Genghis Cooks: Milk 2

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to

Interesting Things You can Make out of Milk!

Today we'll be learning

How to Make Yoghurt! Yeah!!



Yoghurt! Amazing! And this is probably even easier than making the cheese (although it does take a little longer). To make half a litre of yoghurt you will need:

• Half a litre of milk
• Some yoghurt

And that's it! That's literally all you need to make delicious, fresh, creamy yoghurt in your own kitchen! Why would you ever bother buying ready-made yoghurt again?

Okay, here's how to do it:

Bring your milk to the boil, and simmer gently over a low heat for 3-5 minutes. I'm not sure how essential this stage is to the alchemy of yoghurteering, and I doubt if it will all go disastrously wrong if you boil the milk for too long (I understand commercial yoghurteers boil their milk for up to half an hour, but I have never done so myself).


In the meantime, find a clean jar, bowl or dish capable of accommodating half a litre of liquid, and put into it 2 tablespoons of plain yoghurt (it must be live/natural/bio yoghurt, so it contains the live Lactobacillus and Streptococcus cultures necessary for a successful yoghurtation). If the yoghurt is set very solid, stir it up to make it smooth.

Once your milk has boiled for a few minutes, take it off the heat and let it cool down slightly. Keep half an eye on it though, because if you let it get too cold, the magic won't work. The milk is at the correct temperature when you can just about hold your finger in it for ten seconds, but it still hurts to do so.

So - when your milk is ready, add a couple of tablespoon of milk at a time to the yoghurt and stir it in to create a smooth, creamy paste. After a few spoonfuls, pour in the remaining milk in one go. Now cover your container with a lid or upturned saucer and wrap in in a few layers of fabric, to keep the heat in. I use a couple of napkins and tea towels, but you could use a shawl or a jumper, or you could even knit a specially made yoghurt cosy for just this purpose.



Place your well-wrapped pot of milk in a warm place - such as an airing cupboard - and leave it for a few hours. How long the process takes depends on the warmth of your warm place - in theory, it could take anything from 3 to 18 hours, but in my experience is has always been ready after six to eight hours. You should find after this time that it has set surprisingly solid. All that's left to do now is to pop it in the fridge to chill and then enjoy your delicious, fresh, rich, creamy yoghurt!



Top Tips

• Leaving it in the airing cupboard for longer than necessary will create a sharper taste, so the best thing to do is to unwrap it and taste a bit occasionally, until you have the level of acidity and the flavour that you like.
• Full cream milk gives the richest, creamiest, tastiest yoghurt. Skimmed milk makes a rather boring yoghurt
• However, if you want rich, creamy, low-fat yoghurt, use skimmed or semi-skimmed milk and add a couple of tablespoons of powdered milk before you start boiling it.
• Because your yoghurt doesn't have the benefit of any guar gum or modified maize starch, it may be prone to separating - a watery whey will separated from the yoghurty curds. This is absolutely fine, and it's all edible.
• In theory, you can reduce the risk of separation by letting the yoghurt ferment at a lower temperature, but for a longer time (around thirty degrees for 12 hours or so). I haven't yet tries this, but I've got a pot on the go at the moment so I'll let you know how it turns out.
• It'll keep for a week or more, but it's at its best when its at its freshest. Eat ASAP.

Well guys, that's it for yoghurt-making! Tune in again tomorrow for the concluding chapter of

Interesting Things You can Make out of Milk!!!

Love,
Genghis