Ants probably aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of yogurt – or when you think of fine dining. Yet this unlikely combination has made headlines at Alchemist, an acclaimed restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark, which is known for its two Michelin stars and penchant for experimenting with food.
It all started when the Alchemist staff noticed that a container of milk in the restaurant’s fridge had started to curdle. They also noticed that an ant had somehow gotten into the milk, and wondered if the two events were connected. The discovery intrigued Alchemist’s chefs and food scientists, ultimately leading to a series of experiments to investigate the potential uses of ants in the fermentation process.
Before the early 20th century, yogurt was made with the help of natural materials like pine cones or nettle roots that would supply microbes to the milk, kicking off fermentation. Making yogurt on an industrial scale, however, required a simplified process with just two main species of lactic acid bacteria, rather than the many bacterial strains involved in traditional yogurt-making. Unfortunately, using so few species has limited the depth of flavor of the modern version.
Led by Dr. Veronica Sinotte of the University of Copenhagen, a team of microbiologists, food scientists, and anthropologists set out to explore a Bulgarian tradition in which red wood ants initiate fermentation. They worked with the residents of Nova Mahala, a small village where anthropologist and study coauthor Sevgi Sirakova had family connections, to recreate the local recipe. Though the tradition had all but passed out of living memory, they eventually found success (guided by the suggestion of Sirakova's uncle) by adding four live ants to a jar of warm milk, covering it with a cheesecloth, and then leaving the jar buried in an ant colony overnight. When they removed it the following day, they discovered that the milk had begun to thicken and take on a slightly tangy taste.
Studying the ants in a lab setting, they learned that enzymes and bacteria emitted by the ants produce the lactic and acetic acids that culture the milk, while formic acid from the ant’s defense system encourages further microbial growth and gives it a slightly acidic flavor. After experimenting with frozen and dehydrated ants, too, they concluded that live ants create the best yogurt.
Fancy ants:
- Back at Alchemist, the research and development team created several concoctions utilizing the ant-fermented yogurt, as well as other ant-based food items.
- For example, their “ant-wich” is an ice cream sandwich featuring ant-fermented sheep yogurt ice cream and a gel filling made from dehydrated ants. They also made ant-fermented goat milk mascarpone and created a milk-washed cocktail that uses a combination of dehydrated ants and milk to curdle and filter the brandy and apricot liqueur. The drink was, of course, garnished with frozen ants
- Although the restaurant’s ant offerings earned rave reviews, the researchers caution the general public against using ants to ferment dairy products, as this could introduce unwanted pathogens. Additionally, red wood ants are a near-threatened species, so large-scale use in yogurt-making isn’t sustainable.
