ヨーグルト

ヨーグルト、ギリシャ風、プレーン（無糖）、全乳（1日の摂取目安量）
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	406 kJ (97 kcal)
Carbohydrates	3.98 g
Sugars	4.0 g
Dietary fiber	0 g
Fat	5.0 g
Protein	9.0 g
Vitamins
Vitamins and minerals
Vitamins	Quantity %DV†
Vitamin A equiv. beta-Carotene lutein zeaxanthin	0%26 μg 22 μg
Thiamine (B1)	2% 0.023 mg
Riboflavin (B2)	21% 0.278 mg
Niacin (B3)	1% 0.208 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)	7% 0.331 mg
Vitamin B6	4% 0.063 mg
Folate (B9)	1% 5 μg
Vitamin B12	31% 0.75 μg
Choline	3% 15.1 mg
Vitamin C	0% 0 mg
Minerals	Quantity %DV†
Calcium	8% 100 mg
Iron	0% 0 mg
Magnesium	3% 11 mg
Manganese	0% 0.009 mg
Phosphorus	11% 135 mg
Potassium	5% 141 mg
Sodium	2% 35 mg
Zinc	5% 0.52 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Selenium	9.7 µg
Water	81.3 g
	USDAデータベースからの全レポートへのリンク
	†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.

ヨーグルト
ヨーグルト
	A plate of yogurt
種類	発酵乳製品
発祥地	紀元前5000年頃のメソポタミアや中央アジア、そして独自に様々な場所で
提供時温度	チルド
主な材料	牛乳、バクテリア
	v; t; e;

ヨーグルト (英語発音: UK: /ˈjɒɡət/, US: /ˈyoʊɡərt/、オスマン語: یوغورت、トルコ語: yoğurtが語源。yoghurt、yogourt、yoghourtとも表記される) は、牛乳を細菌発酵させて作る食品である。牛乳中の糖分がこれらの細菌によって発酵すると乳酸が生成されるんだけど、この乳酸が乳タンパク質に作用して、ヨーグルト独特の食感と特徴的な酸味を生み出す。ヨーグルトの製造には牛乳が最も一般的に使われるけど、水牛、ヤギ、羊（雌羊）、馬、ラクダ、ヤクの乳も使われることがある。使われる乳は均質化されていてもされていなくてもいいし、低温殺菌されたものでも生乳でもかまわない。ただし、乳の種類によって出来上がるヨーグルトはかなり異なるものになる。

ヨーグルトは、主に「ラクトバチルス・デルブルエッキー亜種ブルガリクス」と「ストレプトコッカス・サーモフィルス」という細菌の培養を使って作られる。培養中や培養後に、他の乳酸菌やビフィズス菌が加えられることもある。一部の国では、ヨーグルトに含まれる細菌の「コロニー形成単位（CFU）」の量を特定する規制がある。例えば、中国では1ミリリットルあたり100万CFU以上の乳酸菌が必要とされている。また、使用できる細菌の種類を規制している国もある。例えば、フランスでは、「ヨーグルト」または「ヨーグー」として表示できるのは、ラクトバチルス・デルブルエッキー亜種ブルガリクスとストレプトコッカス・サーモフィルスのみで発酵させた製品に限られていて、これは発酵乳に関する「コーデックス委員会」の国際的なヨーグルトの定義（CXS 243-2003）に合致する要件である。

細菌培養液が混ざったら、30–45 °C (86–113 °F)の暖かい温度を4〜12時間保つ。これは発酵を進めるた目である。温度が高いほど発酵は早く進むけど、その分、塊になったり乳清（ホエイ）が分離したりするリスクが高まる。

語源と綴り

ヨーグルトという言葉は、オスマン語の「یوغورت」（yoğurt）に由来していて、通常はトルコ語の動詞「yoğurmak」（「こねる」または「凝固する、濃くなる」）に関連している。「yoğun」（厚い、密な）という言葉とも関係があるかもしれない。トルコ語のアラビア文字「غ（ghayn）」で歴史的に表されてきた音は、有声軟口蓋摩擦音から有声軟口蓋破裂音まで様々だったが、1929年にアタチュルクの改革による新しいラテン語ベースのトルコ語アルファベットと文字「ğ」が導入されるまでは、伝統的に「gh」とローマ字表記されていた。だから、「gh」と綴られた「yoghurt」は、1615年から1625年の文献で初めて確認されている。

英語におけるヨーグルトの綴りには、yogurt、yoghurtがあり、yoghourtやyogourtはそれほど一般的ではない。イギリス、オーストラリア、ニュージーランド、南アフリカでは通常「yoghurt」と綴られるが、アメリカ合衆国では「yogurt」が用いられる。カナダでは、フランス語の「yaourt」の少数派である「yogourt」という独自の綴りがあるが、「yogurt」や「yoghurt」も使用されている。

歴史

L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus のゲノム解析から、この細菌は植物の表面が起源である可能性があることが示唆されている。乳が植物との接触によって偶発的かつ意図せずこの細菌に触れたか、あるいは家畜の乳生産動物の乳房から細菌が移動したのかもしれない。ヨーグルトの起源は不明だが、おそらく紀元前5000年頃、最初の乳生産動物が家畜化された中央アジアやメソポタミアで、新石器時代の人々によって最初に発見されたのだろう。彼らは偶然に乳を発酵させる方法を見つけたとされ、ヨーグルトは様々な場所で異なる時期に、このようにして独自に発見された可能性が高い。

かき混ぜていないトルコのSüzme Yoğurt（水切りヨーグルト）。脂肪分は10%。

古代ギリシャの料理には、「オキシガラ（古希: οξύγαλα）」として知られる乳製品が含まれており、これはヨーグルトの一種だった。ガレノス（紀元129年頃 - 200年/216年頃）は、オキシガラがハチミツと一緒に食べられていたと述べており、これは今日の濃厚なギリシャヨーグルトの食べ方に似ている。ヨーグルトに言及する最も古い文献は大プリニウスに帰されており、彼はある種の「野蛮な民族」が「乳を好ましい酸味のある物質に凝固させる」方法を知っていたと述べている。中世のテュルク系民族によるヨーグルトの使用は、11世紀に書かれたマフムード・カーシュガリーのディーワーン・ルガート・アットゥルクとユースフ・ハース・ハージブのクタドゥグ・ビリグに記録されている。両方の文献は異なる箇所で「ヨーグルト」という言葉に言及し、遊牧民のテュルク系民族によるその使用について記述している。初期のヨーグルトは、おそらく山羊の皮袋の中で野生の細菌によって自然に発酵したものだろう。

いくつかの記述によれば、ムガル帝国の皇帝アクバルの料理人たちは、ヨーグルトにマスタードシードやシナモンで風味を付けていたとされる。ヨーロッパでヨーグルトに遭遇した別の初期の記述は、フランスの臨床史に見られる。フランソワ1世は重度の下痢に苦しんでいたが、どのフランス人医師も治すことができなかった。彼の同盟者であったスレイマン1世は医師を送り、その医師はヨーグルトで患者を治したとされている。感謝した国王は、自分を治したその食品について多くの人に語った。

1900年代まで、ヨーグルトはロシア帝国（特に中央アジアやコーカサス）、西アジア、南東ヨーロッパ/バルカン半島、中央ヨーロッパ、そしてインド亜大陸の人々の食生活における主要な食品であった。ジュネーブの医学部に留学していたブルガリア人のスタメン・グリゴロフ（1878-1945）は、ブルガリアヨーグルトの微生物叢を初めて研究した。1905年、彼はそれが球菌と桿菌の乳酸産生細菌からなると記述した。1907年には、桿菌がBacillus bulgaricus（現在のLactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus）と命名された。パリのパスツール研究所のロシア人生物学者でノーベル賞受賞者のイリヤ・メチニコフは、グリゴロフの研究に影響を受け、ヨーグルトを定期的に摂取することがブルガリア人農民の異常な長寿の原因であると仮説を立てた。メチニコフはラクトバチルスが健康に不可欠であると信じ、ヨーロッパ中でヨーグルトを食品として普及させるために尽力した。

ヨーグルトの工業化は、1919年にスペインのバルセロナで小さなヨーグルト事業を始めたアイザック・カラッソによるものだ。彼は息子にちなんでその事業を「ダノン」（小さなダニエル）と名付けた。このブランドは後に、アメリカ式の名称であるダノンとしてアメリカ合衆国に拡大した。果物のジャムが加えられたヨーグルトは、1933年にプラハのラドリカ乳製品会社によって特許が取得された。

ヨーグルトがアメリカ合衆国に導入されたのは20世紀の最初の10年間で、これはイリヤ・メチニコフの『The Prolongation of Life; Optimistic Studies』（1908年）に影響されたものだ。消化不良の人や自宅で培養したい人のために、錠剤の形で入手できた。バトルクリーク・サナトリウムのジョン・ハーヴェイ・ケロッグによって、経口摂取と浣腸の両方で用いられ、その後に普及した。そして、1929年にマサチューセッツ州アンドーバーで「コロンボ・アンド・サンズ・クリーマリー」を始めたアルメニア人移民のサルキスとローズ・コロンボシアンによってさらに普及した。

コロンボヨーグルトは当初、ニューイングランド地方で馬車にmadzoonというアルメニア語を刻んで配達されていたが、後に「ヨーグルト」というトルコ語の製品名に変更された。当時、主要な消費者であった近東の様々な民族の移民の間ではトルコ語が共通語であったためだ。アメリカ合衆国におけるヨーグルトの人気は、ハンガリー生まれの細菌学者スティーブン・A・ゲイモントのような科学者によって健康食品として紹介された1950年代から1960年代にかけて高まった。しかし、プレーンヨーグルトは依然としてアメリカ人の味覚には酸っぱすぎるとされ、1966年にコロンボヨーグルトはヨーグルトを甘くしてフルーツの砂糖漬けを加え、「フルーツ・オン・ザ・ボトム」スタイルのヨーグルトを生み出した。これは成功し、会社の売上はすぐに年間100万ドルを超えた。20世紀後半までに、ヨーグルトはアメリカの一般的な食品となり、コロンボヨーグルトは1993年にゼネラル・ミルズに売却されたが、同ブランドは2010年に廃止された。

栄養

Yogurt (plain yogurt from whole milk) is 81% water, 9% protein, 5% fat, and 4% carbohydrates, including 4% sugars (table). A 100-gram amount provides 406 kilojoules (97 kcal) of dietary energy. As a proportion of the Daily Value (DV), a serving of yogurt is a rich source of vitamin B₁₂ (31% DV) and riboflavin (23% DV), with moderate content of protein, phosphorus, and selenium (14 to 19% DV; table).

Comparison of whole milk and plain yogurt from whole milk, one cup (245 g) each
Property	Milk	Yogurt
Energy	610 kJ (146 kcal)	620 kJ (149 kcal)
Total carbohydrates	12.8 g	12 g
Total fat	7.9 g	8.5 g
Cholesterol	24 mg	32 mg
Protein	7.9 g	9 g
Calcium	276 mg	296 mg
Phosphorus	222 mg	233 mg
Potassium	349 mg	380 mg
Sodium	98 mg	113 mg
Vitamin A	249 IU	243 IU
Vitamin C	0.0 mg	1.2 mg
Vitamin D	96.5 IU	~
Vitamin E	0.1 mg	0.1 mg
Vitamin K	0.5 μg	0.5 μg
Thiamine	0.1 mg	0.1 mg
Riboflavin	0.3 mg	0.3 mg
Niacin	0.3 mg	0.2 mg
Vitamin B₆	0.1 mg	0.1 mg
Folate	12.2 μg	17.2 μg
Vitamin B₁₂	1.1 μg	0.9 μg
Choline	34.9 mg	37.2 mg
Betaine	1.5 mg	~
Water	215 g	215 g
Ash	1.7 g	1.8 g

Tilde (~) represents missing or incomplete data. The above shows little difference exists between whole milk and yogurt made from whole milk with respect to the listed nutritional constituents.

Health research

Because it may contain live cultures, yogurt is often associated with probiotics, which have been postulated as having positive effects on immune, cardiovascular or metabolic health.

As of the early 21st century, high-quality clinical evidence was insufficient to conclude that consuming yogurt lowers the risk of diseases or otherwise improves health. Meta-analyses found that consuming 80 grams per day of low-fat yogurt was associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes and a lower incidence of hip fracture in post-menopausal women. A 2021 review found a cause-and-effect relationship between yogurt consumption and improved lactose tolerance and digestion, and that potential associations exist between yogurt consumption and improving bone health, as well as lowering the risk of some diseases, including cancers and metabolic syndrome.

Safety

Yogurt made with raw milk can be contaminated with bacteria that can cause significant illness and even result in death, including Listeria, Cryptosporidium, Campylobacter, Brucella, Escherichia coli and Salmonella. Yogurts can also be contaminated with aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus nomius.

Contamination occurs in traditionally prepared yogurts more often than industrially processed ones, but may affect the latter as well if manufacturing and packaging practices are suboptimal.

When mold forms on yogurt it can not be scraped away. The consistency of yogurt allows the mold to penetrate deeply under the surface where it spreads.

Varieties and presentation

Tzatziki or cacık is a meze made with yogurt, cucumber, olive oil and fresh mint or dill.

Dahi is a yogurt from the Indian subcontinent, known for its characteristic taste and consistency. The word dahi seems to be derived from the Sanskrit word dadhi ("sour milk"), one of the five elixirs, or panchamrita, often used in Hindu ritual. Sweetened dahi (mishti doi or meethi dahi) is common in eastern parts of India, made by fermenting sweetened milk. While cow's milk is currently the primary ingredient for yogurt, goat and buffalo milk were widely used in the past, and valued for the fat content (see buffalo curd).

Dadiah or dadih is a traditional West Sumatran yogurt made from water buffalo milk, fermented in bamboo tubes. Yogurt is common in Nepal, where it is served as both an appetizer and dessert. Locally called dahi, it is a part of the Nepali culture, used in local festivals, marriage ceremonies, parties, religious occasions, family gatherings, and so on. One Nepalese yogurt is called juju dhau, originating from the city of Bhaktapur. In Tibet, yak milk (technically dri milk, as the word yak refers to the male animal) is made into yogurt (and butter and cheese) and consumed.

In Northern Iran, Mâst Chekide is a variety of kefir yogurt with a distinct sour taste. It is usually mixed with a pesto-like water and fresh herb purée called delal. Common appetizers are spinach or eggplant borani, Mâst-o-Khiâr with cucumber, spring onions and herbs, and Mâst-Musir with wild shallots. In the summertime, yogurt and ice cubes are mixed together with cucumbers, raisins, salt, pepper and onions and topped with some croutons made of Persian traditional bread and served as a cold soup. Ashe-Mâst is a warm yogurt soup with fresh herbs, spinach and lentils. Even the leftover water extracted when straining yogurt is cooked to make a sour cream sauce called kashk, which is usually used as a topping on soups and stews.

Matsoni is a Georgian yogurt in the Caucasus and Russia. Tarator and cacık are cold soups made from yogurt during summertime in eastern Europe. They are made with ayran, cucumbers, dill, salt, olive oil, and optionally garlic and ground walnuts. Tzatziki in Greece and milk salad in Bulgaria are thick yogurt-based salads similar to tarator.

Khyar w Laban (cucumber and yogurt salad) is a dish in Lebanon and Syria. Also, a wide variety of local Lebanese and Syrian dishes are cooked with yogurt like "Kibbi bi Laban" Rahmjoghurt, a creamy yogurt with much higher fat content (10%) than many yogurts offered in English-speaking countries. Dovga, a yogurt soup cooked with a variety of herbs and rice, is served warm in winter or refreshingly cold in summer. Jameed, yogurt salted and dried to preserve it, is consumed in Jordan. Zabadi is the type of yogurt made in Egypt, usually from the milk of the Egyptian water buffalo. It is particularly associated with Ramadan fasting, as it is thought to prevent thirst during all-day fasting.

Sweetened and flavored

To offset its natural sourness, yogurt is also sold sweetened, sweetened and flavored or in containers with fruit or fruit jam on the bottom. The two styles of yogurt commonly found in the grocery store are set-style yogurt and Swiss-style yogurt. Set-style yogurt is poured into individual containers to set, while Swiss-style yogurt is stirred prior to packaging. Either may have fruit added to increase sweetness.

Lassi is a common Indian beverage made from stirred liquified yogurt that is either salted or sweetened with sugar commonly, less commonly honey and combined with fruit pulp to create flavored lassi. Consistency can vary widely, with urban and commercial lassis having uniform texture through being processed, whereas rural and rustic lassi has discernible curds or fruit pulp.

Large amounts of sugar – or other sweeteners for low-energy yogurts – are often used in commercial yogurt. Some yogurts contain added modified starch, pectin (found naturally in fruit) or gelatin to create thickness and creaminess. This type of yogurt may be marketed under the name Swiss-style, although it is unrelated to conventional Swiss yogurt. Some yogurts, often called "cream line", are made with whole milk which has not been homogenized so the cream rises to the top. In many countries, sweetened, flavored yogurt is common, typically sold in single-serving plastic cups. Common flavors may include vanilla, honey, and toffee, and various fruits. In the early 21st century, yogurt flavors inspired by desserts, such as chocolate or cheesecake, became common. There is concern about the health effects of sweetened yogurt due to its high sugar content, although research indicates that use of sugar in yogurt manufacturing has decreased since 2016 in response to WHO and government initiatives to combat obesity.

Straining

A coffee filter used to strain yogurt in a home refrigerator

Strained yogurt has been strained through a filter, traditionally made of muslin and more recently of paper or non-muslin cloth. This removes the whey, giving a much thicker consistency. Strained yogurt is made at home, especially if using skimmed milk which results in a thinner consistency. Yogurt that has been strained to filter or remove the whey is known as Labneh in Middle Eastern countries. It has a consistency between that of yogurt and cheese. It may be used for sandwiches in Middle Eastern countries. Olive oil, cucumber slices, olives, and various green herbs may be added. It can be thickened further and rolled into balls, preserved in olive oil, and fermented for a few more weeks. It is sometimes used with onions, meat, and nuts as a stuffing for a variety of pies or kibbeh balls.

Some types of strained yogurts are boiled in open vats first, so that the liquid content is reduced. The East Indian dessert, a variation of traditional dahi called mishti dahi, offers a thicker, more custard-like consistency, and is usually sweeter than western yogurts. In western Indian (Marathi and Gujarati) cuisine, strained yogurt is macerated with sugar and spices such as saffron, cardamom and nutmeg to make the dessert "shrikhand". Strained yogurt is also enjoyed in Greece and is the main component of tzatziki (from Turkish "cacık"), a well-known accompaniment to gyros and souvlaki pita sandwiches: it is a yogurt sauce or dip made with the addition of grated cucumber, olive oil, salt and, optionally, mashed garlic. Srikhand, a dessert in India, is made from strained yogurt, saffron, cardamom, nutmeg and sugar and sometimes fruits such as mango or pineapple.

In North America, strained yogurt is commonly called "Greek yogurt". Powdered milk is sometimes added in lieu of straining to achieve thickness. In Britain, the name "Greek" may only be applied to yogurt made in Greece.

Beverages

Ayran, doogh ("dawghe" in Neo-Aramaic) or dhallë is a yogurt-based, salty drink. It is made by mixing yogurt with water and (sometimes) salt.

Borhani (or burhani) is a spicy yogurt drink from Bangladesh. It is usually served with kacchi biryani at weddings and special feasts. Key ingredients are yogurt blended with mint leaves (mentha), mustard seeds and black rock salt (Kala Namak). Ground roasted cumin, ground white pepper, green chili pepper paste and sugar are often added.

Lassi is a yogurt-based beverage that is usually slightly salty or sweet, and may be commercially flavored with rosewater, mango or other fruit juice. Salty lassi is usually flavored with ground, roasted cumin and red chilies, and may be made with buttermilk.

An unsweetened and unsalted yogurt drink usually called simply jogurt is consumed with burek and other baked goods in the Balkans. Sweetened yogurt drinks are the usual form in Europe (including the UK) and the US, containing fruit and added sweeteners. These are typically called "drinkable yogurt". Also available are "yogurt smoothies", which contain a higher proportion of fruit and are more like smoothies.

Yogurt drinks on sale

Production

Commercially available home yogurt maker

Yogurt production involves preparing warm milk to a temperature (30–45 °C (86–113 °F)) that will not kill the live microorganisms that turn the milk into yogurt, inoculating certain bacteria (starter culture), usually Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, into the milk, and finally keeping it warm for several hours (4–12 hours).

Milk with a higher concentration of solids than normal milk may be used; the higher solids content produces a firmer yogurt. Solids can be increased by adding dried milk. The yogurt-making process provides two significant barriers to pathogen growth, heat and acidity (low pH). Both are necessary to ensure a safe product. Acidity alone has been questioned by recent outbreaks of food poisoning by E. coli O157:H7 that is acid-tolerant. E. coli O157:H7 is easily destroyed by pasteurization (heating); the initial heating of the milk kills pathogens as well as denaturing proteins. The microorganisms that turn milk into yogurt can tolerate higher temperatures than most pathogens, so that a suitable temperature not only encourages the formation of yogurt, but inhibits pathogenic microorganisms. Once the yogurt has formed it can, if desired, be strained to reduce the whey content and thicken it.

Microstructure

Yogurt is characterized as a viscous, shear-thinning, non-Newtonian fluid that forms when milk, a Newtonian fluid, is fermented, causing protein aggregation and subsequent gelation. The result is a soft solid that can be modeled via the interactions of the casein proteins. The microstructure of yogurt is affected by both the fat and protein content and the processing conditions of the yogurt. In low-fat formulations, the microstructure is a network of casein protein globules joined via clusters and strands that encapsulate pores: these pores house the aqueous phase and the bacterial cultures of the yogurt.

Stirred yogurt formulations have a coarser distribution of loosely associated casein particulates due to the shear forces and resulting particle-particle collisions induced during the mixing process. After stirring, yogurt is more accurately defined as a weak gel.

Rheology

The mechanical properties of yogurt are typically assessed using rheometry, which quantifies the deformation and flow response of soft materials subject to shear forces. As is central in materials science, the rheological properties of yogurt are dictated by a variety of processing factors, including the ratios of dry and wet matter, thermal treatments, milk origin, starter cultures, and yogurt type.

Although cow milk is a common choice for yogurt production, other milks, such as goat, sheep, and camel, produce different rheologies. Goat milk yogurt has a low viscosity and a thinner texture when compared to cow milk yogurt. Conversely, sheep milk, having higher content of solids, has a higher viscosity and thicker texture when compared to cow milk yogurt.

Yogurt can further be characterized as "set" versus stirred, wherein set yogurts are processed and sold in the same container, and stirred yogurts are mixed prior to packaging in a secondary container.

Commerce

Two types of yogurt are supported by the Codex Alimentarius for import and export.

Pasteurized yogurt ("heat treated fermented milk") is yogurt pasteurized to kill bacteria.
Probiotic yogurt (labeled as "live yogurt" or "active yogurt") is yogurt pasteurized to kill bacteria, with Lactobacillus added in measured units before packaging.^{[dubious – discuss]}
Yogurt probiotic drink is a drinkable yogurt pasteurized to kill bacteria, with Lactobacillus added before packaging.

Under US Food and Drug Administration regulations, milk must be pasteurized before it is cultured, and may optionally be heat treated after culturing to increase shelf life. Most commercial yogurts in the United States are not heat treated after culturing, and contain live cultures.

Yogurt with live cultures is more beneficial than pasteurized yogurt for people with lactose malabsorption.

Lactose intolerance

Lactose intolerance is a condition in which people have symptoms due to the decreased ability to digest lactose, a sugar found in dairy products. In 2010, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) determined that lactose intolerance can be alleviated by ingesting live yogurt cultures (lactobacilli) that are able to digest the lactose in other dairy products. The scientific review by EFSA enabled yogurt manufacturers to use a health claim on product labels, provided that the "yogurt should contain at least 10⁸ CFU live starter microorganisms (Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus) per gram. The target population is individuals with lactose maldigestion". A 2021 review found that yogurt consumption could improve lactose tolerance and digestion.

Plant-based products

A variety of plant-based yogurt alternatives appeared in the 2000s, using soy milk, rice milk, and nut milks such as almond milk and coconut milk fermented with cultures. These products may be suitable for people with lactose intolerance and those who prefer plant-based foods, such as vegetarians and vegans. Plant-based milks have different structures and components than dairy milk. Though they can be used to make many products similar to those made from dairy, there are differences in taste and texture, and some consumers may feel that they lack the "delicate and smooth structure" of "conventional yogurts". Since plant-based milks do not contain lactose (the food of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus), plant-based products usually contain different bacterial strains than yogurt, such as Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Bifidobacterium bifidum. Plant-based products also vary considerably in their nutrition and ingredients and may contain gums, stabilizers, high-intensity sweeteners, and artificial colors.

In Europe, companies may not market their plant-based products using the word yogurt since that term is reserved for products of animal origin only – per European Union regulation 1308/2013 and a 2017 ruling in the Court of Justice of the European Union. Reaffirmed in 2021, per the US FDA's Standard of Identity regulations, the word yogurt has been reserved for a product made from lactation and is a product of "milk-derived ingredients".

Gallery

Sweet yoghurt, made and contained in pots of clay are kept for sale, Bangladesh.
Ayran is a savory yogurt-based beverage, traditionally served cold and is sometimes carbonated and seasoned with mint and salt.
Skyr is an Icelandic cultured dairy product, similar to strained yogurt traditionally served cold with milk and a topping of sugar.
Raita is a condiment made with yogurt in the Indian subcontinent.
Dadiah in a market
Homemade yogurt incubator