Please note, just like shop-bought live yoghurt, this product isn’t suitable for people with suppressed or deficient immune systems and pregnant women.
Ingredients
- 1.35 Litre milk (the various options are: standard pasteurised full fat milk, UHT milk, sterilised milk, evaporated or reconstructed cow’s milk, goat or ewe’s milk). You can also use semi or skimmed milk which gives a lower calorie and fat content yoghurt with a thinner consistency.
- 150 ml fresh natural, plain, unflavoured, live yoghurt (always check it’s within the expiration date)
Method
Step 1 - milk treatment
- If using a carton of unopened UHT milk, it can be used at room temperature as it is sterile.
- If using untreated ewe’s or goat milk, boil for 7 minutes to eliminate bacteria and cool before use.
- If using pasteurised ‘doorstep’ or shop bought cow’s milk, heat briefly to boiling point (100 degrees centigrade) before the next step.
- Allow to cool to just below 50 degrees. Thicker yoghurt can be achieved by mixing in a couple of tablespoons of dried milk powder at this stage.
Step 2 - add 'starter' yoghurt
Whisk gently or thoroughly stir in the 150ml live yoghurt and keep covered at 42-46 degrees Centigrade (110-115 degrees Fahrenheit) for 10 hours either in your yoghurt maker, or in a warm oven.
After 10 hours fermentation the yoghurt should be chilled in the fridge for 3 hours. It is now ready to eat.
Greek style yoghurt is achieved by next putting your yoghurt through the ‘strainer’ supplied in a Greek yoghurt maker or a through fine sieve if you don’t have one. This stage takes an hour or two depending on how thick you want it to be. The thicker yoghurt sits in the strainer and the watery ‘whey’ passes through the sieve. (There are numerous other uses for the whey to be found easily by googling).
The yoghurt should be transferred to a bowl or tub and covered. It can be kept for several days in the fridge.
You can flavour it with fruit, nuts or honey for a sweet dessert, or add cucumber to make a raita once ready to eat if desired.
Don’t forget to reserve enough plain unflavoured yoghurt to make your next batch!
Photo by Wesual Click on Unsplash