Fermented milk products or fermented dairy products, also known as cultured dairy foods, cultured dairy products, or cultured milk products, are dairy foods that have been made by

fermenting Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduced ...

milk with

lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillales are an order of gram-positive, low-GC, acid-tolerant, generally nonsporulating, nonrespiring, either rod-shaped (bacilli) or spherical ( cocci) bacteria that share common metabolic and physiological characteristics. These bact ...

such as ''

Lactobacillus ''Lactobacillus'' is a genus of gram-positive, aerotolerant anaerobes or microaerophilic, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacteria. Until 2020, the genus ''Lactobacillus'' comprised over 260 phylogenetically, ecologically, and metabolically div ...

'', ''

Lactococcus ''Lactococcus'', from Latin 'lac', meaning "milk", and Ancient Greek κόκκος (''kókkos''), meaning "sphere", is a genus of lactic acid bacteria that were formerly included in the genus ''Streptococcus'' Group N1. They are known as homoferme ...

'', and ''

Leuconostoc ''Leuconostoc'' is a genus of gram-positive bacteria, placed within the family of Lactobacillaceae. They are generally ovoid cocci often forming chains. ''Leuconostoc'' spp. are intrinsically resistant to vancomycin and are catalase-negative (w ...

''. The fermentation process increases the shelf life of the product while enhancing its taste and improving the digestibility of its milk. There is evidence that fermented milk products have been produced since around 10,000 BC. A range of different Lactobacilli strains has been grown in laboratories allowing for many cultured milk products with different flavors and characteristics. These bacteria allow the production of many fermented milks such as cheese, yogurt, kefir, butter Most of the bacteria needed to make these product thrive under specific conditions, meaning that the right environment is crucial to the making of the fermented products.

Products

Many different types of cultured milk products can be found around the world including milk, cheese, yogurt, other cultured dairy foods, ice cream and more.

Soured milk

Soured cream

Comparison chart

* ''

Streptococcus lactis ''Lactococcus lactis'' is a gram-positive bacterium used extensively in the production of buttermilk and cheese, but has also become famous as the first genetically modified organism to be used alive for the treatment of human disease. ''L. lact ...

'' has been renamed to ''

Lactococcus lactis ''Lactococcus lactis'' is a gram-positive bacterium used extensively in the production of buttermilk and cheese, but has also become famous as the first genetically modified organism to be used alive for the treatment of human disease. ''L. la ...

'' subsp. ''lactis''

References

External links