The processing of yogurt is a complex and delicate process. The process involves multiple steps to ensure the quality and taste of the final product. In general, yogurt processing can be summarized into the following key steps.
Yogurt Making Process
1.Raw material preparation
- Base selection: Usually, fresh milk is used as the base. The milk undergoes rigorous screening and testing to ensure it meets production requirements.
- Adding ingredients: Following the product formula, we add sugar, stabilizer, starter (lactic acid bacteria), and other auxiliary materials to the milk. Crucially, precisely controlling these amounts ensures the taste and quality of the end product.
2.Pretreatment
- Filtering: Strain the milk to remove hair and impurities, to ensure the purity of the product.
- Mixing: The milk and ingredients are thoroughly mixed in a mixing system to ensure an even distribution of all ingredients. This system may include milk storage tanks, preheating tanks, filters, and other equipment.
- Preheating: The mixed milk is preheated to a specific temperature to eliminate harmful microorganisms and facilitate subsequent fermentation.
- Homogenization: The milk and ingredients mixture is homogenized to ensure that the fat globules and other components are uniformly distributed throughout the liquid. This step improves the texture and consistency of the final product.
3.Sterilization
- Pasteurization: Milk is heated to a specific temperature and held for a designated time (typically 63°C for 30 minutes or 72°C for 15 seconds) to kill harmful microorganisms such as pathogens, yeasts, and molds, ensuring product safety and stability.
4.Fermentation
- Inoculation: The pasteurized milk is inoculated with a lactic acid bacteria starter. These bacteria rapidly multiply and produce lactic acid at the optimal temperature, reducing the pH of the milk and creating the unique flavor and texture of yogurt.
- Fermentation control: During the fermentation process, temperature and time are strictly controlled to ensure the proliferation of lactic acid bacteria and the production of lactic acid to the desired level.
5.Cooling and post-treatment
- Cooling: Once fermentation is complete, the yogurt is rapidly cooled to a low temperature to halt further fermentation and prevent overheating and spoilage.
- Stabilizing and filling: The cooled yogurt is stabilized to ensure consistent quality before being filled. Attention must be paid to sanitary conditions and filling speed to avoid product contamination or bubbles.
6.Quality control and inspection
Throughout the production process, strict quality control and testing of raw materials, semi-finished products, and finished products are conducted to ensure compliance with relevant standards and requirements.
7.Packaging and storage
After filling, the yogurt is packaged to prevent external contamination and deterioration. Packaging materials must meet food safety standards and provide good sealing. Packaged yogurt should be stored at a low temperature to maintain freshness and taste.
Different yogurt making process comes different yogurts
Yogurt craftsmanship displays diverse techniques, yielding delightful varieties. From creamy traditional to smoothly stirred modern yogurt, each process varies. From starter cultures to temperature control, each step shapes flavor, texture, and nutrition. Naturally, these diverse processes create yogurts for every taste, fulfilling individual preferences.
Yogurt standard production line introduction
This yoghurt production line contains the basic process of yoghurt production, equipped with a CIP cleaning system. It includes yoghurt homogenization, pasteurization, fermentation, and other processes. The unit equipment can be tailored to the specific process of the customer and easily assembled or embedded in their own production line. Learn more …
To sum up
The processing of yogurt is an intricate process encompassing multiple steps and elements. By implementing rigorous raw material screening, precise ingredient addition, effective sterilization, meticulous fermentation control, and stringent quality control and testing, we can guarantee the production of high-quality yogurt products with exceptional taste.
