Haven't had time to upload blogs recently... Clinics been a little bit busy.
As requested and the demands from my clients, I decided to write this post "Yoghurt Making" !
Yoghurt is full of good bacteria. Having yoghurt regularly can keep our gut healthy. Recently more and more researches are finding "extra" benefits good bacteria can provide to our body. I will write a bit more about benefits of good bacteria in my next blog. Lets get into the yoghurt making business now.
Why I don't buy yoghurt anymore?
Yoghurt is very good for our body, but after reading the ingredient list on the yoghurt packaging, I was put-off by the additives manufactures put into our yoghurt !! Creamer, thickener, Gelatin and etc. Thus I decided to start making my own yoghurt.
You can now make your own creamy and smooth yoghurt without the need to add milk solids or creamer to thicken it. Make your own low fat yoghurt without the need to add gelatin.
Make your own lactose free yoghurt without all the additives and still have great and tasty texture.
What do you need?
500 ml Milk and
2 tablespoon of yoghurt (What we need is the good bacteria to culture)
* Full Cream Milk ("Successful" Yoghurt will be thick and smooth)
* Skim Milk ( Will be a little bit more liquid than yoghurt made from full cream milk)
* Soy Milk / Almond milk / Coconut milk ( Makes good lactose free yoghurt too !!)
Steps:
1. Heat the milk. Pour the milk into a small cooking pot and set over medium heat. Stir the milk gently until boil. Turn off the heat immediately. This heating step is necessary to change the protein structure in the milk so it set as a solid instead of separating.
2. Cool the milk. Place the pot in cold water bath. Cool the milk to about 40⁰C.
3. Add the yoghurt (Initial batch). Place 2 tablespoons of yoghurt into the warm milk at 2 different locations. (Do not stir! The good bacteria need to grow in colonies)
4. Keep the yoghurt at 35 to 40 ⁰C for 4-8 hours. The exact time will depend on the temperature of the yoghurt, and your yoghurt texture preferences. The longer yoghurt sits in the bath, the thicker it becomes. You can do this by using:
Warm Water Bath. Place the pot of yoghurt in a saucepan/bigger pot with normal temperature water. Water level should equal to or cover the yoghurt. When the temperature of the yoghurt drop below 30⁰C, turn on the heat for 1 minute. This allows the temperature of water to increase, then turn off the heat. Repeat 4 times.
Steamer that has “Keep Warm” function.
With this method, will save you time from turning on and off the heat to warm the water bath.
Turned off Oven
Some other blogs suggested this method. Haven't tried it myself.
****Avoid stirring the yogurt until it has fully set.****
5. Once the yogurt has set to your preferred texture, remove it from the water bath/steamer. If you see any watery whey on the surface of the yogurt, you can either drain this off or whisk it back into the yogurt before transferring to containers. Whisking also gives the yogurt a more consistent creamy texture.
6. Transfer to storage containers, cover, and refrigerate. Homemade yogurt will keep for about 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator. Initially, the yoghurt is not sour. It will gradually become sour as it stays in the fridge. Thus, if you don't like sour yoghurt~ finish the batch within a week and
REMEMBER to keep 2 tablespoons to make your next batch of Yummy yoghurt !!
Science: Most living cells (ie good bacteria in this case) have the highest activity at 37⁰C.
Good bacteria from the initial yoghurt batch is using lactose and nutrients in the milk to replicate (grow in numbers). Thus turning liquid milk into smooth and nutritious yoghurt !
Give it a try and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me ^^
sallyjuan.dietitian@gmail.com
(It is normal to fail on your first attempt !! I chucked away few batches when I first started.)