STUDY ON THE THE AMOUNT STARTER CULTURE USED IN YOGURT MANUFACTURING

Abstract

Among fresh dairy products, yogurt holds the largest share of value and is classified as a functional food with health benefits. Researches conducted worldwide have highlighted the beneficial effects of acid dairy product consumption on health, due to the viable microorganisms present in the finished product when sold to consumers. Yogurt is a fermented milk product with controlled technology benefiting from the activity of specific lactic bacteria, which have a well known taxonomy and morphology, making them easily detected and differentiated. The role of lactic bacteria in yogurt is that of milk acidification, the synthesis of flavor, texture and viscosity development. Interactions between lactic bacteria in yogurt are very complex and beneficial for stimulating the growth of biotechnological properties.The technology of yogurt manufacturing uses pure bacterial cultures selected in specialized laboratories, which are delivered to milk processing companies in either liquid or dry form. This paper proposes a study on the influence of the amount of added leaven towards the quality of the finished product. It was used as raw material cow's milk with 2.8% fat, which was then subjected to processing according to classical method, fermentation in packaging. . It was found that yogurt made with the smallest amount of leaven, only 1%, was appreciated by tasters and from a physico-chemical point of view it is a product within the normal parameters of quality.