Fermented milk, heated and mixed with 2 live bacteria, the Lactobacillus bulgaricus and lo Streptococcus thermophilus, the type of probiotics they maintain healthy the gut: a few things are simple and natural like yogurt.
Yogurt is the favorite snack for Italians: in 2016, almost two billion jars were produced in our country
According to Nielsen data of 2016 – one in two Italians prefer it as a snack to other alternatives: in our country, according to reports from Assolatte, again in 2016 were produced almost two billion jars of yogurt, to confirm a good and healthy love.
Yogurt is an Italian excellence, thanks to the 'capitals' of Vipiteno, Merano and Bolzano
But there's more, because it is yogurt it is also a local excellence, of which we must go tremendously proud: the "capitals" of Vipiteno, Merano and Bolzano alone represent half of the Italian market, and one reason for the success of South Tyrolean production lies in the "familiar" dimensions of the companies, which make the often vaunted zero kilometer really tangible. For example, the Latteria Vipiteno Cooperative has been on the market for over 130 years, and from 30 produces the homonymous yoghurt with whole milk daily taken from the farms of the 600 member farmers, which are no more than 30 km from the Latteria.
Short distances, fresh raw materials and total absence of preservatives, flavor enhancers, aromas and artificial colors: if you love yogurt and you can not do without it, here are five curiosities that (maybe) you do not know.
The origins: yogurt was produced in Turkey as early as the sixth century BC
The word yogurt is from Turkish origin and derives from the verb yogurmak, which means precisely thicken. Historians believe that yogurt was produced in Turkey as early as the 6th century BC: Central Asian shepherds used to put goat's milk in containers made of animal stomachs, to keep it while they were traveling. Part of the milk stored in these skins, to their surprise, became dense and harsh, but still edible – even after being exposed long time in the sun. The reason was that yogurt contains "good" bacteria that flourished when milk interacted with the animal bags.
Arrival in Italy: directly from Asia, the first to mention it is Pliny the Elder (1st century AD)
It is not clear who brought yogurt to Italy: some support the Huns, others the Bulgarians; certainly there is that anyway he came directly from Asia. The oldest texts mentioning it are those of Pliny the Elder (1st century AD): the writer, admiral and Roman naturalist in his works spoke of ancient barbarian nations who knew how to "thicken milk in a substance with a pleasant acidity".
Success in France and in Europe: in 1542 it was discovered that it was an excellent cure against diarrhea
In France, yogurt spread later and for health reasons: in 1542, King Francis I suffered from severe diarrhea and doctors could not find a cure. Suleiman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of the throne of France, then sent a doctor who treated him with yogurt: the news of the benefits of this exotic food began to spread in France and then throughout Europe.
Yoghurt production develops in South Tyrol as a response to the harsh climate and the altitude of the area
The rather rigid climate and the altitude of the area around Vipiteno did not give great prospects for economic development: the agricultural activity and the production of dairy products were thus the guarantee for the sustenance of the population. In 1884 the Dampfmolkerei Genossenschaft, the social dairy in Vapore, the starting signal of the professional transformation of the collection, treatment and marketing of milk. The merger – in two moments, in 1968 and in 1983 – of the three local dairies, the Latteria di Stanghe, that of Stilves and that of Vipiteno, was fundamental for the growth and development of the cooperative, which today produces one million half a jar a day.
The secret of goodness: the "menu" of the cows, the fact that they are happy and the hard work and commitment of the farmers
The question arises: how does Vipiteno's yogurt to be so good? The secret lies in the perfect combination of three factors: first, the "menu" of the cows, consisting of the best pristine water and mountain herbs. Then, from the cows themselves, happy because they were not locked up in intensive farms and treated with love and respect, so that each of them has its own name and is considered like any other member of an "extended family". Last, but not least, the hard work and commitment of the farmers, which every morning they milk with care and attention, to ensure the fresh milk that will be transformed within 24 hours after milking.
Marianna Tognini
July 2018
updated to January 2019
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