andusedhorsemilk
opposedtocowmilk.Thisisntanythingtoosurprising,manycountriesusedother animalsmilk
untilthewesternpopulationofcowmilk.
Practically any civilization that kept animals for milk have been making yogurts for
centuries.Yogurt of different assortments and different textures, but most importantly from
different bacterias. Many yogurt fanatics (They exist apparently) would agree that it isthemain
importance of the yogurt. For this reason, it is the main difference between different kinds of
yogurts. People like the Turks of warmer climates prefer thermophilic bacteria. While those in
coolerclimatespreferedmesophilictofermenttheirmilk.

Many cultures. In the 16th century it was reported that a Turkish doctor saved King Franciss
life by treating his intestinal illness with yogurt made from goats milk. The healthy bacteria of
the yogurt cured him of his illness like no other. The news of this cure brought yogurt into the
spotlight as a health drink to keep your intestines healthy, not many knew how it worked
however. At least not as much as we know today, buteventhethoseofthepastcouldrecognize
thebenefitofthiswondrousdrink.
Im never going to stop talking about the Turks am I? Probably not. Because in fact the
literally nameyogurtisofTurkishorigin.Whowouldhaveguessed?Iwouldnt.TruthisIdidnt
even know of origin of this dish, considering that the food is most commonly known for Greek

yogurt. I have a feeling the Greek get more credit for a lot of mediterranean dishes. This isnt
anything too new isnt it? Either way lets draw our attention a different part of the world,
CentralAsia6000B.C.

"yogurtisstilltremendouslypopularandenjoyedaroundtheworld.Historyislikelytoshow
thatfactunchangedaslongaspeoplehaveaccesstomilk!"

The herdsmen of their time were not aware of the natural enzymes in their milk
containers, which was usually made from animal stomachs (Yuck.) This curdled the milk and
made a form of yogurt. Due to the fact it would be preserved longer and others preferred the
taste of the yogurt compared to plain horse milk it was rapidly popularized across Central Asia.
Even Genghis Khan, leader of the Mongolian Empire had yogurt as a staple in his army. He
named this yogurt kumis, it was given to warriors on their horses into battle. Others soon after
the realization of the health benefits of yogurt, it spread across East Asia. All across the lands
people craved the tasty treat. As the love for it grew, any culture that could get their hands on
milk was craving it.
Yogurt then was industrialized in 1919 by Isaac Carasso in Barcelona. Heisthefounder
of Danone, he named his company after his son Daniel. It didnt catch on much until 1940s
when Daniel Carasso, son of Isaac Carasso founded a factory in New York. Its known as
Dannon in the United States. They were the first to popularize the fruit at the bottom yogurt.
Now this company is the biggest producing yogurt next to Yoplait in theUnited States.Itreally
showshowsomethingcanevolveovertimeforthebetter.