Do you make yoghurt? How?
Do you make yoghurt? How?
- Thread starter ferroburak
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Stir together a quart of milk with 1/3 cup milk powder, if desired. If using frozen yogurt starter, set yogurt cubes out to thaw.
Heat milk to 180 degrees, stirring constantly. Use a candy thermometer to measure temperature.
Remove milk from heat; let cool to 115 degrees. This takes about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the temperature of the rest of the house.
Stir in 2 tbsp of yogurt starter. Mix thoroughly.
Pour the milk/yogurt mixture into sterilized jars. (Whenever I do it, it's a bit more than a quart, so have an extra jar ready.) Incubate for 4-12 hours, or until it is set (i.e. looks like yogurt, not milk). The longer you incubate, the more sour the yogurt will be. Refrigerate until cool.
Heat milk to 180 degrees, stirring constantly. Use a candy thermometer to measure temperature.
Remove milk from heat; let cool to 115 degrees. This takes about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the temperature of the rest of the house.
Stir in 2 tbsp of yogurt starter. Mix thoroughly.
Pour the milk/yogurt mixture into sterilized jars. (Whenever I do it, it's a bit more than a quart, so have an extra jar ready.) Incubate for 4-12 hours, or until it is set (i.e. looks like yogurt, not milk). The longer you incubate, the more sour the yogurt will be. Refrigerate until cool.
A few years back a Kenyan friend shared his mom's method of making yoghurt. They had the same over the stove microwave / fume hood setup that we have. With the lights on under the microwave it makes the perfect spot to incubate yoghurt.
You don't need any fancy starter. Any commercial yoghurt with "active yeast culture" should do. I use two large measuring cups one I fill with about a quart of milk and bring up to about 185 F to scald the milk then let cool (it gets little bubbles and scum you will get to recognize over time. . . but for now use a thermometer). If I want a bit of sweetness I add some sugar while heating the milk. The second measuring cup gets the end of the last batch of yoghurt (or the commercial yoghurt) smeared around the inside and then when the milk hits about 120 pour the milk into your yoghurt smeared measuring cup and place in the microwave with the lights on underneath. DON'T turn on the microwave. If you make the yoghurt in the morning it should be fairly firm by the time you get home. You can then put it in the fridge.
(oh. . . hot glass does not like cold water. The thermal shock will cause some amazing shattering. My wife spilt a bit of sugar one morning while making yoghurt and while cleaning the stove top just barely touched the wet cloth to the measuring cup . . . what a mess, milk and broken glass everywhere. Any sane person would use some other vessel)
Mike
You don't need any fancy starter. Any commercial yoghurt with "active yeast culture" should do. I use two large measuring cups one I fill with about a quart of milk and bring up to about 185 F to scald the milk then let cool (it gets little bubbles and scum you will get to recognize over time. . . but for now use a thermometer). If I want a bit of sweetness I add some sugar while heating the milk. The second measuring cup gets the end of the last batch of yoghurt (or the commercial yoghurt) smeared around the inside and then when the milk hits about 120 pour the milk into your yoghurt smeared measuring cup and place in the microwave with the lights on underneath. DON'T turn on the microwave. If you make the yoghurt in the morning it should be fairly firm by the time you get home. You can then put it in the fridge.
(oh. . . hot glass does not like cold water. The thermal shock will cause some amazing shattering. My wife spilt a bit of sugar one morning while making yoghurt and while cleaning the stove top just barely touched the wet cloth to the measuring cup . . . what a mess, milk and broken glass everywhere. Any sane person would use some other vessel)
Mike
This is what I used to do:
1. Heat 1 gallon of milk (whole milk works best for this, although you can use skim as well)...~80-90ºC..."almost" to a boil, but not quite. If you get it boiling, it won't work
2. Let it sit for a few minutes to cool down
3. Heat up oven to 30-35ºC and turn off heat.
4. Add one spoon full of your favorite yogurt to it...DO NOT MIX it.
5. Put it in the oven (off) overnight...do not disturb
6. Take your new yogurt out and strain it, if you wish it to be a bit more concentrated
7. Violà!!
1. Heat 1 gallon of milk (whole milk works best for this, although you can use skim as well)...~80-90ºC..."almost" to a boil, but not quite. If you get it boiling, it won't work
2. Let it sit for a few minutes to cool down
3. Heat up oven to 30-35ºC and turn off heat.
4. Add one spoon full of your favorite yogurt to it...DO NOT MIX it.
5. Put it in the oven (off) overnight...do not disturb
6. Take your new yogurt out and strain it, if you wish it to be a bit more concentrated
7. Violà!!
This is more or less the exact recipe that I've been using to make laban (the Lebanese name for yogurt) for years. Kudos on advising that increased incubation time makes the yogurt more sour. The only thing I'd add is a simple few steps that would allow you to make labna (yogurt cheese):
Recipe: Labna
1. Make a bag using three to four layers of cheese cloth
2. Place two to three cups of yogurt to the center of the cloth/bag
3. Tie up the bag to one of the shelves in your fridge with a bowl under it to catch the whey.
4. Let it hang for a day or two, remove labna from cheese cloth.
5. Form into balls, salt lightly, and store.
Or . . . leave it a little moist and add cucumber and garlic to make "tzatziki". Now I wonder if I ever shared my Yero recipe . . .
OldSaw
The wife's investment
I used to have a yogurt incubator that worked quite well. Got rid of it when we downsized our possessions and since I have begun shunning dairy products.
Starters are not necessary. Just get a live yogurt, like Dannen, and use most of the top part that does not have the flavoring in it.
I also found that it is fairly thin if just using milk, so add some milk powder which ups the milk solids. Most of the stuff in the stores has some other sort of thickener, like corn starch, which I assume is what you are trying to get away from.
Starters are not necessary. Just get a live yogurt, like Dannen, and use most of the top part that does not have the flavoring in it.
I also found that it is fairly thin if just using milk, so add some milk powder which ups the milk solids. Most of the stuff in the stores has some other sort of thickener, like corn starch, which I assume is what you are trying to get away from.
If you're using commercial yogurt to make homemade yogurt, it's not really homemade yogurt. Use a starter. It makes a difference.
OldSaw
The wife's investment
Gotta disagree with you on this. Obviously, the best yogurt with the fewest additives will make the best yogurt. However, the additives don't multiply and enzymes do, so any additives from the original batch will be rather diluted and if you use some from the previous batch for the next it gets even more diluted.
Starters are great if you have a store nearby that carries them, but if you wanted to whip up a batch right away it can be done with real yogurt from the local grocery store. I have kept a cycle of batches going from one start for several batches with no problems. The only reason I started another cycle was simply because I wasn't sure how long I could keep it up without introducing some sort of bacteria, so I decided not to wait for that to happen.
The best homebrew beer that I made was with a culture that I raised from a non-pasteurized beer. It was still homebrew even though the yeast came from an empty bottle. Starter is starter, we shouldn't be so picky. Just make it, eat it, and enjoy.
This thread inspired me and I took the time to make a batch of yogurt today.
