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Fermentation Atlas

Fermented milk from Turkey, Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, Central Asia

Ayranayran

Ayran is a salty drink of yoghurt diluted with water. Traditionally yoghurt, water and salt are stirred together for a minute or two; dairies ferment milk standardised to about 8 % solids at 42 °C with yoghurt bacteria until pH 4.2–4.6, then add about 0.5 % salt. It is drunk cold and frothy. Made in 5 steps over 3.3 h. The longest step, ferment to yoghurt, takes 3 h (Shalabi O.M.A.K 2024) and runs at 42 °C (Shalabi O.M.A.K 2024). Salt is 0.5 % (Shalabi O.M.A.K 2024). Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3 hReported[shalabi2024]Ferment to yoghurt
Temperature42 °CReported[shalabi2024]Ferment to yoghurt
Salt0.5 %Reported[shalabi2024]Dilute with water and salt, and whip
AciditypH 4Measured[kochetkova2022]Dilute with water and salt, and whip
Fully documentedFermented milk3.3 hMore fermented milkMore from RussiaMore from Turkey

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceProportions are from a tested lab method (Shalabi et al. 2024), 60 % curd to 40 % salt solution. Industrial ayran adds about 0.5 % salt; home ayran has no fixed amounts.
60 partsYoghurt curd · Cow milk pasteurised at 90 °C for 15 min, soured with 1 % yoghurt culture[shalabi2024]
40 partsSalt solution of 1 % · Pasteurised at 85 °C for 10 min and cooled before mixing[shalabi2024]
Starterdefined-culture (yoghurt culture) | backslop via home yoghurt

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.3 h

Start
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40–90 °C

What changes: The milk is heated to 90 °C, then cooled to 40–42 °C

Step 1 of 5
Heat the milk
Time
15 min
Reported
Temperature
40–90 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
S. thermophilus
Lactobacillus bulgaricus
L. delbrueckii

Output: hot treated milk, cooling to setting temperature.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

heat kills most milk bacteria

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Ayran is yoghurt, not a separate ferment; its own steps are dilution, salting and whipping. Doogh is made the same way, but traditionally the diluted yoghurt is churned in a skin to take off the butter first, and it is often flavoured with mint.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Yayık ayranı (eastern Turkey)Made by a mixing (churning) method into a very frothy drink.
  • Susurluk ayranDrawn from the vat and poured back fast through a narrow pipe from above, so the fat forms a foam on top.
  • Malatya spicy ayranRegistered on 11 April 2022.
  • Airan (Lebanon)Laban yoghurt with garlic and pieces of ice, as a summer drink.
  • Carbonated ayranSome kinds are made fizzy.

Safety

Industrial ayran is made from heat-treated milk soured to pH 4.2–4.6 and kept cold; a lab batch was stored at 4 °C for 14 days.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The word is in Mahmud al-Kashgari's 11th-century dictionary, which does not say how it was made. It comes from the Old Turkic root adır-, to separate.

  1. [shalabi2024] Shalabi O.M.A.K., Hassan A.M., Ismail M.M., El-Menawy R.K. 2024, Characterization of the ayran made with commercial probiotic cultures for fatty acids, cholesterol, folic acid levels, and anti-oxidative potential, Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins 16(3):1065–1075, doi:10.1007/s12602-023-10100-7paper
  2. [elcheninov2023] Elcheninov A.G. et al. 2023, Metagenomic insights into the taxonomic and functional features of traditional fermented milk products from Russia, Microorganisms 12(1):16, doi:10.3390/microorganisms12010016paper
  3. [kochetkova2022] Kochetkova T.V. et al. 2022, Microbial communities of artisanal fermented milk products from Russia, Microorganisms 10(11):2140, doi:10.3390/microorganisms10112140paper
  4. [fao-tmp] FAO 1990, The technology of traditional milk products in developing countries, Animal Production and Health Paper 85, II. Acidified milks (Yoghurt/Laban, Lebanon remark on airan)gov
  5. [wp] Wikipedia, Ayran (etymology, regional names and variants only)wiki