Michellin-star restaurant serving yogurt made of ants

By Stephen Beech

Yogurt made with ants was served at a Michelin-starred restaurant after scientists recreated an ancient recipe.

Yogurt ice-cream sandwiches in the shape of an ant, mascarpone-like cheeses and cocktails - all inspired by using the insect as a key ingredient - were dished up to diners as part of the experiment.

The yogurt tasted "slightly tangy, herbaceous" and had "flavors of grass-fed fat," according to the research team.

Danish scientists revived the near-forgotten recipe that was once common across the Balkans and Turkey.

The team showed that bacteria, acids, and enzymes in ants can kickstart the fermentation process that turns milk into yogurt.

They say their work, published in the journal iScience, highlights how traditional practices can inspire new approaches to food science - and even add creativity to the dinner table.

Study senior author Dr. Leonie Jahn, from the Technical University of Denmark, said: “Today’s yogurts are typically made with just two bacterial strains.

“If you look at traditional yogurt, you have much bigger biodiversity, varying based on location, households, and season.

"That brings more flavors, textures, and personality.”

She say red wood ants can be found in the forests of the Balkans and Turkey, where the yogurt-making technique was once popular.

To better understand how to use ants to make yogurt, the research team visited co-author and anthropologist Sevgi Mutlu Sirakova’s family village in Bulgaria, where her relatives and other locals remember the tradition.

Study lead author Dr. Veronica Sinotte of the University of Copenhagen said: “We dropped four whole ants into a jar of warm milk by the instruction of Sevgi’s uncle and community members.

"The jar was then tucked into an ant mound to ferment overnight.

"By the next day, the milk had started to thicken and sour.

“That’s an early stage of yogurt, and it tasted that way as well.”

When the team dissected the science behind the ant yogurt, they found that the insects carry lactic and acetic acid bacteria.

Acids produced by those bacteria help coagulate the dairy.

One type of bacteria was similar to that found in commercial sourdough.

The insects themselves also help in the yogurt-making process, according to the researchers.

They say formic acid, which is part of the ant's natural chemical defense system, acidifies the milk, affects its texture, and likely creates an environment for yogurt's acid-loving microbes to thrive.

Enzymes from the ant and the microbes work in tandem to break down milk proteins and turn milk into yogurt.

The research team compared yogurts made with live, frozen, and dehydrated ants.

Only live ants seeded the right microbial community, meaning they are best suited for yogurt making.

But the team found that caution was necessary to make sure the ant products were safe to consume as live ants can harbor parasites, and freezing or dehydrating ants can sometimes allow harmful bacteria to florish.

To test out contemporary culinary possibilities of ant yogurt, the researchers teamed up with chefs at Alchemist, a two-star Michelin restaurant in Copenhagen, who gave the traditional yogurt a modern twist.

They served guests concoctions including yogurt ice-cream sandwiches, mascarpone-like cheeses with a pungent tang, and cocktails clarified with a milk wash - all inspired by ant yogurt.

Dr. Jahn said, “Giving scientific evidence that these traditions have a deep meaning and purpose, even though they might seem strange or more like a myth, I think that’s really beautiful."

Dr. Sinotte added: “I hope people recognize the importance of community and maybe listen a little closer when their grandmother shares a recipe or memory that seems unusual.

“Learning from these practices and creating space for biocultural heritage in our foodways is important.”