Mondo Knows Facts

Lactic acid bacteria transform milk into yoghurt

Bacterial fermentation lowers pH to coagulate milk proteins into a thick gel

Yoghurt production relies on bacterial cultures such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. These bacteria consume lactose sugar in milk and convert it into lactic acid. The dropping pH causes casein proteins to denature and coagulate into a firm gel, giving yoghurt its thick texture and tart flavour profile.

Food Preservation by Lactic Acid Bacteria and Salt and The Hurdle Effect
Emelsh ยท CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท licence ยท source

Where this comes from

Food and Agriculture Organization

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

More facts like this

Tags: yoghurt, fermentation, dairy

Lactic acid bacteria transform milk into yoghurt: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?
Bacterial fermentation lowers pH to coagulate milk proteins into a thick gel. The figure is taken from Food and Agriculture Organization, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a food fact?
Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?
The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.