Yogurt.. I have just returned from 3.5 weeks holiday partially travellign along with my parents. I was suprised to see my mother making her own yoghurt along the way out of fresh or UHT milk. she: - used up her existing yoghurt untill there was only a bit left in the bottom then - mixed the remaining yogurt with a litre of milk - placed the mixture in a little styrofoam esky floating in warm / hot (?) water for two hours - Voila!! yoghurt. - I was suprised how easy it seemed to be. This just seemed to me to be right up the alley of some people here.. who has a goat?? Since my wife can't have cow milk we're going to try it with Goat's milk. 1) does anyone else do this 2) does anyone have an excess of goat or sheep's milk the'd like to trade for (brisbane area) 3) any hints? thanks PPP
Re: yogurt making I usually warm the milk on the stove, mix in the starter, then keep it in a thermos to culture. Some yoghurt cultures, particularly the acidophilus and bifidus ones, have a very narrow optimum temperature range to reproduce properly. If you're not keeping an eye on what temperature you're culturing at, you have no idea which cultures you're breeding. You might be getting more of one and less of another. The last two sections of the table at the bottom of the page on the following link, show yoghurt cultures and their optimum temperature ranges: https://dairyconnection.com/culture-info.htm#guide2 There is a type of yoghurt called Matsoni or Caspian Sea Yoghurt that you can culture at room temperature. Another fermented milk drink that cultures at room temperature is kefir.
Re: yogurt making I make mine in a thermos too. I usually use raw milk and so don't heat the milk to a high temp (as I want the bugs alive). But a high temperature (then cooling before adding culture) gives a thicker yoghurt. I do that if I'm using pasteurised milk. Goats milk yoghurt is usually thinner and tarter than cow's milk yog. Making yoghurt is a a great thing. Have fun!
Re: yogurt making You definitely need to re-pasteurise milk that has already been pasteurised, because you don't know what might have grown in it since it was first pasteurised. Many people don't like to heat the raw milk because it kills all the good guys in it, but when it comes to making yoghurt, the natural bacteria in it competes with the introduced culture. That's why yoghurt is often runnier when made with raw milk. If you heat it enough to pasteurise it first, you lose it's natural complement of good bacteria, but you're replacing that with other good bacteria and getting a thicker, more consistent product. Here are a few thoughts on the matter: https://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/yogurt.html
Re: yogurt making That's a great article, thanks! I like to keep the original bugs because I think that is what makes my body better tolerate dairy in general (I previously had an intolerance to dairy that stopped me from eating it daily). I don't think that the presence of intentional cultures alone is enough, although that article is differentiating between commercial pasteurisation (high, rapid heat) and the gentle raising of heat in making yoghurt - I know that quality, organic yog made from pastuerised milk still isn't as good for my body as a raw milk, low heat, yog, but I haven't tried a high slow heat yog from raw milk much to compare to the past one (if you follow). I heat raw milk to the 40C range. That article says 43C keeps some of the enzymes but allows the introduced bugs to dominate, which is probably what is happening to mine.
Re: yogurt making I'd love to try the Caspian one, if I ever come across the culture, not least because it sounds so much easier! Kefir doesn't work for me because of the yeast.
Re: yogurt making I found this site: https://www.frot.co.nz/dietnet/basics/milk.htm Search for the word 'caspian' and the last sentence in the paragraph about it says "If you're in NZ, email me for a contact near you" (with the word 'email' being a link).
Re: yogurt making I just looked up caspian further, and it seems it's a yeast/bacteria yoghurt too I've not seen that mentioned before. Makes sense, that the room temperature ones have yeast in them, but you need heat for the bacteria only ones. Thanks anyway
Re: yogurt making You might be interested in this article: https://bodyecology.com/08/02/21/nutriti ... o_know.php Not all yeasts are bad: "Our goal here is to help you understand the difference between good yeast and bad yeast... and to clear up some of the misunderstanding about them. This confusion is preventing many from obtaining the excellent advantages that come when we eat foods and drink liquids containing these beneficial, medicinal yeast.... Just because a food or drink contains yeast, this does not mean that it is necessarily a damaging yeast. Nor will yeast in your food necessarily cause an increase in a systemic yeast or fungal infection. In fact, there a certain yeast obtained in the foods or drinks you eat that are, indeed, very beneficial...." There's a lot of interesting info amongst all the plugs for their products.
Re: yogurt making Another cool link! I have one of her books actually. I don't entirely disagree with what she is saying there, but I do think it's very individual. eg I think wild ferments are better for some people, contrary to what she is saying. I've tried what I think was kefir and my body hated it. It loves bacteria yoghurt. If I came across caspian starter I would give it a go, but probably won't buy any because I know I have a pretty low tolerance to yeasts in general.
Re: yogurt making I decided to have a crack at making it a couple of years ago after reading Seymour's approach in his "Complete Guide to Self-Sufficiency". Simply whack a good dollop of raw yoghurt, either from a purchased tub or some of a current batch, top up with milk - I've used full-cream, skim, UHT, all successfully. I put mine in a glass jar with a rubber-sealed clamping lid. Stick in in some water that is very warm on the hand. Check it occasionally, and when it is cool, warm it up again. In 24-48 hours it's yoghurt. Stick it in the fridge to thicken up. I have only had one failure out of dozens of brews, and that was when someone tried to be helpful by putting it in water that was almost boiling. I know this isn't a very scientific approach, but it's hard to argue with success. I have found "Yes" brand raw yoghurt best when starting from scratch because of holidays changing countries etc.
Re: yogurt making When I had my milking goat I used to make yogurt with the raw milk. I cheated, though, as I have an EasiYo I didn't heat the milk, just started with a bit of natural yogurt. It was yummo, and I don't normally like natural yogurt. It also made the best soft cheese.
Re: yogurt making I grow up with mum making yogurt, and have continued to make it since I moved out of home 20 years ago. Mum used a tin of carnation milk a tin of water and 2 table spoons of starter yogurt (pre made). I continued with this and would use a little from the last batch and make the next. A few years ago I read that the good cultures loose there effect after 2 batches, so now I use the culture from https://www.cheeselinks.com.au $25 last me over a year and I make yogurt 4 –5 times per week. My recipe is to heat 1 lt milk raw, goat, soy UHT what ever you like and I have used all succesfully. To 80c Then add 1/2 to 1 cup of milk powder let cool to 41c and add 3 grains of culture and keep warm at 110 c. You can do this in a slow cooker (put yogurt into jars and warm in slow cooker)or electric yogurt maker. It makes a nice thick yogurt the more milk powder you use the creamer. Yummy