Yoghurt: a fermented milk product produced by the bacterial fermentation of milk using a culture of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp, bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus bacteria (also simply called cultures or starters). Fermentation of lactose by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yoghurt its texture and its characteristic tang.
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If you like dairy as much as we do, buying yoghurt can eat into your weekly pocket money quickly, so making it yourself not only saves you some pennies, it's also super satisfying, fun and easy. Here are our four quick and easy steps to making your own:
Things you need
- Milk: Ideally full fat, however you can make it out of 'skinny milk' if you like, I believe it just won't set as well (I've never tried as I always head straight for the full fat option);
- A starter culture: i.e. a tablespoon of existing yoghurt - this is enough for one to two litres of milk; Saucepan and stove/heat source;
- Jar/s;
- Thermometer (designed for cooking, brewing or canning) for people starting out this is super helpful;
- A system to keep your yoghurt warm for six to 12 hours, we use a thermos (more on that below) but I'm also a fan of the hot box.
Step 1: Heating and cooling
Heat the milk on your stove to just before boiling point, do not let it boil (this is approximately 80 degrees) and then turn the stove off. If you want super thick yoghurt, i.e. you don't want the whey (the watery liquid) to separate from the curd, you can keep it at 80 degrees for around 20-30 minutes and then take it off the heat.
Let the milk cool down to 40 degrees by either putting the pot in a sink full of cold water or just wait for it to get there naturally. If you haven't got a thermometer, drop some milk onto your wrist to check it, once it feels warm (but not too hot) it's ready. Someone once described that it should be the temperature of milk you'd feed to a baby - so that's how I test it.
Step 2: Adding the 'good guys'
Once your milk is at 40 degrees, stir in your starter culture of existing yoghurt - I like to choose the thickest and most natural yoghurt (sugar/flavour free) I can find as my starter.
We call this 'adding in the good guys', as your starter culture is alive with a few million/trillion bacteria who are beneficial to your gut and general health.
Step 3: Pour into a jar
Pour the mixture into your vessel of choice, these days we use fowler jars as we happen to have a lot of them. However, you can use any vessel, glass is my personal favourite. Make sure it's been well cleaned before you use it, I don't do a formal sterilisation process anymore as I've found it's not necessary.
Once the lid is on, put the jar into a system which will keep it warm for six to 12 hours. I usually make it in the evening so it's ready first thing in the morning for breakfast. We use a thermos with luke-warm water (not boiling) to keep the mixture warm, however a simple hot box system is also more than adequate.
Step 4: Eat and enjoy
After six to 12 hours your yoghurt should be ready to go. The first thing I do when I get it out of the thermos is put the jar on its side and see whether it can hold its shape (as pictured). I'll eat yoghurt mostly for breakfast with muesli and fruit.
Make sure you keep a small amount as your culture for your next batch so you can keep making it without having to buy new starter culture each time. I've found that after three to six batches it can start to go a bit slimey so will sporadically buy a new culture to 're-boot' it.
The more you look online and in various food books, the more recipes and advice you'll find about different yoghurt techniques. Years ago, I started off following very strict rules which have all faded now.
But find what works for you best and give it a go - this is simply the right way for us.
- Good Life Permaculture
