Can we make yogurt from Camel Milk?

In the popular sources of dairy that most people are used to, camel milk often doesn’t make the cut. However, camels are actually often categorized as the hardy producers of milk who continue their milk production even in extremely dry spells or droughts. Even apart from these tough times, camel milk is consumed on a regular basis in certain parts of the world such as Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

The properties of camel milk, however, are often known to be unique in nature. The consistency of camel milk is said to be dependent on the conditions surrounding the animal. Therefore, during hot temperatures, camels are known to produce milk in a much more diluted form as compared to other animal dairy sources such as goat or cow milk. Camel milk has been gaining more attention, and it may be due to the fact that camel milk is said to have a relatively lower fat content while being a source of certain naturally occurring vitamins, including Vitamin C.

However, an even lesser-explored question is whether camel milk can be effectively made into yogurt.

If this got you thinking, read on to find out more.

• Patience is Key: Camel milk, due to its distinct and unique nature, is said to take a much longer time to cream than its counterparts such as goat milk or cow milk. Moreover, when camel milk does end up attaining a creamy texture, it does not cream in a manner similar to other kinds of animal dairy. In fact, even at the end stage of creaming, camel milk allegedly does not attain a fully creamy consistency.

• The Struggle of Coagulation: People who are used to fermenting popular forms of milk such as cow milk or buffalo milk into yogurt would feel a certain level of frustration if they adopted the same method in making camel milk yogurt. This is because when such popular types of milk are heated consistently at a fairly high temperature, they do not take too long to come together or coagulate. However, when camel milk comes into the picture, coagulation is not known to be an easy feat. Thus, the fermentation of camel milk is not as easy as fermenting other types of milk such as cow or buffalo milk.

In spite of these difficulties, certain research explores ways to produce camel milk yogurt, aiming to increase product variety and create additional opportunities for camel milk sellers.

One such process has been explored briefly in simple words:

The researchers started off by ensuring that their appliances and all their equipment were entirely sterilized. They then used gelatin along with skimmed milk powder that had been sourced from cows. The proportion for these added ingredients was 1.2 percent and 5 percent respectively. These two ingredients were added separately into oneliter of camel milk. In an extremely controlled setting and a temperature of 85 degrees Celsius, the mixture underwent the process of pasteurization using a water bath. The milk was then cooled down to a measured temperature of 65 degrees Celsius and edible calcium chloride was added into the mixture. Following this, other ingredients were added to the mixture, including a form of maple syrup and certain yogurt cultures. Finally, the entire mixture was cooled and stored at a temperature of four degrees Celsius throughout the night.

Upon the completion of this entire procedure, which, by the way, was arrived at after a lot of trials, a certain form of camel milk yogurt was finally achieved.

The above example is testimony to the fact that making yogurt from camel milk is not impossible but evidently a difficult process.