YOGHOORT

or Yogurt, the Turkish name of a fermented milk of cows, goats, or other ruminants, widely consumed in the Balkans, Turkey, Armenia, and Persia, fresh milk being very seldom drunk by the native inhabitants. It is genera!ly boiled before setting to ferment and is sometimes evaporated to half its volume, the thick fermented product being then eaten (with dates or bread, ete.) instead of drunk. It is used as a specific in many forms of sickne , the patient being restricted to its consumption. It differs from Kumi (which see) in containing a much greater percentage of lactic acid, in having a very soft curd which is exceedingly slow to separate, and in containing little, if any, aleohol. The high acid and distinctive curd content are due to the activity of members of the Bulgaricus type of lactic acid bacteria. Yoghoort is the original model of the majority of our commercial fermented milks. See Fermented milk in the general article on Minx.