Fermented milk products

Fermented milk products, also known as cultured dairy foods, cultured dairy products, or cultured milk products, are dairy foods that have been fermented with lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Leuconostoc. The fermentation process increases the shelf-life of the product, as well as adds to the taste and improves the digestibility of 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 a wide range of cultured milk products with different tastes.

Products

Many different types of cultured milk products can be found around the world.

Soured milk

Origin	Product(s)
	acidophilus milk
	cheese
	cultured buttermilk (sometimes called buttermilk)
	yoghurt
	laezh-ribod
	kiselo mlyako
Caucasus	kefir
Central Asia	kumis
	kærnemælk, tykmælk, and ymer
	piimä and viili
	matsoni
	sauermilch or dickmilch
	skyr and súrmjólk
	chass
	doogh
	karnemelk
	surmelk or kulturmelk, kefir, and tjukkmjølk
	lapte bătut
	blaand
	kiselo mleko
	amasi ("maas" in Afrikaans)
	filmjölk (fil is the short form of filmjölk)

References

Soured cream

Origin	Product(s)
	cheese
	smetana
	sour cream
	mileram
	kermaviili
	crème fraîche
	pavlaka
	gräddfil

Comparison chart

Product	Alternative names	Typical milkfat content	Typical shelf life at 4°C	Fermentation agent	Description
Cheese		1-75%	varies	a variety of bacteria and/or mold	Any number of solid fermented milk products.
Crème fraîche	creme fraiche	30-40%	10 days	naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria in cream	Mesophilic fermented cream, originally from France; higher-fat variant of sour cream.
Cultured sour cream	sour cream	14–18%	4 weeks	Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis*	Mesophilic fermented pasteurized cream with an acidity of at least 0.5%. Rennet extract may be added to make a thicker product. Lower fat variant of crème fraîche.
Filmjölk	fil	0.1-4.5%	10–14 days	Lactococcus lactis* and Leuconostoc	Mesophilic fermented milk, originally from Scandinavia.
Yogurt	yoghurt, yoghourt, yogourt	0.5–4%	35–40 days	Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus	Thermophilic fermented milk, cultured with Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.
Kefir	kephir, kewra, talai, mudu kekiya, milkkefir, búlgaros	0-4%	10–14 days	Kefir grains, a mixture of bacteria and yeasts	A fermented beverage, originally from the Caucasus region, made with kefir grains. Can be made with any sugary liquid, such as milk from mammals, soy milk, or fruit juices.
Kumis	koumiss, kumiss, kymys, kymyz, airag, chigee	4%?	10-14 days	Lactobacilli and yeasts	A carbonated fermented milk beverage traditionally made from horse milk.
Viili	filbunke	0.1-3.5%	14 days	Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis* biovar. diacetylactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris and Geotrichum candidum	Mesophilic fermented milk that may or may not contain fungus on the surface. Originally from Sweden but today is a Finnish specialty.
Cultured buttermilk		1–2%	10 days	Lactococcus lactis* (Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis*, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis biovar. diacetylactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris)	Mesophilic fermented pasteurized milk.
Acidophilus milk	acidophilus cultured milk	0.5-2%	2 weeks	Lactobacillus acidophilus	Thermophilic fermented milk, often lowfat (2%, 1.5%) or nonfat (0.5%), cultured with Lactobacillus acidophilus.

* Streptococcus lactis has been renamed to Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis

References

See also

• Cuisine of Bulgaria
• Cuisine of Finland
• Cuisine of Germany
• Cuisine of Netherlands
• Cuisine of Norway
• Cuisine of Poland
• Cuisine of Romania
• Cuisine of South Africa
• Cuisine of Sweden