PROCESS FOR PRODUCING FERMENTED MILK AND FERMENTED MILK

摘要

It is intended to provide a process for producing fermented milk wherein fermentation is promoted without resort to any fermentation promoter, and a novel fermented milk obtained by this production process which has such denseness and mildness that cannot be achieved by the existing methods and yet has a rigid texture causing no disintegration of the tissue during distribution. As the results of discussion, it is found out that fermentation efficiency can be elevated by reducing the content of oxygen dissolved in a starting mix for fermented milk at the initiation of the fermentation via replacement by an inert gas. By a process for producing fermented milk wherein the fermentation is carried out at a usual temperature in the above state, the fermentation time can be shortened and the productivity can be elevated. By a process for producing fermented milk wherein a lower fermentation temperature is employed than in the usual cases, it is possible to obtain, within a usual fermentation time, a novel fermented milk which is superior in dense and mild taste to fermented milks having mild taste obtained by the existing low-temperature and long-time fermentation method and yet has such a rigid texture causing no disintegration during distribution that cannot be achieved by the existing methods.