All About Yogurt

It’s hard to think of a food that’s gone through as many reinventions as yogurt. In the 1960s and ’70s, it was “hippie food.” In the Middle East and much of Asia, it’s long been a staple linked to health and longevity. Thousands of years ago, it was one of the original fermented foods that fueled the advancement of humanity. And now, in the 21st century, you’ll find more versions, styles, and flavors of yogurt in the average grocery store than you’re likely to have time to count.

Behind all the marketing hype, however, is a simple food. It’s yogurt’s simplicity, in fact, that brought it to our forebears’ plates (or planks, more likely). Milk, microbes, warmth, and time. In the right conditions, yogurt literally makes itself.

The Marriage of Milk and Microbes

Milk is a magnet for many of the tiny life forms teeming around us — in the air, on surfaces, in the soil, in the water, and, well, everywhere. Milk offers nutrients perfect for the growth of many of these bacteria, yeasts, molds, and even viruses. Even unwanted, disease-causing microbes can grow in milk, but luckily, the vast majority