Milk fermentation is one of the oldest methods practiced by the human beings to preserve milk with an extended shelf life. The exact origination of milk fermentation is not clear; however, it seems that it is dated back to the dawn of the civilization. It has been reported that the early civilizations such as the Samarians, Babylonians, Pharoes and Indians were well advanced in agricultural and animal husbandry practices [5]. This can be supported by the findings of Copley et al., 2003 in which the dairy fat residues were found in pottery fragments from Neolitic Bronze-age and Iron-age settlements, which suggests that the practice of dairying had existed in Britain approximately 6500 years ago [12]. However, it is questionable that the milk fermentation was practiced during this period. Therefore, the origination of the fermented milk products including yogurt
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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 4, April 2014 2 ISSN 2250-3153
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remains unsolved. It has been reported that the Anatolian goatherds conserve their milk by thickening as they used to dry it in the sun and transport in animal stomachs[6]. It is generally accepted among the historians that the fermentation of milk is discovered accidentally by the Neolithic people of Central Asia when they stored milk in primitive methods such as in sheep-skin bags in warm climates [7].With reference to yogurt, it can be suggested that it has been evolved in Turkey as the term “yoghurt” has been derived from a Turkish verb, “jugurt” that means “to be curdled or coagulated” [5, 7]. The earliest writings about yogurt can be found from those of Pliny who lived in the first century A. D. and wrote about ancient barbarous nations that knew how to thicken the milk into a substance with an agreeable acidity. According to the literature, the founder of the Mongol empire, Genghis Khan and his armies was lived on yogurt and spreading of this news among the people had made theyogurt consumption to spread throughout the East [7].