Acidophilus and acidophilus milk. Acidophilus milk - importance and benefits

Acidophilic milk has been used as a food product for over 20 years. First of all, it became widespread in the United States, where the main work was carried out to study the effect of acidophilus bacillus on the human body. As a result of these works, their scientists come to the conclusion that acidophilic milk can be successfully used for both preventive and therapeutic purposes. Scientists have found that in diseases such as chronic colitis and constipation, which are generally difficult to treat, the use of acidophilus milk gives good results, with the number of cases of complete recovery reaching approximately 80%.

Description of acidophilic cultures

In all experiments, scientists received positive results, confirming the possibility of using acidophilus culture for bacteriotherapy in the above intestinal diseases.

When using acidophilic cultures isolated from the contents of the human intestine, the question naturally arises of how long these cultures after their isolation retain the ability to take root in the intestine and whether they lose these valuable properties over time due to the fact that they are cultivated for a long time on dairy media.

Some American scientists give an answer to this question in the sense that after 2-4 months, as a result of successive inoculations from milk into milk, acidophilus bacillus loses its ability to take root in the human intestine, and therefore depreciates from that moment on as a healing factor.

In view of this, scientists advocate the need to pass such cultures through the human gastrointestinal tract every three months and isolate them again.

On the other hand, when such cultures are sauteed through the intestines, they are subjected to the strongest biological influence from the intestines and, as a result, may undergo changes in their properties. All this greatly complicates the requirements of regular passages of such cultures. In addition, acidophilic cultures do not lose their ability to acclimatize in the intestines as soon as scientists believe.

Cultures under the age of 2-3 years give no worse results than freshly passaged ones.

Heat: nice but not useful

It should be noted that acidophilic cultures isolated from the intestinal contents of young animals and used to combat intestinal diseases of young animals have given such positive results that at present the use of the so-called "acidophilus" in animal husbandry has received universal recognition, and there are already several production laboratories, producing starter cultures for acidophilus in very significant quantities.

Some scientists suggested introducing yeast cultures into acidophilic milk, justifying this proposal by the fact that yeast activates the development of lactic acid bacilli and, as a result, the latter will develop better in the intestines.

On the other hand, the yeast itself, according to scientists, should have a beneficial effect on the body, and as a result of their introduction into acidophilic milk, its nutritional and dietary value should increase.

Acidophilic milk is undoubtedly a valuable medicinal preparation, the action of which has already been verified by repeated observations.

Therefore, with each actual modification in the method of preparation of such a drug, it is necessary, before authorizing such a change, to conduct comparative tests of the effects of both drugs on the human body, and only after obtaining positive results is it permissible to introduce such a modification into practice.

Recently, acidophilus milk has become very popular - a new dairy product with a huge list of useful properties. It is recommended to drink it to everyone, from babies to the elderly - doctors say that the benefits will be noticeable at any age. It is also recommended to all those who suffer from ailments of the gastrointestinal tract. However, the question remains the same: what is the use of this very milk and why doctors and nutritionists so strongly recommend it to us.

Acidophilus - what is it and why is it so useful

Pure acidophilus is a drink made from cow's milk, made with the help of various lactic acid bacteria. Acidophilus bacteria are just one of the components used in the preparation of lactic acid products. However, they take root better than others in the intestines of the human body. At the same time, they can also suppress the action of various pathogenic microorganisms, as well as harmful bacteria. Useful properties of acidophilus is as follows:

• normalizes the intestinal microflora;
• increases the activity of Escherichia coli (normal);
• helps in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases;
• helps to reduce cholesterol (bad);
• reduces the likelihood of developing allergies in children;
• the absorption of nutrients is enhanced.

In addition to the above, when acidophilus bacteria are involved in the absorption of proteins, they also secrete B vitamins, lactic acid and various enzymes into the body. This helps to improve the functioning of the intestines - most modern people have dysbacteriosis, which can be easily cured with products containing acidophilus bacteria. These may be:

• acidophilus milk - a mixture of cow's milk and acidophilus bacillus. Its consistency is a viscous liquid, and the taste is very specific. Since not everyone likes the pronounced sour-milk taste, the resulting milk is often diluted with sugar, cinnamon, honey and other additives.
• acidophilus-yeast milk - has a viscous and viscous consistency, is prepared in the same way as regular milk, but in addition to acidophilus bacillus, lactic yeast is also used. They also appear in the taste of the resulting product.
• curdled milk is even more sour and more viscous. To prepare acidophilic yogurt, you need to add acidophilus bacteria to the mixture in addition to the usual streptococci.

A more difficult question is where to buy products containing acidophilus bacteria. Nowadays, they can be purchased either in the online store or in specialized supermarkets. Rarely, but it happens that they can be found in large supermarkets.

What else is the invaluable benefit of acidophilic milk, so it is in a pronounced bactericidal effect. Once in the intestines, beneficial bacteria kill other pathogens. This happens due to lysine, nisin and lactolin - antibiotic substances. Also, bacteria that are not exposed to digestive juices contribute to the restoration of normal intestinal microflora.

Unusual milk at home

From what time to give the baby acidophilus milk, so as not to harm him, but to bring only benefit? It is believed that acidophilus milk can be given even to infants from the time of the start of complementary foods. Moreover, acidophilus milk is even considered beneficial for children. There are versions that it can reduce the risk of allergic reactions in the future. As for adults, they may have the following diseases as indications for drinking special milk:

• diseases of the liver and kidneys;
• anemia;
• allergic skin diseases;
• respiratory diseases;
• diabetes;
• infectious diseases.

Making acidophilus milk at home is not so difficult if you have the right starter culture. It is necessary to bring milk (1 liter) to a boil, and then cool it to 40 degrees Celsius. Next, you need to add the starter to the liquid, mix thoroughly and leave in a thermos, yogurt maker or other suitable dish for eight hours. How can you tell if milk is ready? It should acquire a thicker consistency. When this happens, you can refrigerate the product and store it already in the refrigerator.

Acidophilic milk has no contraindications, except for lactose intolerance. Despite the fact that there is less milk sugar in it than in ordinary cow's milk, lactose still remains in it, although it is easier for the body to digest. At first, side effects can be observed, as with dysbacteriosis, but they pass in a very short time. This happens for one reason - the intestines are rebuilt, the ratio of lacto- and colibacilli returns to normal.

You should not drink acidophilus milk for those who have reduced immunity. If the body is not able to control the growth of live bacteria contained in this type of dairy product, then it can be subject to infection. In other cases, drink milk and enjoy the result!

acidophilus milk

Kefir. Prepared from whole or skimmed pasteurized milk (as well as powder) by mixed lactic acid and alcoholic fermentation. For this, sourdoughs prepared on kefir fungi or at pure cultures of microorganisms specially prepared for this purpose capable of causing lactic acid and alcoholic fermentation. Kefir fungi are a symbiosis of lactic acid bacilli, streptococci and lactic yeast such as Torula kefiri.

After cooling the milk, it enters the tank, where the starter is introduced in the amount of 5-7% and mixed. Fermentation of kefir occurs within 14 - 16 hours. This should form a clot. Acidity reaches 80 °T. Kefir is cooled to 8 - 10 ° C and it ripens within 12 hours. After maturation, when the acidity exceeds 95°T, turn on the stirrers and mix thoroughly. The finished product is sent for bottling.

Benign kefir is characterized by sour-milk refreshing taste and smell; homogeneous consistency; color milky white or yellowish. Gas formation is allowed as a result of the development of normal microflora. Do not add coloring or preservative substances to kefir.

You can’t use kefir for food: with butyric, acetic, bitter, ammonia, musty and strongly pronounced fodder odor; with the smell of dirty dishes, basement; with lumps of cottage cheese; moldy; swollen; with released serum more than 5% of the volume; with the presence of foreign matter and abnormal coloration.

curdled milk produced from whole or skimmed milk of cows (pasteurized or sterilized) by fermenting it with pure cultures of lactic acid streptococci with or without the addition of other types of lactic acid microorganisms. Dairy industry enterprises produce various types of curdled milk: ordinary, acidophilic, Mechnikov, fermented baked milk, southern, Varenets. There are varieties of curdled milk - yogurt, drinks "Kolomensky", "Amateur", "Russian", "Youth", "Snowball", etc.

Curdled milk. It is prepared only in a thermostatic way. Sourdough used - mesophilic lactic streptococcus . Homogenization is optional. Milk is pasteurized, cooled, fermented and poured into bags or boxes. The duration of ripening is 5-7 hours, the acidity is 75-80°T. Store ready-made curdled milk at a temperature of 6-8 ° C for no more than 24 hours.

Mechnikovskaya (Bulgarian) curdled milk. Sourdough used - thermophilic lactic streptococcus and bulgarian stick . Fermentation duration - 4-6 hours, temperature - 36-38°C, acidity - 80-100°T.

Acidophilic curdled milk. use 3% lactic streptococcus and 2% acidophilus bacillus . Pasteurized milk is fermented at a temperature of 40-45°C, the duration of fermentation is 4-6 hours, the acidity of the finished product is 100-110°T.

Yogurt . Produced from pasteurized milk using sourdough, which includes thermophilic lactic streptococcus and Bulgarian stick.

In market conditions, curdled milk is usually checked organoleptically, in doubtful cases it is selectively examined for acidity, fat content and soda impurities.

Sour milk put on sale must meet the following requirements: the taste and smell are sour-milk, with a characteristic aroma for them, without an extraneous smell and taste unusual for a fresh product; for curdled milk prepared with the addition of sugar or other flavoring and aromatic substances, a moderately sweet taste and the presence of a smell characteristic of the substances introduced into it are allowed; the consistency of curdled milk is thick, without a large amount of whey on its surfaces and gas formation; a clot of ordinary yogurt should be moderately dense, glossy at the break, stable, and clots of acidophilic and southern yogurt prepared with the participation of mucous races of microorganisms, matsoni and ryazhenka - slightly viscous; for yogurt, the consistency is homogeneous, like that of sour cream; for Varents, the presence of milk films is allowed; the color of curdled milk is milky white or cream, Varenets with a brownish tint;

Yogurt is not allowed for sale: with pronounced odors and flavors (fodder, butyric, ammonia, bitter, greasy, alcoholic, with the exception of the alcohol flavor in southern yogurt, moldy and bready); contaminated, covered with milk mold, with gas formation, voids and crevices, liquid, flabby; with the presence of isolated serum in an amount of more than 5% of the volume of the product.

Kumys obtained from the milk of mares. In the southern regions of Kazakhstan, koumiss is made from camel milk and is called shubat.

Kumis, like kefir, is a product of combined (lactic acid and alcohol) fermentation. Prepared by fermenting milk cultures of lactic acid bacteria and koumiss yeast. Mare's milk used for the preparation of koumiss should be from healthy animals, fresh, acidity not higher than 7 ° T, clean, without foreign taste and smell. Skimmed cow's milk for making koumiss is pasteurized.

The physico-chemical parameters of koumiss are as follows:

Weak - fat content - not less than 1.5%, dry matter - 9.5%, vitamin C - 10 mg%, acidity - not more than 95 ° T, alcohol - not less than 0.6%;

Medium - solids - 9.2%, vitamin C - 18 mg%, acidity - 110 ° T, alcohol - 1.1%;

Strong - fat 9%, vitamin C - 18 mg%, acidity - 130 ° T, alcohol - 1.6%.

High-quality koumiss is milky-white in color with a certain tint, the consistency resembles thick sour cream with gas bubbles; the taste and smell are sour-alcohol, specific, without foreign smell and taste unusual for a fresh product. It is impossible to add preservatives and coloring substances to koumiss. Do not use for food koumiss, which has the smell and taste of butyric and acetic acids, putrefactive, moldy, etc., as well as large particles of cottage cheese.

acidophilus and acidophilus milk made from cow's whole or skimmed pasteurized milk. Sourdough is made from pure cultures acidophilus bacilli with or without the addition of other lactic acid microorganisms and lactic yeast .

Lactic acid streptococcus and kefir starter are added to acidophilus, and acidophilus milk milk yeast is added.

In terms of organoleptic and chemical indicators, acidophilus and acidophilus milk must meet the following requirements: - taste and smell of sour milk, with an aroma inherent in these products; alcohol flavor is allowed in acidophilus. If the products are prepared with the addition of sugar or other flavoring and aromatic substances, they are allowed in moderation; sweet taste and the presence of a smell characteristic of the substances introduced into them.

According to the consistency and appearance, acidophilus and acidophilus milk are a fairly dense clot, which, when diluted, produces a homogeneous mass in the form of liquid sour cream. For acidophilic milk, a denser consistency, slightly viscous, is allowed. In acidophilus, slight gas formation is possible. The color of these products is milky white, uniform throughout the mass. The amount of fat - not less than 3.2%. The acidity of acidophilus is 75 - 130 ° T, acidophilus milk - 90 -140 0 T.

Which is obtained in the process of fermenting milk with the addition of beneficial bacteria - acidophilus bacillus. Acidophilic milk can taste like curdled milk or kefir, but the product has a number of unique healing properties that are due to its chemical composition. Adherents of a healthy diet adore this product, as thanks to it you can get incredible benefits for the whole body.

So all the same, what is acidophilus, and is it really so useful? This article will tell you in detail about this amazing drink, as well as describe the history and production technology, composition and all the useful properties.

Acidophilus - what is it? Product history

From Latin, the name of the drink is translated as "to love sour." For the first time this fermented milk culture was produced in 1903 by the famous doctor Podgorodetsky. During the first scientific studies, it was found that acidophilus milk surpassed the Bulgarian stick, which at that time was one of the most popular in the manufacture of fermented milk products, in terms of useful properties.

It is worth noting that during the Soviet Union, the product was produced in large quantities, and it was very popular among the population. To date, acidophilus milk can not be found in all stores, but acidophilus bacillus itself is often included in other popular fermented milk products.

Beverage production technology

The first step in the production of acidophilus is the pasteurization of cow's milk in order to remove bacteria and microbes from it, which, in the course of their life activity, can form undesirable reactions. Further, pasteurized milk is fermented with kefir fungi, streptococci and acidophilus bacillus. The temperature at which acidophilus milk is fermented is from 32 to 37 degrees Celsius, and the procedure itself takes about twelve hours.

If a thermostatic production method is used during the manufacture of the product, then the mixture is immediately poured into separate packages for fermentation, and if it is a reservoir, the drink matures in one large container. At the end of fermentation, a viscous and thick mass is obtained, more viscous than, for example, kefir. The mixture acquires a pronounced specific aroma and a sharp, pleasant taste.

In order for the final version of the resulting fermented milk drink to be more tasty, various fruit juices, fructose or sugar can be added to it. The shelf life of the manufactured product is no more than three days from the date of manufacture at a temperature of seven to nine degrees Celsius. When preservatives are added to acidophilus, the shelf life increases to five days.

The composition of the drink

Acidophilic milk has a rich chemical composition. It includes various vitamins and elements, namely:

• vitamin B12 - 0.03 mcg;
• vitamin A - 20 mcg;
• vitamin B1 - 40 mcg;
• vitamin B2 - 160 mcg;
• beta-carotene - 10 mcg;
• vitamin B5 - 30 mcg;
• vitamin C - 80 mcg;
• vitamin PP - 10 mcg;
• biotin - 3 mcg;
• choline - 38 mg;
• zinc - 40 mcg;
• iron - 10 mcg;
• manganese - 0.6 mcg;
• iodine - 9 mcg;
• copper - 10 mcg;
• fluorine - 20 mcg;
• molybdenum - 5 mcg;
• sulfur - 27 mg;
• fluorine - 21 mcg;
• selenium - 2 mcg;
• cobalt - 1 µg;
• phosphorus - 97 mg;
• magnesium - 916 mg;
• calcium - 121 mg;
• sodium - 54 mg.

The calorie content of acidophilic milk per 100 g of drink can vary from 31 to 60 kcal, depending on the initial fat content of the product.

The benefits of the drink

The unique property of acidophilic milk is that it is completely absorbed by the human body, which cannot be said about pure milk or kefir. This phenomenon is caused by the fermentation of lactose, which makes the use of this product safe for young children, nursing women, as well as for people with various chronic diseases. Due to the low calorie content of such milk, a person can quickly get enough, which is especially important when following diets for weight loss.

It is best to consume acidophilus milk on an empty stomach and slightly warmed up, and you need to drink it in small sips, while pausing. Assimilation of the drink begins immediately after entering the stomach. Acidophilic milk immediately begins to fight pathogenic microorganisms. It is worth noting that acidophilus, unlike other beneficial bacteria, is slowly destroyed by gastric juice, which allows it to produce natural antibiotics that fight pathogens and inflammation. Some of these antibiotics include nicosine, nisin, lactalin, and lysine.

In addition to the above, the benefits of acidophilus milk also lies in its ability to restore the secretion of gastric juice, stimulate the secretion of the pancreas. With constant use, the drink can increase immunity.

Acidophilus milk is of great importance in the diet of young children, since thanks to this wonderful drink, you can improve the appetite of a child, which is very important if he is small. The drink also has a positive effect on the growth of children, since with its regular intake, the condition of bone tissues and joints improves.

acidophilus in diseases

As noted above, the drink is well suited for naturally boosting the immune system, so drinking it will help you recover quickly after suffering from infectious diseases or long-term use of antibiotics.

Contraindications for drinking

People who have been diagnosed with diseases such as gastritis or stomach ulcers should drink acidophilus milk with caution. Especially it is necessary to limit its use during an exacerbation of the disease.

For everyone else, fresh acidophilus milk is absolutely safe and can only bring benefits. Side effects may occur if the drink was stale or the dose was too large. Side effects include heartburn, heaviness and discomfort in the intestines, which is a consequence of increased acidity in the stomach. With individual intolerance to acidophilus bacillus, allergy manifestations can be observed in the form of small rashes on the skin or urticaria.

Currently, several products of this group are being manufactured: acidophilus, acidophilus milk, acidophilus-yeast milk, acidophilus yogurt and acidophilus paste. An obligatory component of all these products is acidophilus bacillus. Studies of the action of this microorganism revealed its amazing abilities: it takes root much better than other lactic acid bacteria in the human intestine, suppressing the development of putrefactive and some pathogenic microorganisms. Moreover, acidophilus bacillus is resistant to many antibiotics used to treat humans. Therefore, eating acidophilic foods during antibiotic treatment contributes to the restoration of normal intestinal microflora.

The starter cultures of some acidophilic sour-milk products also include other sour-milk microorganisms: lactic streptococci, lactic yeast, kefir fungi, that is, starter cultures of the same culture (acidophilus bacillus) and combined ones are used.

acidophilus

For preparation, use the starter of one culture or a combination, consisting of acidophilus bacillus, lactic streptococcus and kefir fungi.

Milk is heated to a temperature of 85 ° C, and then cooled to 40-43 ° C in cold water, after which prepared acidophilic starter is added to it (50 g of starter for 1 liter of milk), stirred well, kept until fermentation, which usually lasts 6 -8 hours In the first 2 hours of fermentation, the milk is stirred two or three times. After fermentation, acidophilus is cooled to 6-8 °C.

The acidity of the product is low, as fermentation does not last long. Ready acidophilus is characterized by a uniform and rather dense clot without a sharp separation of serum.

You can also prepare sweet acidophilus by adding sugar syrup to taste to milk before fermenting.

acidophilus milk

It is produced from ordinary milk, heated to 90-95 ° C with an exposure of 2-5 minutes. Acidophilus bacillus is used as a starter. Sometimes sugar, honey, vanillin, etc. are added to acidophilic milk. It has the consistency of a viscous liquid. Stored at 3-6°C.

acidophilic yeast milk

The milk is pasteurized and then cooled to 30-32°C. The starter consists of acidophilus bacillus and lactic yeast. Otherwise, the process of preparing acidophilus-yeast milk is similar to the preparation of acidophilus. The finished product has a sour-milk flavor with a yeasty flavor. Its consistency is homogeneous, somewhat viscous and viscous.

Acidophilic curdled milk

It differs from the ordinary one in that, in addition to lactic acid streptococci, acidophilus bacillus is also added to the sourdough. Under its influence, curdled milk acquires a more sour taste, and the consistency becomes more viscous.