The difference between yogurt and yogurt drinks

Milk products sold under the names of pure milk, pure fresh milk, fresh milk, flavored milk, milk-containing drinks, etc. can be divided into pure milk and milk-containing drinks. Two types of drinks. On the product ingredient list of pure milk (also called fresh milk, pure fresh milk), there is only one item called "fresh milk". Yogurt is made by fermenting pure milk, so yogurt also belongs to the category of pure milk. Milk-containing drinks are allowed to be prepared by adding water. From the ingredient list, it can be seen that in addition to fresh milk, there are also water, sweeteners, fruit flavors and other ingredients. National standards clearly stipulate that the use of sorbic acid in yogurt is prohibited, but it is allowed to be used in milk-containing beverages (the standard is 1 g/dg). This is why milk-containing beverages have rich taste and a long shelf life.

Milk-containing beverages can be divided into two types: prepared type and fermented type: prepared type is made with fresh milk or milk powder as raw material, adding water, sugar solution, sour agent, etc.; fermented type is made with Fresh milk or milk powder is used as raw material, and it is made by adding sugar liquid, etc. to the emulsion obtained by culturing and fermenting lactic acid bacteria. Yogurt drinks are fermented milk-containing drinks. The milk content in the milk-containing drinks must not be less than 30%, which means that the water content must not be higher than 70%. It can be seen that the nutritional value of milk-containing drinks cannot be compared with that of pure milk, and the price is naturally different. Therefore, some milk-containing beverages began to "impost" their names by using large characters to label "active milk" and other vague product names on the product packaging. Only by looking closely can you find that there are several other key small characters next to them - " Milk drinks”.

According to Xinhua News Agency, Professor Li Tingyu, executive director of the Chongqing Nutrition Society and deputy chairman of the Child Health Society, pointed out that some manufacturers make milk into various milk drinks in order to increase their purchase points. If you look carefully at the ingredient descriptions on the packaging of these milk drinks, you will find that the protein content of many milk drinks is only 1, which does not meet the protein content requirements of normal dairy products. After drinking, it cannot achieve the nutritional effect of fresh milk or yogurt products. Professor Li calls milk-containing drinks "water-infused milk" and reminds people to drink less and drink less.

Milk contains protein, lactose, calcium and other substances. Fresh milk or skimmed milk is used as raw material. When pure cultured lactic acid bacteria starter is added to the sterilized milk, the lactic acid bacteria will grow in the appropriate environment. It grows and reproduces in large quantities at high temperatures, decomposing lactose in milk into lactic acid. When the pH value reaches 4.6, casein begins to precipitate and condense into sour milk. This stage is called "pre-fermentation". Then it is placed in a cold storage at 4°C-6°C, and the kefir continues to ferment. This is called "post-fermentation", which mainly produces aromatic flavor. When the post-fermentation is completed, it will be commercially available kefir. Yogurt tastes good and is nutritious, and the protein in milk becomes easier to absorb. Lactic acid bacteria can also synthesize vitamin B1, vitamin C, vitamin B1 and folic acid in the human intestine.

Dr. Lu Jia from the Technology Development Center of Sanyuan Food Co., Ltd. vividly compared yogurt drinks to "diluted yogurt", which is equivalent to one part of yogurt with two parts of water. Yogurt has a mellow taste, while yogurt drinks have a lighter milky taste and highlight various fruit flavors; but the main difference between the two lies in the amount of nutrients. Yogurt is rich in protein, fat, minerals and a large number of active substances and V produced by the fermentation of active lactic acid bacteria. The nutritional content of yogurt drinks is only about 1/3 of that of yogurt, and rarely contains live lactic acid bacteria. But after all, sour drinks are still a fermented product. The fermentation of milk by lactic acid bacteria produces lactic acid, immune-activating substances, etc. These substances can inhibit harmful bacteria in the intestines, regulate human immunity, and increase calcium, phosphorus, iron, etc. Absorption and utilization of trace elements necessary for the human body. From this point of view, it is very different from the prepared lactic acid drink. Two sour agents such as lactic acid and citric acid are often added to lactic acid drinks in a ratio of 1:5; a preservative such as potassium sorbate is also commonly used in lactic acid drinks. Some lactic acid drinks use a protein produced from edible gelatin through enzyme preparation to partially replace the milk raw material, and some use plant protein hydrolyzate to replace up to 15% of the milk raw material. However, most of these substitutes are not mentioned in the ingredient list. carry.

An expert from the National Dairy Products Quality Supervision and Inspection Center pointed out that lactic acid drinks are essentially different from yogurt. According to an industry insider, many of the yogurt drinks that pretend to be "yoghurt" are "lactic acid drinks that are not fermented by lactic acid bacteria at all and are completely prepared by adding acid."

Yoghurt is also divided into several categories

From a technical point of view, yogurt is divided into stirred type and solidified type. There is a slight difference in taste between the two (solidified type of yogurt tastes more sour) , but there is no difference in nutritional value. In terms of raw materials and additives, yogurt is mainly divided into three types: pure yogurt, flavored yogurt and fruit yogurt. Pure yogurt is fermented using only milk or reconstituted milk as raw material; flavored yogurt or fruit yogurt is fermented by adding auxiliary materials such as sugar, flavorings or natural fruits to milk or reconstituted milk. Currently, flavored yogurt and fruit yogurt are the main products. From the perspective of fat content, there are full-fat yogurt, low-fat yogurt and skim yogurt.