If you visit Bulgaria, you defiantly need to try the Bulgarian Yogurt called “Kiselo Mlyako”. This dairy product is famous for its great taste different from the yogurt known outside Bulgaria, and healthy benefits. It was found that the microflora of yoghurt synthesizes antibiotic and antimicrobial agents that act by suppressing micro-organisms on the intestinal tract. Yogurt is a powerful biological tool to heal the body from poisons. Also has antitumour activity characteristics. It helps in the fight against gastric and intestinal cancer and its regular consumption reduces the risk of them.
Its origins are not clear. There are several hypotheses about the creation of this healthy product. Back in the Thracian time 4000-2000 BC the shepherds have realized that the sour milk last much longer than the normal milk. The Greek Herodotus (484-425 BC) describes that “sheep yogurt is a gift from the Thracians” who inhabited our land. Another theory says that the proto-Bulgarians brought the yogurt to the Balkans, but made from buffalo, later they’ve started making it from sheep’s milk mixed with cheese.
The Kiselo Mlyako contains two main bacteria that form the product by fermentation, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophiles who lives in symbiosis.
It is believed that due to the contact of animals with plants during grazing, the bacteria is sticking to the teats of the goats and sheep and when the shepherds are milking the animals the bacteria falls in the milk.The bacteria is found by Stamen Grigorov (1878 – 1945) in 1905.
Today you can visit the Museum of Bulgarian Yogurt in Grigorov’s birth-place – the village of Studen Izvor. We can help you with organizing the visit of this museum around 90 km away from Sofia.
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