Cultured Milk (Yogurt, Kefir, Cream Cheese &c)

[Mitra]

Index of Cultured Milk recipes:

Lassi
Paneer
Yogurt

[Mitra]

Making your own yogurt is very easy, and much cheaper than buying it.

Basic Yogurt Recipe

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp live plain yogurt (the first time, you'll have to use a bought yogurt, for subsequent batches use a bit of your last batch)
1L (1 US quart) of milk (I use full fat, but any will work)

1. Heat the milk to 85-90 °C (185-195 °F). If you don't have a thermometer, there will be little bubbles all over the surface of the milk.

2. Let the milk cool to about 50°C (120°F).

3. Mix a little bit of the milk with the yogurt, then add the rest, stirring it as you add.

4. Keep the mixture around 45 - 50°C (110 - 120°F) for about six hours. (see notes below)

5. Eat it - just as it is, or in a smoothie or other recipe, or make it into a fresh cheese.

A few ways you can keep your yogurt at fermenting temperature:

put it in a thermos jug (it needs to have a wide neck, so you can get the yogurt out, and clean the thermos);
use a yogurt maker;
put the yogurt in jars in a cool box and pour water at about 120°F around them, then close the box;
use the airing cupboard, if it's warm enough;
use the oven, if you can set the temperature low enough, or a dehydrator.


Some Variations


A longer fermenting time at a lower temperature will give a sharper tasting yogurt;
Different brands of yogurt have different bacteria, which affect the time, thickness and flavour - so try some different ones to see which you prefer;
You can make a richer yogurt by adding some cream (I sometimes use about 10% cream, 90% milk - the cream is about 50% fat, double cream), or using half and half;
Another way to make the yogurt richer is to reduce the milk by boiling it for half an hour - but keep the boiling very gentle, or your yogurt will taste like evaporated milk;
you can make yogurt thicker and richer by straining it to make a Greek style yogurt. Use a seive lined with a paper coffee filter or a double layer of muslin, and let it strain for 1/2 - 2 hours, depending how thick you want it to be.


A longer fermenting time at a lower temperature will give a sharper tasting yogurt

[mcsblues]

Janet, two things;

1. I understand that the 'magic' temperature for fermenting yoghurt is 40.25 deg. C (104.5 F) - although I must admit I don't use a thermometer at all after working out the times in the microwave and the fridge for the scalding and cooling steps - after that I use an insulated container which wouldn't be as good as a thermos ... and it still turns out ok!

I also understand if you can get some raw milk from a trusted source you can skip the scalding step.

2. How do you stop the added cream from separating?

I found this page a while back which doesn't add much, but i love the Sally Fallon quote!

http://www.goatsforhealth.com/Healing_Food.htm

[Gaelen]

Yippee...Mitra, THANK YOU for posting this!
I usually use 2 cups of half and half and 2 cups of whole milk for a very rich yogurt, or 4 cups of whole milk for a standard yogurt, and my old reliable 1970s era Salton yogurt maker...but I saw a wide mouth 1 quart stainless steel thermos the other day, and wondered about your thermos jug method. I'm going through about a quart of yogurt a week between my use and giving some to Casey; my dogs have always loved yogurt, too.

[Mitra]

Thank you, Malcolm - I don't bother much with the thermometer these days, either - the temperatures I quoted were a sort of average from a couple of books and web-sites. As long as you're somewhere close, it seems to work OK.

I haven't managed to get hold of any raw milk :(.

When I look at the jar of freshly made yogurt (the "h" seems optional over here ;) ) it does have a layer of cream on top, but I generally strain it to about half the original volume, then whisk it for a minute to make it nice and smooth, and at that stage it's thick enough not to separate out again.

[MmeButterfly]

Glad to see good old Indian curds (we call it that here in India) or dahi (which is the Indian name) -- which is a staple of every Indian meal -- is making it as a health food!
After making the dahi, it's good to refrigerate it, so it stops the fermenting process, and cold dahi can be made into delicious lassi.
Lassi is curds churned with cold water (about half and half of curds and water), with chunks of ice thrown in. It is usually sweetened with sugar -- which of course is not allowed -- so use any sweetener that is allowed.
Or it can be salted ( pinch of salt to a tall glass) and mint leaves or curry leaves, chopped green chillies, a few coriander leaves, a little ginger, are chucked in to it to give a delicious flavour.

[MmeButterfly]

Paneer is another milk product which you can make at home. Boil, say, a litre of milk. As soon as it comes to a boil, squeeze a fresh lime juice into it, stirring the milk. The milk will curdle into white solid chunks, which is called Paneer. Strain the watery whey out. Refrigerate the paneer for a while, to firm it up -- cut nto cubes.
This can be used to make great tasting Paneer Curries, or Paneer Koftas (cutlets) -- or simply eaten as is, or sprinkled over a salad.

[Gaelen]

mmm...MmeButterfly, thank you for those recipes. Depending on what I have handy, I've also used lemon juice or white (distilled) vinegar to make paneer. Save the whey...it's a wonderful tool for fermenting vegetables. ;)

[Mitra]

Gaelen, would the whey from milk curdled with lemon/vinegar work for fermenting veggies (if you're using pasteurised milk)? Isn't it the yogurt/kefir culture that assists the fermentation?

[Gaelen]

Mitra, I do think it's the culture of the yogurt/kefir that's critical...but vinegar and lemon juice have been used to 'ferment' things like cabbage for ages. So I just routinely save whey and include it in the cooking water of anything that could use the extra punch, in case they've got any useful properties left. Could just be part of an over-reaching 'reduce, reuse, recycle' mentality, too. ;)

[Mitra]

I must admit, I hate to throw away the whey, too. But I struggle to find enough uses for all the whey I produce indulging my taste for strained yogurt :). I'll have to eat more beans ;) - or start a fermented veggie thread to get some more ideas :D.

[mcsblues]

I would say if you can strain your yoghurt and reduce its volume by half you are 'overcooking' it - causing it to separate - if you get the temperature right it should be uniformly creamy with no visible whey - like bought stuff, only better!:) I did try to strain a 'good' batch once and decided it wasn't worth the effort! ;) Having said that I have produced batches that have separated and if you forget about the carbs, it is a vrey refreshing drink icy cold (just the whey).

[Mitra]

It doesn't separate on its own, only if you hang it in muslin for a couple of hours. I think that's normal, because it's generally mentioned as the way to make leban/yogurt cheese. I just like my yohurt that way (half way to cream cheese ;) ).

[mcsblues]

Interesting, when I tried it I produced less than half a cup of whey (from a litre batch of yoghurt) and I decided it wasn't worth the trouble!

[Gaelen]

Malcolm, typically you 'strain' yogurt not to produce whey, but to produce thicker yogurt or (if left long enough) yogurt cream cheese or paneer.
The whey that results from straining yogurt is just a by-product, and 1/2 cup of whey from a liter or quart of yogurt is about right. Once you'd strained that yogurt, it was thicker and creamier, correct? That's the goal. ;)

And btw, good commercial stuff 'separates' too...all the time. When you take out just a spoonful, and come back a few hours later or the next day, there's usually a pool of 'whey' in the depression from the missing spoonful. The only stuff that doesn't readily separate is what is sold in the US as strained or 'Greek style' or 'Turkish style' yogurt...and even that will produce some whey if left in a paper filter for awhile to draw out any additional moisture.

[mcsblues]

I agree generally but Janet said she reduced the volume of hers by half - and mine reduced by the amount of whey - so about 10% - and as I say it didn't seem worth the effort whey or consistency wise. I did read somewhere that the really nice Greek kind can be produced by reducing the volume of the milk during the scalding stage ... but that sounds like a recipe for a very dirty stove if you turn your back on boiling milk for just a second .... ;) (This is why I use the microwave!!)

[mcsblues]

Here is what Delia says ;) (thanks ZG);

Genuine Greek yoghurt
It's a special yoghurt made from cows' or sheep's milk, which is boiled in open vats so that its liquid content is reduced. The result is a much thicker consistency, giving a more concentrated yoghurt with a fat content of 8-10 per cent.

http://www.deliaonline.com/ingredients/yoghurt,266,IN.html

[Mitra]

I tried the Delia recipe at first, but found that unless you can keep the simmering very slow, the milk catches and gives a "condensed milk" kind of taste to the yogurt, which I didn't like. Anyway, I don't see a problem here - strain your yogurt if you want to, otherwise don't.

Another contribution from the Wikipedia page on yoghurt (they have it with the "h" :) ):

Bulgarian yoghurt is often strained by hanging in a cloth for a few hours to reduce water content. The resulting yoghurt is creamier, richer and milder in taste because of increased fat content. Hanging overnight is sometimes employed to make a concentrated yoghurt similar to cream cheese. Yoghurt is also used for preparation of Bulgarian milk salad. (Commercial versions of strained yoghurt are also made.)

Paula Wolfert also suggests straining for some of her Middle Eastern recipes.

[JennyM]

Mitra, I do think it's the culture of the yogurt/kefir that's critical...but vinegar and lemon juice have been used to 'ferment' things like cabbage for ages. So I just routinely save whey and include it in the cooking water of anything that could use the extra punch, in case they've got any useful properties left. Could just be part of an over-reaching 'reduce, reuse, recycle' mentality, too. ;)
I was under the impression that vinegar and lemon juice don't do much at all to ferment veggies or anything else. You can, of course, use vinegar to pickle things which is a bit different.

As for adding yogurt, kefir or whey to veggie ferments--that's largely a personal preference and is not a necessary step. Some people like it like that, and others don't.

When I do veggie ferments, I use celtic sea salt and filtered water. The salt keeps the pathogens at bay while allowing the beneficial bacteria to proliferate thus creating a true lactic acid fermentation.

My newest cultured dairy love is Fil Mjolk. It's so delicious. I've been using it a lot in a homemade ranch-type dressing for salads and dips. Very, very yummy.

[razgarcia]

Anyone out there make their own yogurt?

I love yogurt and particularly Greek-style yogurt. I make yogurt 1 quart at a time (since that's my Salton yogurt maker's capacity) using the following recipe:

2 cups dry milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
enough water to equal 1 quart liquid when it's all mixed
1/4 starter yogurt (left over from previous batch)I warm up the mixture in the microwave (before adding the yogurt starter--very important) to about 100 F, stir in the yogurt starter, and place the mixture in the yogurt maker. I then let it incubate for 12-14 hours.

The resulting yogurt is quite sour and thick, and the whey is visibly separated from the yogurt. This is good, though, as it is exactly what I'm looking for. After keeping back 1/4 cup for the next batch I place the yogurt in a strainer (while it's still warm) and let it drain overnight. The resulting "yogurt cheese" is just over 2 cups in volume, down from 4 cups.

The nutritional value is hard to determine as several factors come into play. First, how much of the lactose was eaten up by the bacteria? Some sources claim that up to 2/3 of the lactose (and, consequently, carbs) are consumed by the bacteria, but I have no way of verifying the exact amount. Second, the elimination of the whey also reduces the carb count significantly but also reduces the overall protein amount (how much, I have no idea, but I assume it's minor). Regardless, the resulting yogurt definitely has more protein and less carbs per volume than plain yogurt.

My preference is to fortify it with whey protein powder, sweeten it with Splenda and erythritol, and add blueberries and flax meal to boot. People who see me eat this stuff claim they've never seen anything like it (I assume they're trying to be polite). But in spite of how it looks, I like the way it tastes and the fact that it packs a lot of good nutrients. And as an added benefit I find that eating a cup of it keeps me satisfied for about three hours.