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Fermented milk from Iran

Dooghدوغ

Doogh is the salted Iranian yoghurt drink. FAO describes the traditional route as boiling whole milk down, setting it with a little old doogh, then mixing the curd with water. Wikipedia adds that yoghurt is churned in a waterskin to take off the butter, and the liquid left is doogh. A 2023 lab study made a low-fat doogh by diluting yoghurt to 40 % with water and 0.7 % salt, heating it briefly and storing it cold.

Fully documentedFermented milk1 min

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceProportions are from a tested lab formulation of traditional low-fat doogh (Rahmati et al. 2023). Village doogh has no fixed amounts.
Low-fat yoghurt40 % w/wFrom 0.5 % fat milk heated at 90 °C for 15 min and soured with yoghurt culture[rahmati2023]
Water59.3 % w/w[rahmati2023]
Salt0.7 % w/w[rahmati2023]
Vegetable extractsOptionalThe usual traditional flavouring[fao-tmp]
Starterbackslop (old doogh); a yoghurt culture in the 2023 lab study

Total time across the recorded steps: 1 min

Start
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What changes: Whole raw milk is boiled down over an open fire while it is stirred

Step 1 of 5
Boil the milk down
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: concentrated boiled milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Doogh is the salted Iranian yoghurt drink. FAO describes the traditional route as boiling whole milk down, setting it with a little old doogh, then mixing the curd with water. Wikipedia adds that yoghurt is churned in a waterskin to take off the butter, and the liquid left is doogh. A 2023 lab study made a low-fat doogh by diluting yoghurt to 40 % with water and 0.7 % salt, heating it briefly and storing it cold. Made in 5 steps over 1 min. The longest step, heat briefly, bottle and chill, takes 1 min (Rahmati F 2023) and runs at 14–85 °C (Rahmati F 2023). Salt is 0.7 % (Rahmati F 2023). Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step1 minReported[rahmati2023]Heat briefly, bottle and chill
Temperature14–85 °CReported[rahmati2023]Heat briefly, bottle and chill
Salt0.7 %Reported[rahmati2023]Dilute and salt
AciditypH 4.4 → 4.07Measured[rahmati2023]Heat briefly, bottle and chill

What makes this one different

Wikipedia describes ayran as diluted yoghurt. Among Iranic peoples, doogh is the liquid left after churning yoghurt in a skin for butter (Wikipedia, Ayran), while FAO describes set curd mixed with water. The lab formulation in the 2023 study is diluted to about 40 % yoghurt.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Whey dooghHalf of the dilution water replaced by acidified whey inoculated with 2.5 % yoghurt starter (FAO says this is usual nowadays).
  • Home doogh from milk and yoghurtMilk and plain yoghurt at about 15:1, warmed, salted and kept warm in a closed container for 3–4 days (Wikipedia, Doogh).

Safety

The traditional route boils the milk down before setting it (FAO). The 2023 lab study heated the diluted drink at 85 °C for 1 minute, bottled it at 14 °C and kept it at 5 °C. The home method from Wikipedia only warms the milk, then keeps it warm and closed for 3–4 days; no source we read shows that it is safe.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Wikipedia says doogh is present in Avestan scripture, where the word seems to have meant milk or the product of milking, and that it was already drunk in ancient Iran. It also quotes the Iranian standard, which defines doogh as a drink from the lactic fermentation of milk whose dry matter is standardised by diluting yoghurt (after fermentation) or buttermilk (before fermentation).

  1. [rahmati2023] Rahmati F., Mahjoorian A., Fazeli F., Ranjbar S. 2023, Investigation of rheological, physicochemical, and sensorial properties of traditional low-fat Doogh formulated with Caspian Sea Huso huso gelatin and xanthan, Food Science and Nutrition 11(11):7218–7228, doi:10.1002/fsn3.3647paper
  2. [fao-tmp] FAO 1990, The technology of traditional milk products in developing countries, Animal Production and Health Paper 85, II. Acidified milks (Dough, Iran)gov
  3. [wp] Wikipedia, Ayran (doogh churned in a mashk)wiki
  4. [wp-2] Wikipedia, Doogh (home method and the Iranian standard's definition)wiki