Momchilovtsi and its great secret - the Bulgarian original yogurt

Momchilovtsi is a small mountain village in Bulgaria. Here the inhabitants produce yogurt in the traditional way, which makes the small village famous far beyond its borders. The secret of the delicious dairy product is the Bulgarian original yogurt Lactobacillus Bulgaricus.

You like to eat yogurt? Then you are in the best company. On average, every German eats about 17 kilograms of yogurt per year. Yogurt is even more popular with Bulgarians: They eat a whopping 22 kilograms a year. Anyone who has spent a vacation in Bulgaria knows why. The colorful variety of yogurt on the supermarket shelves in Germany is no match for the competition from the Balkans. This is especially true of yogurt from Momchilovtsi. According to gourmets, the best yogurt in the world comes from this small village in the Bulgarian Rhodope Mountains. The fact that people in Momchilovtsi live particularly long is also said to be connected with the traditionally produced yogurt. Yogurt plays an important role in the diet of the locals.

In the heart of the Rhodopes lies the small mountain village of Momchilovtsi. 250 kilometers from the capital of Bulgaria, near the Greek border, small, modest cottages cling to the high mountains of the Rhodopes in southern Bulgaria. About 1,200 inhabitants live relatively modestly in Momchilovtsi, but they know how to enjoy life. It is said that people here remain healthy and fit until old age. According to experts, this is due not only to the fresh air and largely untouched nature, but also to a special feature in the diet.

If you stroll through the dreamy village, you will discover something else special. Signposts with Chinese characters are everywhere. This is necessary, because Chinese tour groups arrive here every day. Like everywhere else in the world, the tourists take selfies. But above all, they are curious to see what this famous Momchilovtsi looks like. For most Central Europeans, this is baffling, because who in our latitudes knows this mountain village with a name that rolls off the tongue of non-Bulgarians with difficulty? In China, far away, things are different. Here, every supermarket offers Momchilovtsi yogurt. Chinese customers are happy to grab it, because the advertising on the colorful packaging promises that this superfood has a life-prolonging effect. And the strong taste of the yogurt, which is made according to a Bulgarian recipe, also goes down well with Asians.

In the meantime, the inhabitants of Momchilovtsi have become accustomed to the daily rush. They are quite relaxed about the hype surrounding their yogurt, but with a certain hope for an economic upswing in their homeland. A day without yogurt is almost inconceivable for most of the inhabitants of Momchilovtsi. Borrowing from a well-known saying, they might say that a day without yogurt would be conceivable, but a dreary one. Just like the Greeks and Turks, yogurt is often on the menu several times a day. There are almost no limits to the imagination, because the delicious Bulgarian yogurt harmonizes with vegetables, grilled meat and even sweet ingredients. Bulgarian yogurt with a spoonful of honey and roasted nuts as a topping - only calorie-counting ignoramuses leave this delicious dessert!

But what is the reason that Momchilovtsi yogurt is so delicious and special? The secret is the yogurt culture, which is used in this region since ancient times. It is believed that the preparation of yogurt originated precisely in this region. A nomadic people lived here a long time ago - the Protobulgarians. They depended on preserving the milk of their sheep and goats to survive meager times. Perhaps chance came to their rescue. They left the milk to stand and bacteria in the environment took care of the fermentation. This yogurt culture was used for centuries in almost every household to make yogurt.

Bulgarians are gradually realizing what a treasure they have in Lactobacillus Bulgaricus. The Chinese have already had the process explained to them in detail and also work with the traditional yogurt culture from Momchilovtsi. In southern Bulgaria, a journalist from faraway Sofia has set up a small manufactory and is producing the coveted yogurt by hand in the old tradition. Meanwhile even scientists are interested in the Lactobacillus Bulgaricus. A separate institute has been established, whose main task is to preserve the purity of the original Bulgarian yogurt culture. Lactobacillus Bulgaricus is cultivated under standardized conditions and exported to many countries.

To make Bulgarian yogurt, only two things are needed: untreated milk from cows, goats or sheep and Lactobacillus Bulgaricus. As a starter culture, the Bulgarian housewife simply takes a spoonful of already finished yogurt. In industrial yogurt preparation, as practiced in Germany, the list of ingredients is much longer. Here, it is common to skim the milk first in order to adjust the fat content to the desired proportion afterwards. In the industrial sector, preservatives, dried milk powder and cream are often added. Despite this - or perhaps because of it - the yogurt from Momchilovtsi comes off better in the taste test. It has a firmer consistency, tastes slightly sour, pleasantly fresh and has no aftertaste.

If you are curious about Momchilovtsi yogurt, you do not necessarily have to travel to southern Bulgaria. In our online store you can find various starter cultures with real Lactobacillus Bulgaricus, with which you can conjure up an excellent Bulgarian yogurt yourself. The live cultures are freeze-dried. To activate them, they are stirred into warm milk. The milk must first be boiled, then cooled to 45 °C and poured into a glass jar before the yogurt culture is stirred in. In order for Lactobacillus Bulgaricus to take effect, the jars with the warm mixture are covered with a protective cloth. After a resting period of 6 - 8 hours you can enjoy the delicious Momchilovtsi yogurt. You don't have time or desire to make the yogurt on your own? No problem, in Bulgaria store you can find authentic yogurt with Lactobacillus Bulgaricus starter cultures, made in Bulgaria in traditional way. Milk from goats, sheep, buffaloes or cows grazing on lush meadows? You have the choice.