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Add fermenting bacteria to normal temperature milk, put it in a yogurt machine or other machine with fermentation function, and it will take 8-12 hours to harvest a cup of fragrant “zero-added” yogurt. In the eyes of some parents, homemade yogurt is not only cheap, but also eliminates worries about food additives and preservatives. But is homemade yogurt really healthy and safe?
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possible risks
The so-called homemade yogurt is to add lactic acid bacteria to the milk, so that the lactic acid bacteria can multiply at a suitable temperature, and finally the lactose in the milk is decomposed into lactic acid, fermented into a thick yogurt, and then eaten after being refrigerated.
The whole process of making homemade yogurt doesn’t seem complicated. However, homemade yogurt has some safety hazards in the home environment.
1. Quality cannot be guaranteed
The home environment is full of various microorganisms. Even if the milk is boiled and the utensils are boiled and sterilized, there may be contamination of bacteria during the operation, such as the container holding the yogurt has not been sterilized, or the producer has not washed his hands before making the yogurt. Clean, may allow yogurt to be mixed with other bacteria.
2. It may not taste good
The taste of homemade yoghurt can be described as “all kinds of strange”. If it is not prepared properly, it will be difficult to swallow. This is one of the reasons why professionals do not recommend homemade yogurt.
3. The amount of sucrose cannot be controlled
Because the taste of homemade yogurt can be indescribable, some people add sugar to it. For example, sucrose is a commonly used additive, usually in an amount of 4%-7%, generally not more than 12%.
If the concentration of sucrose is too high, the lactic acid bacteria will be inhibited by increasing the osmotic pressure.
Don’t be overly superstitious about “self-made”
Under the premise of ensuring safety, is the nutritional value of homemade yogurt really higher than that of commercial yogurt?
From a nutritional standpoint, making your own yogurt has some advantages. For example, additives in yogurt can be controlled by themselves.
In addition, the shelf life of homemade yogurt is short, so compared to the yogurt with a “longer” shelf life on the market, the quality is fresher, and the number of viable bacteria retained in it will be more.
However, less or no added yogurt does not equal more nutritional health .
In fact, in my country’s relevant standards, yogurt is allowed to use additives, and its safety has also been evaluated. As long as it is used reasonably according to the standards, it will not harm health.
In addition, from the production process, some additives are also necessary, such as stabilizers, which can prevent milk protein precipitation, adjust viscosity, prevent whey separation, prevent yogurt from stratification and sedimentation. If it is not added, the quality of the product may be defective and the taste is not delicate enough.
Source丨Pudong Release