Yoghurt

Yoghurt is rich in nutrition and is easily absorbed by the body. This drink was first made by the Bulgarians. Long ago, Bulgarians living in Thrace led a nomadic life. They often carried with them pouches made of skin, which were filled with goat.s milk. Due to the air temperature outside, and heat from the body, the goat’s milk often turned sour and became semi-solid. When they wanted to drink the milk, they poured this semi-solid milk carried in the skin pouches into the liquid milk that had been cooked and the cooked milk would turn sour too. This was how yoghurt first came about.

The Thracians liked to drink the kind of milk. In the early 20th century, a Russian scientist, llya llyich Mechnikov, who specialized in the study of human longevity, went to Bulgaria for his studies and discovered that, for every one thousand people who passed away, four of them were above 100 years old, and these people were those who loved to drink yoghurt. He then concluded that these people were able to live longer because of their consumtion of yoghurt. He tested the yoghurt and found that it contained a kind of bacteria that could fight against colon bacillus bacteria. He then named it lactobacillus bulgaricus.

Later, a Spanish businessman, Isaac Carasso, received the news and immediately opened a factory to produceyoghurt. Initially, he sold yoghurt to pharmacies as medicines, but the business was not doing well. After the Second World War, he went to the United States and opened another yoghurt factory.

The Americans loved this highly nutritious drink. Not long after, yoghurt became famous all around the world.

Food for Thought :

To conduct research on existing products and to futher improve on them, a strong foundation in scientific knowledge is needed.

Short Stories on Discoveries, Inventions, Innovation & Creativity

AAET and UTAR, 2015

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