What does the bacteria do to the milk to make yogurt?
Bacteria basically pre-digest the milk for us making it much easier for our digestive tracts to absorb the milk’s nutrients. When the bacteria are introduced to the warm milk they do what any other living thing does: feed, multiply and produce by-products. The bacteria feed on the milk sugar, lactose, converting it to lactic acid thereby making the milk accessible to those that have a hard time digesting lactose. The lactic acid helps break down milk proteins and other nutrients making them easier to digest in addition to providing an astringent preservative effect on the body after consumption. The rapidly multiplying bacteria cause the milk to thicken due to their sheer numbers and through the formation of strands of living bacteria that do not fully separate from each other during the multiplication process. This stranding effect produces most of the thickness of the finished yogurt much like adding conditioner to your hair produces a ‘fuller’ look. Once the yogurt has begun to thic
