A guide to making yoghurt
grownandgathered
We show you how to make yoghurt. For real.
If you see more than milk and live bacteria in the ingredients panel of your yoghurt, there is something not right. Because that is all it is. And it's super good for you.
Even if you only make yoghurt once, it's an empowering thing to know how to make. It's nice to know how to control it's taste, flavour and thickness and exactly what is involved in making something that is, for most of us, part of our weekly staples.
The key to making yoghurt is getting the temperature right and beginning with a good yoghurt culture to start the process. We make it in big batches, as it lasts at least a month in the fridge.
Recipe:
Makes 1.1ltr.
METHOD
- Heat milk to 75-85 degrees, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn.
- Place the milk into an appropriate jar that can be sealed. Let the milk cool to 40 degrees, for a litre it should take approximately 1 hour to cool, If you need to speed up the process place it in the fridge and keep an eye on it. Once the milk reaches 40 degrees, add the yoghurt, seal and shake!
- Leave the jar sealed and leave it in a warm place for 10-24 hours, the longer you leave the - yoghurt the more "tart" it will become in flavour and the more cultured (more populated with live bacteria) it will become. During this time, the aim is to hold the mixture around 40 degrees (between 35-40 is fine). We put it on top of our coffee machine to maintain this heat. Other ideas to keep it at this heat are wrapping it in an electric blanket, placing it near/on a wood stove or near a fire - get creative.
To make a thick yoghurt
- Follow the above recipe. Then hang your yoghurt in a muslin cloth overnight in the fridge, or until the desired thickness is achieved. This is the real way to make Greek Yoghurt - not by adding milk solids or thickeners!
Making more than one litre
- Just double, triple, etc the recipe. MAKING MORE YOGHURT
Don't forget to save some yoghurt each week, to make the next batch!
Raw yoghurt
- You can make raw yoghurt by warming raw milk to 40 degrees only and then adding the yoghurt and following the steps as above. But please note, you must use a pasteurised yoghurt as the starter each time. (i.e. the 100ml you add to the milk). Additionally, note that raw yoghurt will have a different flavour and texture to pasteurised yoghurt.
N.B.
- Experiment with how long you leave the yoghurt to culture, everyone has different taste buds and likes it at different stages.
INGREDIENTS
1 ltr of milk
100ml natural yoghurt (this will culture the yoghurt, so try to use the best yoghurt you can find and it must have live cultures)