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And how does it mysteriously appear?
I’m sure we’ve all been super excited to snack on our favorite yogurt, only to open the package and be greeted by this unappealing liquid.
Even worse, is when the yellowish fluid shoots out at you staining your shirt for the rest of the day.
So, where the heck does this liquid even come from?!
To understand this, you have to do a deep dive into the microstructure of yogurt (and yes, foods have super interesting structures)!
Yogurt is a food gel
Yogurt has a specialized structure called a gel, which means it contains an extensive network capable of capturing and entrapping liquid. Many different types of foods, from gummy bears to jams and jellies, are also gels.
In yogurt, proteins named caseins are responsible for setting up a network. These proteins come together to form clusters and become so entangled with one another that they create a 3-dimensional matrix with void spaces. And within these pores the casein entraps any liquid and fat nearby.
As the casein network continues to grow in size, it eventually becomes so strong that the food begins to act like a solid. This is what we call yogurt.
The casein network is strong, but not that strong
Although the protein network is able to hold in large amounts of liquid, it cannot stand up to much physical abuse.
In grocery stores, employees might make simple mistakes like dropping containers, tipping them sideways, or stacking them upside down. These actions are incredibly disruptive to the gel network. The agitation starts to collapse pores and liquid is released.
The same phenomenon occurs in multi-serving containers where you might scoop out one serving at a time.
Have you ever taken out the first serving only to come back a day later with a pool of liquid atop the yogurt?
