Traditional fermented dairy products of Turkey

Abstract

Fermented milks constitute an important part of the national diet in Turkey. Yogurt, ayran, cacik, and traditional cheeses have been made in individual households throughout Anatolia for centuries. e most common groups of microorganisms involved in the traditional dairy fermentations are lactic acid bacteria (LAB), such as the genera Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Streptococcus, Leuconostoc, and Pediococcus, and yeasts. Most of these fermented products are produced by either naturally occurring microora or the “backslopping method,” which involves reintroducing part of the previous fermentation as an inoculum into the new fermentation. us, the overall microbial proles and their precise contribution to the fermentation process are not well known. is is the case for many yogurts that are produced by the backslopping method under household conditions, to meet the nutritional needs of villagers in some regions of Turkey (Kabak and Dobson 2011). is review aims to describe the production processes of the most common Turkish traditional fermented milks and to highlight some of the microbiological and biochemical properties of the fermented products.