Yoghurt is a great food for keeping some healthy bacteria in your system! I have a recipe for making yoghurt (using milk powder) already here on the blog. Until recently I had not had any success making yogurt from regular fresh or UHT milk. This blog post comes from Veronica and its amazing how easy her method is for getting the yoghurt to work! I'll put a few of my notes at the bottom based on my experiences following her directions for awhile now.
Yogurt in a Thermos
You will need:
- milk of any kind
- a chinese thermos (any thermos designed for keeping liquid hot should work)
- a long chopstick for stirring
- one to two store bought bottles of yoghurt
Heat the milk in a pan until just warm. You do not need a thermometer. It needs to be warm but not so hot that you can’t hold your pinkie in it. If you got it too hot, give it a minute and let it cool down. In the meantime, pour your store bought yoghurt into the thermos. Pour in the milk.
Swish it around with your long chopstick. Put the cork in it and the lid on it.
Store overnight on the counter (about 8 hours). The longer you let it pao (sit and ferment), the more sour it will be. Play with it. See how you like it.
When it’s done, store it in jars in the fridge (mine holds 2 jars worth and that leaves me a bowl for breakfast :) ). If you are wanting yoghurt with no sugar in it, set aside some of the batch you just made for your next starter rather than using another store bought bottle of yoghurt.
Uses:
-greek yoghurt - strain the yoghurt you just made through a cheese cloth (dou fu cloth) over a bowl. Catch the whey and use it later as well. It’s good for you!
-tzatziki - use the greek yoghurt to make this delicious Mediterranean dip by adding shredded cucumber, garlic and salt. Be sure to squeeze any excess liquid out of the shredded cucumber.
-labneh - this is another great Mediterranean dip. It’s important to let this one drain for at least 12 hours.
Notes from SB:
This method is the first I've used and had success using milk rather than milk powder. Yeah! I've been using a 1 Liter hot water thermos from Ikea. It holds 2 Tablespoons of yogurt starter and nearly a one liter box of milk. When I heat my milk, I don't quite heat the whole box. Its ready in less than a minute on my gas stove and I just whisk in the starter real quick (I don't have a long chopstick) and then pour. I've left it 8-20 hours in the thermos. But I'm going to be getting a bigger thermos! My crew LOVES yogurt.
Just so you know, you can use a whole little container of thicker, sweetened Chinese yogurt for your starter, but you only NEED 2 Tablespoons to get it to culture. I use as little as I can to keep it from being sweet. Once you're making your yogurt, switching to using your homemade yogurt as starter will give a nicer result I think. Also, whole milk will give you the thickest yogurt. If you use low-fat or skim, no matter how much culture you add or how long you let it sit, you will get a runnier yogurt that is more like a drink. For thicker yogurt use whole milk. For yogurt thick enough for dips and substituting in baked goods (like Greek yogurt), you'll have to strain it for at least a few hours--12-24 giving you really thick results.
Even if you make your yogurt with milk powder, using the thermos method is GREAT for getting it to incubate and culture well!
Yogurt in a Thermos
You will need:
- milk of any kind
- a chinese thermos (any thermos designed for keeping liquid hot should work)
- a long chopstick for stirring
- one to two store bought bottles of yoghurt
Heat the milk in a pan until just warm. You do not need a thermometer. It needs to be warm but not so hot that you can’t hold your pinkie in it. If you got it too hot, give it a minute and let it cool down. In the meantime, pour your store bought yoghurt into the thermos. Pour in the milk.
Swish it around with your long chopstick. Put the cork in it and the lid on it.
Uses:
-greek yoghurt - strain the yoghurt you just made through a cheese cloth (dou fu cloth) over a bowl. Catch the whey and use it later as well. It’s good for you!
-tzatziki - use the greek yoghurt to make this delicious Mediterranean dip by adding shredded cucumber, garlic and salt. Be sure to squeeze any excess liquid out of the shredded cucumber.
-labneh - this is another great Mediterranean dip. It’s important to let this one drain for at least 12 hours.
Notes from SB:
This method is the first I've used and had success using milk rather than milk powder. Yeah! I've been using a 1 Liter hot water thermos from Ikea. It holds 2 Tablespoons of yogurt starter and nearly a one liter box of milk. When I heat my milk, I don't quite heat the whole box. Its ready in less than a minute on my gas stove and I just whisk in the starter real quick (I don't have a long chopstick) and then pour. I've left it 8-20 hours in the thermos. But I'm going to be getting a bigger thermos! My crew LOVES yogurt.
Just so you know, you can use a whole little container of thicker, sweetened Chinese yogurt for your starter, but you only NEED 2 Tablespoons to get it to culture. I use as little as I can to keep it from being sweet. Once you're making your yogurt, switching to using your homemade yogurt as starter will give a nicer result I think. Also, whole milk will give you the thickest yogurt. If you use low-fat or skim, no matter how much culture you add or how long you let it sit, you will get a runnier yogurt that is more like a drink. For thicker yogurt use whole milk. For yogurt thick enough for dips and substituting in baked goods (like Greek yogurt), you'll have to strain it for at least a few hours--12-24 giving you really thick results.
Even if you make your yogurt with milk powder, using the thermos method is GREAT for getting it to incubate and culture well!
awesome! I need to get back into making yogurt ... we eat a ton!
ReplyDeleteYeah Kat! This method is so simple--I've made a batch every day this week to keep up--maybe that means I should get a thermos that holds more! Ha!
ReplyDeleteSheila--Maybe Veronica can comment? She's been doing this longer--I've made several batches but each has been a little different--some thinner some thicker, but I keep changing variables! The fat content of the milk, the starter, the time it sits, etc.. I tried the thermos with the powdered milk recipe and it worked really nicely to make it thicker, but it also kind of did funny--a little lumpy--almost more like a cottage cheese mixed with yogurt when I poured it out! It tasted good though. That sweetened powdered milk is a good idea, too! I thought about you when I posted this and thought you'd like the thermos idea! :)
ReplyDelete