“If the starter is love, the yogurt won't be sour,” my grandmother used to say. What a beautiful and meaningful saying. Just as tasks and relationships done with love are more solid and lasting, our foods also gain a completely different character when produced with love and natural methods.
Turkey, with its fertile lands stretching from east to west, north to south, its climate that allows all four seasons to be experienced simultaneously, and its millennia-old agricultural food tradition, is one of the richest geographies in the world. Our ancient Anatolian lands have, for thousands of years, preserved the heritage where fermented products like our sourdough breads, tulum cheeses, strained yogurts, tarhanas, and kefirs are not just food but also a culture. However, unfortunately, almost all of the starter cultures (combinations of yeast, bacteria, and fungi) used in industrial production today are imported from abroad.
Yet, these lands are the homeland of yogurt. Even Evliya Çelebi's travelogue mentions "wonderful village yogurts," but today, instead of producing our own microbial heritage, we've resorted to making yogurt with imported microorganisms. How did we become dependent on cultures developed by others when every region from Edirne to Ardahan, Erzurum to Muğla, had its unique yogurt, cheese, and sourdough bread?
Importing starter cultures is not only an economic issue but also signifies the erosion and loss of our food identity and unique flavors. When imported standard cultures are used instead of local microorganisms, the characteristic tastes of yogurt, cheese, bread, and kefir become similar. I don't know if you've noticed, but most of the yogurts sold in supermarkets today taste almost the same. However, in every corner of Anatolia, yogurts, cheeses, and sourdough breads with different flavor profiles used to be produced. When our mothers, fathers, uncles, and grandfathers say, "Yogurt used to taste different," believe me, they are not saying it for nothing. Because every house used to have its own starter. Now, we are faced with copycat products on supermarket shelves.
We are working with all our might to protect and revive this great microbial heritage that Turkey possesses. To pass on the unique flavors of Anatolia to future generations, we must support the production of local and national starter cultures and take serious steps in this area. Preserving the taste of real yogurt, sourdough bread, and cheese is not just about preserving food but also our culture. We have completed our scientific studies, which we have focused on for years, and are excited and eager to collaborate with innovative and cooperative companies to produce them.
It's time to bring the flavors of these fertile lands back to our tables.
