Homemade Yoghurt
- Paula
- May 27, 2016
- 3 min read
While growing up we always had homemade yoghurt, I remember as a little kid having yoghurt first thing in the morning, I would go to the fridge and serve the Yoghurt, then would sit at the wooden kiddy table we had. My family bought the milk from a farm near our house in the suburbs, so it was fresh not processed milk, nowadays to get such a fresh milk is getting harder, specially living in a city where dairy products are definitely not part of the staple diet. But luckily there are stores that sell "organic" or less processed milk and what a difference it makes to the final product, I highly recommend to use organic milk.
Here is the recipe we have been using and that I have adapted to my taste over the years. Yields 1 Lt homemade Yoghurt or 500gr Greek Yoghurt. NOTE: You can easily double the recipe as in the pictures. Ingredients:
1 Lt. Organic whole milk.
2 Tablespoons of your favorite plain Yoghurt (Preferably Organic). - At room temperature.
You would also need
airtight glass jar ( I use the ones from Ikea, they're very good and affordable).
Whisker
Double bottom pot ( heavy Duty) or a Milk pot if you have one.
Food thermometer (Optional)
Cheese Cloth (Optional).
Small Strainer
Set the milk to boil, once it starts to raise take it away from heat for a minute ( be careful it doesn't spill). lower the heat to medium-low and let it boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with the whisker, Turn off the heat and let it cool to 38°C -40°C (100°F -104°F). (I usually wait 25min and do a temperature check with my finger, it has to feel hot but bearable hot). Note:The reason for letting the milk boil for 5 minis because it will help evaporate the milk and make a thicker yoghurt.
Take the milk skin out.
Put the 2 Tablespoons of Yoghurt at the bottom of the glass jar,and strain the milk as you pour it to the glass jars. Whisk it throughly to ensure the Yoghurt and milk are fully incorporated. Close the jar.
Place the jar in a cupboard or in a dark place and let it ferment for 4-8 hours, the longer you leave it the sour it gets, I usually leave mine for 4.5 hours.
Take it to the fridge for minimum two hours before serving, this will help to finish the process.
If you aren't making greek Yoghurt make sure to save the starter in a little glass container for your next batch of Yoghurt.
Optional Steps:
If you are looking for a thicker yoghurt, greek style you can take these extra steps.
After having the Yoghurt refrigerated for at least two hours take it out again, place it in a cheese cloth 'bag' and hang it to drip for a few hours ( the longer you leave it the thicker it becomes), make sure to place a big bowl underneath to collect the whey.
Place it back to a glass airtight container and store it in the fridge, remember to save some as starter for your next batch.
Store the Whey in the fridge in another glass jar , it can be used for baking as a replacement of milk or buttermilk, pancakes, or breads also makes delicious smoothies.
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