Yogurt: Turkish Fermentation Tradition

Yogurt has been produced in Anatolia for at least 3,000 years. Turkish domestic yogurt production (ev yoğurdu — home yogurt) remained common in Turkish households until the mid-20th century. The specific bacterial strains used in Turkish yogurt (Lactobacillus bulgaricus — named after the Bulgarian Lactobacillus tradition, which derived from the Anatolian) produce a sharper, more sour result than European yogurt traditions.

Turkey is the origin country of yogurt — the word itself is Turkish (yoğurmak, to knead or thicken). Turkish yogurt tradition is more developed than any other: different bacterial cultures for different purposes, different fat percentages, different straining levels, and the use of yogurt as a cooking ingredient in ways that Western cooking rarely employs. Understanding Turkish yogurt use — as sauce, as marinade, as braising medium, as dressing — is understanding a foundational flavour principle of Anatolian cooking.

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