ABSTRACT
Yogurt is a modern food with ancient origins. It originated perhaps 10,000-15,000 years ago, probably in the Middle East, from adventitious contamination by lactic acid bacteria of milk in traditional containers such as earthenware pots or containers made from animal skins. Over time, the preservation of milk by making fermented milk products spread around the world, wherever milking animals were domesticated, and numerous types of traditional fermented milk products emerged, depending on the source of milk and the microbial cultures and manufacturing methods used. Tamime and Robinson (1999a), Chandan (2006), and Vasiljevic and Shah (2008) have provided detailed accounts of the origins and development of yogurt and fermented milk products.
