An international team tested a technique inspired by traditional practices to speed up milk fermentation. Researchers describe how a harmless animal can help do yogurt, showing that unconventional elements can be useful in dairy processes.
The experiments involved red ant ants (genre Formica), known in the Balkans and Turkey forests. The choice was based on local reports of these insects to start homemade fermentations.
The study was conducted by researchers from the Technical University of Denmark and collaborators and published in Cell Press’s magazine. The authors analyzed the technique on the ground and in the laboratory, articulating traditional knowledge and microbiological methods, says Jornal de Notícias.
From tradition to the laboratory
The team visited a village in Bulgaria linked to co -author Sevgi Mutlu Sirakova, where residents described the method. The practice consisted of putting some insects in a vial with warm milk to “catch” the fermentation.
Following local instructions, scientists added four living ants to the milk and left the bottle with an anthill at night. The next day, they observed thickening and acidity compatible with the onset of coagulation, explains the same source.
What triggers the fermentation
The analyzes revealed that ants carry lactic and acetic acid bacteria capable of coagulating dairy products. Formic acid, part of the defense system of these insects, acidifies the milk and creates conditions favorable to the multiplication of typical yogurt microorganisms.
Enzymes associated with insects also contributed to the breach of milk proteins, facilitating the formation of the yogurt matrix. Part of the detected microbiota is similar to that used in trade mass fermentations.
Vivid, frozen or dehydrated
Researchers compared the use of living, frozen and dehydrated ants as starters. Only living insects sowed the suitable microbial community for intended fermentation.
The team warns, however, for food safety issues, as living insects can host parasites. Freezing or dehydration, if poorly controlled, may favor unwanted bacteria.
From the bench to the plate
To explore contemporary applications, the group collaborated with chefs from the Alchemist restaurant in Copenhagen. Insect -shaped molded yogurt, spicy profile cheese and clarified cocktails with milk, all inspired by the rehearsals, also were presented.
The authors contextualize that industrial yogurts, as a rule, use only two bacterial strains, while traditional recipes exhibit greater microbial diversity consonant local and time. This diversity can translate into “more flavors, textures and personality,” explained the main author of the study Leonie Jahn.
In short, work shows that traditional practices can inspire new approaches to food science. For the public, this is not a home replication recommendation, but the demonstration that it is possible to make yogurt using an animal as a microbial vector, provided there are control and safety validation.
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