The Discovery Of Yogurt Might Have Been A Happy Accident

The depth at which yogurt has infiltrated mainstream culture is not to be underestimated. There's a plethora of brands available, and no matter who you are, there's a brand of yogurt out there intended for you. It's marketed to women, men, and even kids — come on, Go-Gurt is clearly the string cheese of yogurt!

Apparently, the worldwide obsession with this fermented milk product was sparked in 1905 by Elie Metchnikoff of the Pasteur Institute – named after Louis Pasteur of pasteurization fame (per Smithsonian Magazine). In a lecture, he posited that the key to combating old age lay in the health of the microorganisms in our guts, which could be bolstered by consuming foods like yogurt, Smithsonian reports. It thus became an early 20th-century health craze. But where did all this healthful dairy goodness come from in the first place? The answers are ancient — let's peel back the lid and dig in.

Yogurt is basically milk gone bad — under controlled conditions. It tastes sour because of the lactic acid produced by its cultures, explains Britannica. Yogurt is considered to have been invented in several instances, likely in Central Asia and the Middle East, according to BBC Travel, and has an especially rich history in Bulgaria. Evidence of yogurt consumption has been discovered that indicates it could have started as far back as 10,000 to 5,000 BC, as reported by Medium — when humans began domesticating ruminants that produced milk (sheep, goats, and cattle).

People needed a way to transport this milk and preserve it. BBC Travel explains that they did so using animal skins (or stomachs, per Dishes Origins) and inadvertently created the ideal conditions for fermentation to take place. But something else happened — the milk curdled, meaning its proteins coagulated due to enzymes in the animal stomachs, Dishes Origins adds. Thus, yogurt was born — and eventually, cheese. It's quite a story, but — after all, someone had to be the first brave soul to eat blue cheese.

There are several different types of yogurt on typical supermarket shelves: the thick, strained Icelandic skyr; lower-lactose, higher-protein Greek, and the creamy blended types. Fun, often fruity, and sometimes questionably-healthy add-ins may be present. Yogurt is here to stay and there are plenty of reasons to include it in your diet. Healthline reminds us that varieties containing probiotics benefit digestive health (throwback to animal stomachs!) and that the stuff is chock full of protein, calcium, vitamin B12, and minerals.

Yogurt is also a useful cooking ingredient to play with. It stars in refreshing sauces like tzatziki and raita and can stand in for sour cream, says Healthline. The Food Network suggests making everything from dips to dressings to baked goods with the stuff. Bob Ross once said, "We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents" (per Insider). We may have curdled the milk, but we're sure glad we wound up with yogurt.