So basically, we need a little amount of yoghurt in order to ferment a pot of milk into yoghurt. Then, how did the first yoghurt ever get fermented without no yoghurt before?
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The bacterium responsible for fermenting yoghurt is called lactobacillus. It doesn’t only exist in yoghurt – it’s commonly found in the environment. If you left milk out it might naturally turn to yoghurt, and at many points in human history it did – totally naturally. However, there are competing organisms, like mold, yeasts or other bacteria, that might infect the milk first. So to be sure it’s the lactobacillus that takes hold, you import it from a previous batch. That way you always get yoghurt, and you get it as fast as possible.
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