Geleneksel Türk yoğurtlarından izole edilen laktik kültürler tarafından yapılan yoğurtların kimyasal ve fizyolojik özellikleri.

Yoghurt is a fermented milk product which is produced by Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii spp. bulgaricus. The production of yoghurt has started in Middle East and spread all over the world. The aim of this study is to select the culture combination which is appropriate to Turkish taste and have the best yoghurt characteristics by means of post-acidification and whey separation properties, texture of gel formation, exopolysaccharide and acetaldehyde content; and to observe the effect of freeze-drying of cultures on these yoghurt properties. At the first part of this study, six L.delbrueckii spp. bulgaricus isolates and six S.thermophilus isolates were used with different combinations to produce 36 yoghurt samples. These isolates were selected among a strain collection which contains 111 L.delbrueckii spp. bulgaricus and 56 S.thermophilus isolates which were isolated from traditional Turkish yoghurt according to their acidification activity and acetaldehyde production properties. In addition, two commercial S.thermophilus isolates and one commercial L.delbrueckii spp. bulgaricus isolate were used to produce two commercial yoghurt samples. 38 yoghurt samples were examined in terms of pH and total titratable acidity changes during 21-day storage, syneresis and hardness. According to these three analyses, six yoghurt samples were chosen, which give the best results, for the determination of exopolysaccharide and acetaldehyde content. In addition, two yoghurt samples produced by commercial cultures and one sample, which gives average results in experiments, were also examined for these compounds to provide a good comparison. In the second part of the study the amount of exopolysaccharide and acetaldehyde of nine yoghurt samples were determined. In addition, sensory analysis was conducted to see consumer perception. According to the results, one culture combination was obtained as the best combination which produces the appropriate yoghurt to Turkish taste with the closest chemical analysis results to the commercial samples. In the last part, freeze drying process was examined if this has a significant effect on the selected LAB combination as well as yoghurt produced by using this.M.S. - Master of Scienc