Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as yogurt, cheese, milk and butter. A facility that produces dairy products is a dairy. Dairy products are consumed worldwide to varying degrees. Some people avoid some or all dairy products because of lactose intolerance, veganism, or other health reasons or beliefs.
Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most modern buttermilk in western countries is cultured separately. It is common in warm climates where unrefrigerated milk sours quickly.
Lactococcus is a genus of lactic acid bacteria that were formerly included in the genus Streptococcus Group N1. They are known as homofermenters meaning that they produce a single product, lactic acid in this case, as the major or only product of glucose fermentation. Their homofermentative character can be altered by adjusting environmental conditions such as pH, glucose concentration, and nutrient limitation. They are gram-positive, catalase-negative, non-motile cocci that are found singly, in pairs, or in chains. The genus contains strains known to grow at or below 7˚C.
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. lactis cells are cocci that group in pairs and short chains, and, depending on growth conditions, appear ovoid with a typical length of 0.5 - 1.5 µm. L. lactis does not produce spores (nonsporulating) and are not motile (nonmotile). They have a homofermentative metabolism, meaning they produce lactic acid from sugars. They've also been reported to produce exclusive L-(+)-lactic acid. However, reported D-(−)-lactic acid can be produced when cultured at low pH. The capability to produce lactic acid is one of the reasons why L. lactis is one of the most important microorganisms in the dairy industry. Based on its history in food fermentation, L. lactis has generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status, with few case reports of it being an opportunistic pathogen.
Filmjölk, also known as fil, is a traditional fermented milk product from Sweden, and a common dairy product within most of the Nordic countries. It is made by fermenting cow's milk with a variety of bacteria from the species Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides. The bacteria metabolize lactose, the sugar naturally found in milk, into lactic acid, which means people who are lactose intolerant can tolerate it better than other dairy products. The acid gives filmjölk a sour taste and causes proteins in the milk, mainly casein, to coagulate, thus thickening the final product. The bacteria also produce a limited amount of diacetyl, a compound with a buttery flavor, which gives filmjölk its characteristic taste.
Crème fraîche is a dairy product, a soured cream containing 10–45% butterfat, with a pH of approximately 4.5. It is soured with a bacterial culture. European labeling regulations specify the two ingredients must be cream and bacterial culture. It is served over fruit and baked goods, as well as being added to soups and sauces. It is used in a variety of other recipes. Sour cream is a similar foodstuff, except that crème fraîche is less sour and has a higher fat content. Sour cream may contain thickening agents not permitted in crème fraîche in many jurisdictions.
South African cuisine reflects the diverse range of culinary traditions embodied by the various communities that inhabit the country. Among the indigenous peoples of South Africa, the Khoisan foraged over 300 species of edible food plants, such as the rooibos shrub legume, whose culinary value continues to exert a salient influence on South African cuisine. Subsequent encounters with Bantu pastoralists facilitated the emergence of cultivated crops and domestic cattle, which supplemented traditional Khoisan techniques of meat preservation. In addition, Bantu-speaking communities forged an extensive repertoire of culinary ingredients and dishes, many of which are still consumed today in traditional settlements and urban entrepôts alike.
Viili (Finnish) is a mesophilic fermented milk product found in the Nordic countries, particularly Finland. Viili is similar to yoghurt or kefir, but when left unmixed, its texture is malleable, or "long". The metabolism of the bacteria used in the fermentation also gives viili a slightly different taste.
Ugali, also known as posho, nsima, and other names, is a type of corn meal made from maize or corn flour in several countries in Africa. It is cooked in boiling water or milk until it reaches a stiff or firm dough-like consistency. In 2017, the dish was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, one of a few foods in the list.
Mielie meal, also known as mealie meal or maize meal, is a relatively coarse flour made from maize or mealies in Southern Africa, from the Portuguese milho. This is uncertain, as "mealie", in South Africa is an Afrikaans word. Etymology. Borrowed from Afrikaans mielie, from obsolete Dutch milie, from Old French mil (“millet”). It is also known by various other indigenous language names depending on the locality or country. It was originally brought to Africa from the Americas by the Portuguese.
Isidudu is a soft porridge made from ground corn known as mealie meal. It is a common breakfast in Xhosa and Zulu households. It is served with sugar and milk. Some may prefer white/brown vinegar and sugar or butter/peanutbutter and sugar etc. Sometimes the ground corn is fermented to have a sour taste.
The cuisine of Botswana is unique but shares some characteristics with other cuisines of Southern Africa. Examples of Setswana food include pap, samp, vetkoek, bogobe and mophane worms. A food unique to Botswana is seswaa, salted mashed-up meat.
Matzoon or matsoni is a fermented milk product of Armenian origin, distributed in Armenia and Georgia. The so-called Caspian Sea yogurt circulated and commercialized in Japan is sometimes said to be the same type of yogurt as matzoon, but a comparison of microbiota and viscosity found that the two are entirely different. Matsoni is patented by Georgia since 24 January 2012.
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 milk with lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Leuconostoc. 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.
Mageu, Mahewu, Mahleu, Magau (xau-Namibia), Madleke, maHewu, amaRhewu or amaHewu is a traditional Southern African non-alcoholic drink among many of the Chewa/Nyanja, Shona, Ndebele, Nama Khoikhoi and Damara people, Sotho people, Tswana people and Nguni people made from fermented mealie pap. Home production is still widely practised, but the drink is also available at many supermarkets, being produced at factories. Its taste is derived predominantly from the lactic acid that is produced during fermentation, but commercial mageu is often flavoured and sweetened, much in the way commercially-available yogurt is. Similar beverages are also made in other parts of Africa.
The Xhosa people, or Xhosa-speaking people are a Bantu ethnic group native to South Africa. They are the second largest ethnic group in Southern Africa and are native speakers of the IsiXhosa language.
Mursik is a traditional fermented milk variant of the Kalenjin people of Kenya. It can be made from cow or goat milk and is fermented in a specially made calabash gourd locally known as a sotet. The gourd is lined with soot from specific trees, such as the African senna, which add flavor to the fermented milk. It is normally consumed with ugali or on its own and is served at room temperature or chilled.
Kefir is a fermented milk drink similar to a thin yogurt or ayran that is made from kefir grains, a specific type of mesophilic symbiotic culture. It is prepared by inoculating the milk of cows, goats, or sheep with kefir grains.
Ymer is a Danish soured milk product with 6 percent protein. Compared to standard yogurt, it has a thicker, creamier consistency and a higher protein content. It has a slightly buttery taste and may be very subtly fizzy due to slight carbonation from the lactic fermentation. It was launched commercially in the 1930s. It is made by fermenting whole milk with the bacterial culture Lactococcus lactis.
Curd, also mosaru or dahi or Thayir or Perugu, is a traditional yogurt or fermented milk product, originating from and popular throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is usually prepared from cow's milk, and sometimes buffalo milk or goat milk. The word curd is used in Indian English to refer to homemade yogurt, while the term yogurt refers to the pasteurized commercial variety known as heat-treated fermented milk.
