Technology of

Yoghurt Manufacture
 Yoghurt

• Definition

• Yoghurt is a fermented milk product obtained

through the controlled lactic acid fermentation of
milk by streptococcus thermophilus & Lactobacillus
balgaricus

• Yoghurt is a firm, creamy or liquid acidified milk

product which is manufactured from pasteurized
milk by using thermophilic lactic acid producing
bacteria
 Types of Yoghurt
• Set Yoghurt

It is the product where incubation or fermentation of

the milk takes place in the retail container and the
characteristic coagulum is a continuous semi solid
mass

• Stirred Yoghurt
It is the type of Yoghurt in which fermentation is
carried out in bulk & coagulum is broken prior to
cooling & Packaging
 Types of Yoghurt
• Fruit Yoghurt
This can be made by adding fruits to normal yoghurt
• Flavored Yoghurt
This is the yoghurt in which fruit ingredients are
replaced with synthetic flavoring and coloring
compounds
• Dietetic Yoghurt
These are low calorie yoghurts, low lactose or vitamin /
protein fortified yoghurts
• Frozen Yoghurt
This is prepared in conventional manner but stored at frozen
conditions -18 OC it requires higher levels of sugar and stabilizers
to maintain consistency of coagulum during freezing
 Starter Cultures
• A yoghurt culture is responsible for acidification &
fermentation of milk

• Typical yoghurt culture consists of thermophilic

bacteria Streptococcus thermophilus and
lactobacillus bulgaricus

• The ratio of S.Thermophilus to L. Bulgaricus should

be 1:1 to 2:3 in a prepared culture
 Culture Preparation

• Mother culture is prepared from a liquid or

freeze dried starter culture
• Preparation of inhibitor free milk, treated and
dry matter standardized milk
• Heating to 90 0C for 10 minutes in the
incubation tank
• Cooling to 43 – 45 0C
• Inoculation with 2 – 3 % mother culture
• Incubation for 03 Hrs to a pH 4.5 – 4.65
• Rapid cooling to temperature below 15 0C
 Dry Matter Standardization

• Objective
• To obtain the desired gel structure in the yoghurt with the
desired typical consistency, the natural not fat dry matter
contents must be increased by 1 – 3 %
• Milk solids can be increased by
1 - Water removal by evaporation
• Evaporation of 10-20% of the milk volume increases the
DM content in the milk by 1.5-3.0%.
2 - Water removal by membrane filtration
3 - Addition of milk powder or concentrate
Yoghurt Process Line
 Deaeration
• During incorporaton of ingredients esp. skim milk powder
air is also incoporated which is unfavorable for product
quality.
• Deaeration has the following effects
1 - Viscosity increases and improves gel stability
2 - Removal of undesirable taste and flavor
3 - Improvement of homogenization effects
4 - Deaeration is done at pressures of 0.7 – 0.8 bars at 70 – 75
0
C
 Homogenization
• Homogenization of yoghurt milk prevents creaming of the
fat and improves the taste and consistency of finished
product
• Homogenization is done at 150 – 200 bar at 58 – 60 0C

• In the production of drinking yoghurt, a second

homogenization after acid formation results in a uniform
liquid consistency with a reduced particle size and even
distribution of the additions
 Heat Treatment
• Yoghurt milk is pasteurized to kill the pathogenic
bacteria
• The normal HTST treatment does not result in a
noticeable denaturation of whey proteins (necessary
for desired yoghurt consistency)
• Additional heat treatment of yoghurt milk is necessary
at higher temperatures and longer holding times
• Manufacturing conditions at 90 0C and 05 minutes
holding time are optimal and can be easily controlled
• Denatrued Whey proteins limit syneresis and have
countereffect on whey discharge from the gel
• Heating is done in plate heat exchangers with holding
sections or in tanks equipped with stirring devices
 Inoculation
• After heat treatment and concentration, milk
is cooled to 44 0C and is then inoculated with
2– 3% of the starter culture
• For the manufacturing of plain set yoghurt
solidification takes place in cups
• For the manufacturing of stirred yoghurt
solidification takes place in tanks
• Incubation is carried out 42 0C
• The incubation period is 2.5 – 03 Hrs
Cup Filling Machine
 Fermentation
• Inoculation initiates a lactic acid fermentation by
enzymatic hydrolysis of lactose into glucose and
galactose, glucose is decomposed into lactic acid via
several steps, while galactose remains nonutilized as
long as glucose and lactose are available
• This phase of fermentation without a visible structural
change is called prefermentation
• When pH decrease below 5 an acid gel slowly
develops, reaching its peak at isoelectric point 4.65,
and this called main fermentation
• During gel formation, milk must remain completely
stationary
 Chilling
• After fermentation cooling must be done as
rapidly as possible,
• A temperature of 15 – 20 0C should be reached
within 1 – 1.5 Hrs
• After cooling to 15 – 20 0C, the main flavor
development takes place within 02 Hrs
• After this process is over milk is cooled to 04
0
C, and is stored at this temperature until it is
distributed
 Additives
• Stabilizers
starches CHO are added as stabilizers or binding agents
to stabilize yoghurt consistency and avoiding whey
separation by syneresis in most cases gelatin and
modified starches are used
The level of Stabilizing & Thickening agents should be <
01 %, the higher the dry matter contents in yoghurt the
lower the levels of these ingredients
• Fruits & Flavors
Fruit preparations can be added at the level of 5 – 25 %
Mango, banana, strawberry fruit pulp can be used etc
and their flavors may also be added along with coloring
matters like sunset yellow, orange red, strawberry red
et
 Quality Evaluation

• Organoleptic Characteristics
• Appearance White to Slightly Yellow

• Consistency Gel like Firm

• Flavor Clean, acidic, typical
yoghurt flavor
• Taste Clean, rich mouth feel
Typical yoghurt taste
 Defects of Yoghurt
Flavor Defect
• The most common fault is the absence of typical yoghurt
flavor and aroma
• Insufficient aroma is due to inadequate acid production,
optimum flavor development occurs at acidity 0.85%
however, ripening beyond 0.95% Yields a product that is too
sour
• Unclean and bitter flavor may come from poor quality milk or
contaminated starter culture
 Defects of Yoghurt
Slow Acid Production
• Slow acid production is due to attack of bacteriophages on
Streptococcus thermophilus cells
• Phage resistant cultures should be used
Weak Curd Formation
• This is serious problem if yoghurt is made from milk of normal
solids content
• Firmness of the curd can be increased by adding 2 – 3 % skim
milk powder
• Heating of milk at 90 0C for 10 minutes to obtain desired
consistency gel
• Some times the weak gel is formed due to leakage of whey
formation due to imbalance between salts