How To Make Homemade Yoghurt
I started to make my own homemade yogurt for health reasons. One of the problems about store bought yogurt is the sugar content as well as the packaging waste. After consuming store bought yogurt, I always feel a deep sense of guilt. I decided to take this into my hands.
There are many amazing health benefits of yogurt. This is really a Superfood. Besides enhancing complexion, nourish hair, prevent hypertension, regulate cholesterol levels, aid proper digestion, lower the risk of colorectal cancer & diabetes mellitus, provide omega-3, helps prevent yeast infections, strengthen immune system, support weight loss, promote better moods and improve bone health!
I am using 2.5% low fat milk as this dairy-based yogurt. This is using simply the 6000 year old milk fermentation practice that was the best way to preserve milk before the convenience of refrigerators. I guess it started in Central Asia.
A Turkish mom gave me a big glass bottle of homemade yoghurt before our trip to Oslo (Norway). It was so delicious, rich and creamy and that was when I was inspired to make my own homemade yoghurt. The recipe is simple and in fact I have made it a few years before. So I just refreshed my memory and use a Greek starter that cost about 0.59 EUR. I needed only 2 tablespoon of this Greek starter.
6 Basic Steps to Making Homemade Yogurt
1. Heat the milk to 82°C
2. Cool the milk to 44°C
3. Add the yogurt starter
4. Stir the yogurt starter with the rest of the milk
5. Pour the milk into jars and incubate for 7-9 hours
6. Place the jars in the fridge to cool and set.
Nutrition Info (per 100g)
Calories-100
Carbohydrates-4g
Fat- 5g
Protein -9g
Beta-carotene- 22μg
Lutein- 22μg
Thiamine-0.025mg 2% RDA
Riboflavin- 0.28mg
Pantothenic acid- 0.330mg 7% RDA
Vitamin B6- 0.065mg 5% RDA
Folate- 5μg
Vitamin B12- 0.75μg 31% RDA
Magnesium- 11mg 3% RDA
Phosphorus- 135mg 19% RDA
Potassium -141mg3% RDA
Zinc -0.52mg 5% RDA
As a start, I have used several different ways to create the most delicious yoghurt.
I learnt that too much starter is not giving a smooth creamy yoghurt.
So the optimal is 0.5L of milk with 2 tablespoons of starter yoghurt.
The temperature and time to set the yoghurt also matters.
The warmed up milk works best at 82 deg C and MUST be slowly cooled down to about 44 deg C before adding the starter and stirring it in.
Allow the fermentation to begin in an undisturbed warm place that is consistently kept warm to about 30 deg C. Normally I would put it in a lightly warmed up oven to about 35 deg C, and turned it off when the yoghurt starts the process. I really left it to do its work for 6 hours. This timing when I take it out, I realised the fragrance of the SUPER fresh yoghurt is simply irresistible!
For boiling pot, I am using a clean non-stick pot, and I find that using an iron/aluminium pot does not yield the same type of yoghurt for some reasons.
Another thing, I am using wooden spoon or a heat-resistant spatula to gently stir the one teaspoon of sugar.
At first I had covered entirely the whole jar with its cover, it works but I find the taste of the yoghurt is better if I use a muslin cloth (or cheese cloth) to cover the top of the jar.
Noticing this, I think if the oven has not been used to bake some (other yeasty bread products) prior to leaving the jar of yoghurt for fermentation, it is better at making a good creamy tasty yoghurt.
Lastly, leaving it too long for example over 6 hours, the result is a tarty, more sourish yoghurt that is less smooth, more curdy. So for me I think 6 hours is still the best timing based on my kitchen environment/equipment.
