Fermented milk products

Fermented milk products, also known as cultured dairy foods, cultured dairy products, or cultured milk products, are dairy foods that have been fermented with lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Leuconostoc. The fermentation process increases the shelf-life of the product, as well as adds to the taste and improves the digestibility of milk. There is evidence that fermented milk products have been produced since around 10,000 BC. A range of different Lactobacilli strains has been grown in laboratories allowing for a wide range of cultured milk products with different tastes.

Many different types of cultured milk products can be found around the world including:

• yoghurt
• Template:FlagiconTemplate:Flagicon cultured buttermilk (sometimes called buttermilk)
• Template:FlagiconTemplate:Flagicon acidophilus milk
• Template:Flagicon kiselo mlyako
• Template:Flagicon sauermilch or dickmilch
• Template:Flagicon zure melk
• Template:Flagicon lapte bătut
• Template:Flagicon filmjölk (fil is the short form of filmjölk)
• Template:Flagicon surmelk or kulturmelk
• Template:Flagicon piimä and viili
• Template:Flagicon amasi ("maas" in Afrikaans)
• Template:Flagicon doogh

Many types of cultured milk may be used in the same way as yoghurt, that is, eaten from a bowl using a spoon (with cereals, muesli or corn flakes) or drunk from a glass. Sugar and fruit flavors may be added to the marketed product. Cultured milk can also be used as an ingredient in a recipe.

Some cultured milk variants contain live bacteria which has a stabilising effect on the intestinal flora.

Some cultured milk variants have been found to have health promoting effects. For example, Seppo et al (2003) found that milk cultured with Lactobacillus helveticus LBK-16 H contains peptides (casokinins and lactokinins) that act as naturally occurring ACE inhibitors and hence have an antihypertensive effect.

Comparison chart

Product	Alternative names	Typical milkfat content	Typical shelf life at 4ºC	Fermentation agent	Description
Cheese		1-75%	varies	a variety of bacteria and/or mold	Any number of solid fermented milk products.
Crème fraîche	creme fraiche	30-40%	10 days	naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria in cream	Mesophilic fermented cream, originally from France; higher-fat variant of sour cream.
Cultured sour cream	sour cream	14–18%	4 weeks	Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis*	Mesophilic fermented pasteurized cream with an acidity of at least 0.5%. Rennet extract may be added to make a thicker product. Lower fat variant of crème fraîche.
Filmjölk	fil	0.1-4.5%	10–14 days	Lactococcus lactis* and Leuconostoc	Mesophilic fermented milk, originally from Scandinavia.
Yogurt	yoghurt, yoghourt, yogourt	0.5–4%	35–40 days	Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus	Thermophilic fermented milk, cultured with Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.
Kefir	kephir, kewra, talai, mudu kekiya, milkkefir, búlgaros	0-4%	10–14 days	Kefir grains, a mixture of bacteria and yeasts	A fermented beverage, originally from the Caucasus region, made with kefir grains. Can be made with any sugary liquid, such as milk from mammals, soy milk, or fruit juices.
Koumiss	kumis, kumiss, kymys, kymyz, airag, chigee	4%?	10-14 days	Lactobacilli and yeasts	A carbonated fermented milk beverage traditionally made from horse milk.
Viili		0.1-3.5%	14 days	Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis* biovar. diacetylactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris and Geotrichum candidum	Mesophilic fermented milk with fungus on the surface, originally from Sweden but today is a Finnish specialty.
Cultured buttermilk		1–2%	10 days	Lactococcus lactis* (Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis*, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis biovar. diacetylactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris)	Mesophilic fermented pasteurized milk.
Acidophilus milk	acidophilus cultured milk	0.5-2%	2 weeks	Lactobacillus acidophilus	Thermophilic fermented milk, often lowfat (2%, 1.5%) or nonfat (0.5%), cultured with Lactobacillus acidophilus.

* Streptococcus lactis has been renamed to Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis

See also

• Cuisine of Bulgaria
• Cuisine of Finland
• Cuisine of Germany
• Cuisine of Netherlands
• Cuisine of Norway
• Cuisine of Poland
• Cuisine of Romania
• Cuisine of South Africa
• Cuisine of Sweden