Homemade Youghurt... yummy :)

[Osem]

Recently been trying out homemade live youghurt and have found it excellent and very simple to make. I started with a kit of dried yoghurt which you combine with cold water in a plastic jar and then place in what looks like an ice bucket into which you pour enough boiling water to come up to the top. The top goes on and you leave for 8-12 hours and what you get is a kilo great live yoghurt. The sachets cost about £2 but if you take 10-20g from a sachet and add it to another 160-180g of skimmed milk powder then mix with water etc. each sachet lasts many times longer. Apparently alternative methods by which to 'start' the youhurt include mixing in a spoonful of a previous batch or even freezing small cubes of a batch and using these with the skimmed milk powder. I haven't tried these methods but have read they're just as good. We've also tried leaving a small amount at room temp in a jar and what you get after 24-36 hours tastes almost like sour cream. We had some as a dip last night and it was Yummy!!

[KaySquirrel]

It doesn't spoil after being left at room temp for a day or two? How interesting! If it tastes kinda like sour cream, it might work as a possible alternative to using crème fraîche for homemade white pasta sauce..

What made you decide to try making your own? I didn't even know it was possible!

[Saaf_laandon_mo]

With a big tub of plain yogurt costing under a quid, is it worth all the hassle? It doesn't look like it offers the therepuetic benefits you get from say making your own bread or jam etc etc. It just seems a bit too technical for my liking.

[Taf]

Just warm some milk to blood heat (I add some skimmed milk powder for extra body), pour it into thermos, add a teaspoon of live yoghurt, close the thermos... and a few hours later you have yoghurt!

It's that simple... not a hassle or biochemistry....

My missus makes it in the evening for breakfast delictation with chopped fresh fruit, jams or honey.

A wide-necked thermos is preferable.

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Saaf_laandon_mo

With a big tub of plain yogurt costing under a quid, is it worth all the hassle? It doesn't look like it offers the therepuetic benefits you get from say making your own bread or jam etc etc. It just seems a bit too technical for my liking.

It's really not difficult - just like making up skimmed milk from powder and then keeping it warm. Oh and that plain yogurt has been on the shelves and in transit for a while before you ever buy it so many of the live cultures will have ceased to be active. This way it couldn't be any fresher and you know exactly what's in it too.

---------- Post added at 21:42 ---------- Previous post was at 21:40 ----------

Originally Posted by KaySquirrel

It doesn't spoil after being left at room temp for a day or two? How interesting! If it tastes kinda like sour cream, it might work as a possible alternative to using crème fraîche for homemade white pasta sauce..

What made you decide to try making your own? I didn't even know it was possible!

No it didn't spoil at all and it is rather like creme freche.

[greencreeper]

I've always thought it tasted like vomit. Not really something I enjoy. But I suppose if it gives you pleasure making it, and you like the taste, then that's good I know the feeling with the cooking I now do - results can be variable but it's all part of the fun. I keep telling myself

[Osem]

Originally Posted by greencreeper

I've always thought it tasted like vomit. Not really something I enjoy. But I suppose if it gives you pleasure making it, and you like the taste, then that's good I know the feeling with the cooking I now do - results can be variable but it's all part of the fun. I keep telling myself

Well plain natural yougurt does have what you might call an acquired taste but you can of course add what flavourings you like. By adding more milk powder and altering the time allowed for it to set you can alter the thickness and flavour to make it more or less sharp.

---------- Post added at 09:34 ---------- Previous post was at 09:28 ----------

Originally Posted by KaySquirrel

What made you decide to try making your own? I didn't even know it was possible!

Well it was mainly an effort to eat more healthily at breakfast really - so what I have now 3-4 times a week is a bowl of fresh yougurt with chopped bananas and sultanas. Despite my initial doubts this does seem to keep me going until lunchtime.

Apparently if you strain the whey from the yougurt by allowing it to pass through a sieve lined with say a coffee filter or similar overnight in the fridge, you get a much thicker, more stable alomst soft cheese like product which is fine for cooking.