There are people making yogurt the old fashioned way… by dropping live redwood ants into fresh milk

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 1:00: Alchemist, ant colony, Bulgaria, cheesecloth

Notable quotes from "There are people making yogurt the old fashioned way… by dropping live redwood ants into fresh milk"

• Ants are good at making yogurt. Thanks to their microbio, researchers hiked up the mountains of Bulgaria to recreate this traditional yogurt making process, dropping redwood ants into fresh milk.

  about microbio · at 0:00

• They use this yogurt in their ice cream sandwiches and want to use it for other fermentation experiments in the future.

  about ice cream sandwiches · at 0:47

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

Companies & orgs

• commercial yogurt brands — Company · 1 mention · first at 0:17
  It's unique from commercial yogurt brands because in the US, they're made from just two industrial bacteria strands. In working on this study, the researchers discovered that the redwood.
• Alchemist — Company · 1 mention · first at 0:44
  Slightly tangy, herby, and worthy of the twostar Michelin restaurant Alchemist.
• Michelin — Company · 1 mention · first at 0:44
  Slightly tangy, herby, and worthy of the twostar Michelin restaurant Alchemist.

Products & tech

• cheesecloth — Product · 1 mention · first at 0:13
  The team then covered the experiment with the cheesecloth and then buried it in an ant colony overnight.
• San Francisco sourdough bread — Product · 1 mention · first at 0:34
  Ants and San Francisco sourdough bread.
• ice cream sandwiches — Product · 1 mention · first at 0:47

Concepts & topics

• microbio — Concept · 1 mention · first at 0:02
• redwood ants — Concept · 1 mention · first at 0:09
  The mountains of Bulgaria to recreate this traditional yogurt making process, dropping redwood ants into fresh milk.
• industrial bacteria strands — Concept · 1 mention · first at 0:21
  It's unique from commercial yogurt brands because in the US, they're made from just two industrial bacteria strands. In working on this study, the researchers discovered that…
• fermentation — Concept · 1 mention · first at 0:51
  They use this yogurt in their ice cream sandwiches and want to use it for other fermentation experiments in the future.

Places & events

• Bulgaria — Place · 1 mention · first at 0:04
  Ants are good at making yogurt. Thanks to their microbio, researchers hiked up the mountains of Bulgaria to recreate this traditional yogurt making process, dropping redwood ants into fresh milk.
• ant colony — Place · 1 mention · first at 0:15
  The team then covered the experiment with the cheesecloth and then buried it in an ant colony overnight.
• San Francisco — Place · 1 mention · first at 0:34
  Ants and San Francisco sourdough bread.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Ants are good at making yogurt. Thanks to their microbio, researchers hiked up the mountains of Bulgaria to recreate this traditional yogurt making process, dropping redwood ants into fresh milk. The team then covered the experiment with the cheesecloth and then buried it in an ant colony overnight. It's unique from commercial yogurt brands because in the US, they're made from just two industrial bacteria strands. In working on this study, the researchers discovered that the redwood ants had more and mostly different bacteria. One of those different bacteria is already pretty wellnown and only lives in two places in the world.

0:34 Ants and San Francisco sourdough bread. So, what does it taste like? Slightly tangy, herby, and worthy of the twostar Michelin restaurant Alchemist. They use this yogurt in their ice cream sandwiches and want to use it for other fermentation experiments in the future. I mean, I'd eat an ant ice cream sandwich.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "There are people making yogurt the old fashioned way… by dropping live redwood ants into fresh milk"?

In order: 0:00 Alchemist, ant colony, Bulgaria, cheesecloth.

What is mentioned in this NPR episode?

13 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including microbio, Bulgaria, redwood ants, cheesecloth, ant colony, commercial yogurt brands. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "There are people making yogurt the old fashioned way… by dropping live redwood ants into fresh milk"?

The episode runs 1 min; the transcript is about 155 words in 2 timestamped sections.

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