Goat and sheep milk as raw material for yogurt

Yogurts are prepared by bacterial fermentation of milk using bacterial cultures composed of a mixture of Streptococcus ssp. thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus. In the regions where small ruminants are important to the economy, the development of new products may and the diversification of the offer might represent good strategies to attract new consumers since it allows producers to go beyond the usual cheesemaking. Those were the reasons that led to the production of a yogurt that would include different proportions of sheep and goats milk, a final product with the right physicochemical quality properties and sensory attributes. The addition of sheep milk is meant to attract more and more potential consumers and to additionally improve the nutritional value of the product, mainly with respect to the amount of fatty acid and mineral contents. Consumers tend to prefer yogurts made of cow milk, but this work shows that people enjoy and accept yogurts produced with goat and sheep milk as well. Therefore, it seems evident that the milk produced by these small ruminants can be an alternative and has the potential to become a good food product.