Monday, October 13, 2008

Homemade Yoghurt


There are 3 different methods of making yoghurt at home that I have found. Using the Easiyo sachets, using a small amount of purchased live yoghurt and using the live organic cultures. Each way creates real yoghurt, and costs a fraction of buying it tubs. For all of these methods you will need an Easiyo thermos, a regular thermos or a small esky.

For the Easiyo thermos, you combine the cold ingredients in a plastic container, which then sits in the insulated thermos in boiling water. With a regular thermos you will need to heat the milk/water until just warm, then add the culture and pour it in. With an esky, use same method as regular thermos, but pack the esky with towels etc around the container to insulate it. You need to maintain a luke warm temp for the cultures to activate.

Easiyo Sachet Method
2 or 3 Tbs Easiyo Mix
1 cup milk powder
Water

In the container, combine all the ingredients and stir up well. Add enough water to make about 600ml. You will see on the Easiyo sachet, they recommend using the whole sachet. You don't need to do this, and standing the mix for slightly longer will create the same product.


Purchased Live Yoghurt Method
2 or 3 Tbs ready made yoghurt with live cultures
500ml milk - fresh or powdered
1/4 cup powdered milk

Mix it all together and put into the container. The extra powdered milk is optional, but creates a thicker creamier yoghurt. Make sure the yoghurt you buy has live cultures and does not contain gelatine.


Live Culture Method
I haven't had the chance to order any live cultures yet, and so don't have the instructions. This is the most economical way to make yoghurt. It costs between $18 and $28 depending on type of starter you prefer from Cheeselinks for enough culture to make 250 litres of yoghurt!!! If anyone uses this method I'd love to hear from you to get some feedback. I cant wait to order some!
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No matter which method you choose to use, you can use a couple of tablespoons from your homemade batch to start off the next batch (sub culturing). This will only work a couple of times, as the bacteria tend to die after a while. Some die before others and can affect the taste and texture of the yoghurt.

Flavourings
You can add pretty much anything to the finished yoghurt. Add it after it has finished incubating so it doesn't affect the bacteria. Sugar, honey, vanilla, jam, nuts, stewed fruit, dried fruit, fresh fruit, topping, mueslie, crumbles, cereal etc etc. I'd also love to hear of everyones favorite flavourings and suggestions.

Happy yoghurt making!

8 comments:

Michelle said...

That of course is supposed to say creamy result!! LOL

Michelle said...

Hi Ellice,
when you make the yoghurt using the easiyo and the powdered milk do you still get a thick cramy rsult? Does it turn out as sweet as the easiyo or do you need to add a bit of sugar? I like sweet yoghurt :)
Cheers, Michelle.

wannabeahippy said...

It's definitely not as sweet as purchased yoghurt, but you can add some honey or sugar to taste afterwards.

I'm about to try doing this adding sugar to the mix before it's incubated to see how it goes. I'll let you know!

wannabeahippy said...

It is still thick and creamy, if it's too thin, add more powdered milk to the next batch, or you can drain it in a cloth for a little while. Try making the cheese from the plain unsweetened yoghurt - its great with sweet chili sauce.

I am using the culture from Cheeselinks now and it sets really well.

Michelle said...

Thanks, I'll do a batch with the easiyo and powdered milk tonight and see how it goes. Need something yummy to get me through a long day at work tomorrow.

Karen said...

Can I ask what may be a stupid question - will this affect how much of the goody acidophil....s (not sure of spelling LOL!) ends up in it?

wannabeahippy said...

Karen, to be honest I'm not too sure about that. I know that 'some' bacteria die before others which influences the taste, but as to which strains die out first - no clue. Google for "cheeselinks". This is where I purchase my culture from, they are real experts in that area, and hopefully they will be able to tell you.

Maudey said...

Make a berry compote to mix in, strawbs, or we prefer raspberry.mmmm (glad Pete loves making yogurt. We use the buy a tub and add a portion technique)

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