Every reference to gut microbiome health mentions yoghurt and cultured dairy as an important part of a balanced diet, which it definitely is. I often think back to an Indian comedian telling the story of spicy food and the reasons for using excessive amounts of chilli to the point it is unpleasant to eat for the reason of keeping food safe in a hot climate using capsaicin. The idea being the chemicals in a number of spices used in warm climate cooking are anti bacterial in large quantities, the down side this being it can have a similar effect on the human stomach, thus other spices are used to help boost the immune system and help digest.
The spicy food will strip the stomaches microbiome when you eat, and a after really hot food the meal is followed by yoghurt drinks to repopulate the stomaches microflora after the meal.
The punchline to the joke was when the English colonised India they gave them the spicy food and spices but not the yoghurt.
I have always had a weakness for yoghurt, I can’t get enough of it. So medical advice to eat everyday is music my ears. It is easy to make, and there are several varieties to make. There are two versions I will talk about today, drinking yoghurt and thick yoghurt. The difference being the consistency of the final product.
Milk is basically made up of a mixture of proteins, carbohydrates (lactose), water, fats, and a multitude of minerals.
Its ratios will vary with the variety of cow, its diet and time of year, climate. a short hand look at it is 88% water, 3% protein, 5% lactose, 3% fat, 1% minerals
Casein make up 80% of the protein the remaining 20% being whey protein. Casein proteins contain a lot of amino acids which along with fat is why milk tastes rich, it is also responsible for keeping milk emulsified as a mix of fats, oils and water.
By simply using heat this same stabilising characteristic can allow you to take advantage of the protein to thicken yoghurt without having to add any other thickening agents.
This is the step between drinking and regular yoghurt, simply by heating milk to 84 degrees for 10 minutes then cooling before adding cultures.
At 84 degrees the proteins in the Casein and whey denature and tighten up the bonds between them tightly together. When acidified with a culture the bonds strengthen to make thick curds.
If you leave out the pre heating step you will still have a cultured yoghurt, however it will have the constancy of pouring cream. It still has all the beneficial qualities and taste of yoghurt, but will need to be served in a glass.
There are a number of different cultures used to ferment dairy for cheeses, yoghurts, kefirs, sour cream, buttermilk.
To simplify it for this recipe you will be looking for a thermophilic culture. In cheesemaking you have two basic types of culture (there are more, but for layman’s terms hear me out).
mesophilic -Â refers to cultures which act best in medium to low temperature ranges.
Thermophilic - refers to cultures which are active in higher temperature rages.
You can buy cultures very easily online from a range of websites from specialist yoghurts, to cheesemaking, home brew shops often offer them even amazon and ebay will have options to choose from. The simpler option is to use a spoon of yoghurt from the supermarket. 1 tablespoon will culture 3 ltrs of milk into yoghurt as happily as the freeze dried cultures. If you are going to make yoghurt once, probably just use one from the shop, if you want this to become a part of your weekly routine (homemade is delicious and much more affordable) it will be worth buying a pouch of culture.
Yoghurts sets between 36 and 44 degrees C which is considered high.
The difference in the temperatures will depend on how firm, dry you want the curd to be, also how quickly you want the process to take. And depending how far down the rabbit hole of yoghurt cultures (heirloom yoghurt cultures are a thing too) different cultures may prefer different temperature to set.
Lower temperature yoghurt will made a creamier curd which is more stable meaning it won’t leak whey as readily. The mouthfeel will be much more luxurious and cleaner, the downside being it will take a longer time to culture to a set constancy.
Higher temperature yoghurt will set more quickly, and will be firmer, taste sharper, however the texture can be more lumpy, almost crumbly, and will leak whey without agitation.
The different temperatures will come down to personal preferences, your equipment, and the time you have to culture your curds. I typically make mine at 40 degrees for 8 hours.
I have a small yoghurt maker which is easy to set so I can leave it while i work or set it to run overnight. If you have an immersion circulator (otherwise referred to as a sous vide water bath) you will have the same accuracy.
Your other options are to wrap jars in towels soaked in warm water inside an esky, ice box or polystyrene box, anything that will maintain temperature, this will make a good yoghurt, even with less accuracy. Still a brilliant option. Anything which will keep a steady temperature will work well. I have seen people place jars of milk in a switched off oven overnight after cooking a roast and get pretty decent results.
If you look at the ingredients list on the side of a supermarket pot of yoghurt it will often list more than milk and cultures, there maybe a couple of things added in the way of emulsifiers or starches, the most common you can expect to find will be milk protein, milk protein is typically slim milk powder. It might seem like cheating, but its not a bad idea, firstly it will raise the protein in your yoghurt which is beneficial, but it will also make the yoghurt have a stronger set
If you make yoghurt without adding skim milk you may find the final product a bit light, even bland. A solution to this is to hang the yoghurt in a kitchen towel over a bowl to remove excess whey.
This adds extra steps, time and makes more mess and wastage of your final yield. And after you have started checking the ingredient lists in the supermarket you may not be so bothered about adding some extra milk powder. If you are a stickler for the rules it is optional and hanging the yoghurt is an option too.
If you do choose to hang your yoghurt (which you can still do if you add the protein) there are some great uses for the whey in the kitchen. It is a good substitute for buttermilk in baking and tenderising meat. I use it in place of milk when cooking polenta or mornay sauces.
Recipe for making thick yoghurt at home
2 Ltrs milk
100g skim milk powder (optional)
1/4 tsp yoghurt culture or 1 heaped tablespoon of live culture yoghurt
Heat milk and milk powder (if using) gently to 84 degrees C, lower the temperature and hold for 10 minutes, with this mass of liquid the milk should hold around this temperature on its own if the pot is covered.
Place the pot in a container of cold water and stir gently until it reaches 40 degrees C. Use a spoon or spatular to stir the milk rather than a whisk as it will froth the hot milk which will stop it cooling)
Add your yoghurt culture or yoghurt and place the milk into a culturing medium. Your yoghurt maker, water bath, a warmed oven or wrapped in a warm wet towel in a polystyrene box.
If you have a temperature controller set it to run at 40 degrees C and check it after 6 hours.
If you are using a polystyrene box you may have to add some boiling water from the kettle every few hours to maintain the temperature. Checking on the thickness and taste to know when the yoghurt is ready.
Once the yogurt is set to you preferred acidity and firmness place in the fridge to set.
If you would like your curd to be firmer of more acidic after culturing you can place the yoghurt in a cloth over a bowl to drain out excess whey. Which will concentrate the flavour and texture.
Drinking yoghurt
Follow the above recipe removing the initial heating and cooling step.
This has all the health benefits of thick yoghurt and is pleasant to drink, an easier method for making yoghurt if you are planing to use it to marinade meat, use in granitas or desserts or just as a drink.
orange and beetroot salad with yoghurt and rhubarb
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