Making Yogurt

August 12th, 2008 by admin

People have been making yogurt for over 4000 years now, but what exactly is it? Generally it is a dairy product that has been fermented by “friendly” bacteria. Cow, goat, and buffalo milk are commonly used for making yogurt, but more recently soy milk has been used to make a truly vegetarian alternative.

Unlike cheese, it is bacteria and not enzymes that are used to make yogurt, but the concept is the same. The bacteria feed on the milk protein and make lactic acid. This acid then acts on the remaining protein and helps solidify it. However, with yogurt there is a less pronounced separation of the curds and whey, although it is possible to drain excess moisture from freshly made yogurt to make an ever firmer product.

Yogurt nutrition is very good, as it is a good source of protein, calcium, riboflavin and vitamins B6 and B12. In addition, yogurt is a great way for lactose-intolerant people to get nutrients from dairy, since the bacteria have already processed most of the milk sugar. Lastly, the bacteria present in yogurt can be beneficial in preventing and treating various gastro-intestinal conditions, as I can attest to personally.

However, it is important to note that to get the benefits of the bacteria, they must be alive at the time of consumption. Most store-bought yogurt contains very little, and in some cases absolutely no live bacteria. Even the brands that advertise their pro-biotics (which simply means “good bacteria”) do not have nearly as many live cultures as what you can get by making yogurt at home.

Because of the way the bacteria creates lactic acid, plain natural yogurt is a little bit sour. Adding a little fruit, honey or sugar takes the edge off, and usually adds a lot less sugar than is added to commercial products. Also, homemade yogurt is not always as firm as store-bought, as commercial products often have gelatin or pectin added. However, straining the yogurt through cheese cloth or other fabric can result in a very firm product that is often called yogurt cheese.

Aside from straight up or with fruit added, two other popular serving styles are as a smoothy (an excellent breakast idea) or frozen. If you are not sure how to make frozen yogurt (or ice cream for that matter) at home, then keep watching for my post coming up soon about how to make it…it is a lot easier than you would expect.

So is making yogurt really that easy? You better believe it is! There are 4 basic steps:

1. “Scald” the milk, which means heat it up to a specific heat and hold it there for long enough to kill the unwanted bacteria.
2. Let the milk cool down to just above body temperature.
3. Add the bacteria, either in the form of a yogurt starter package or in a small amount of yogurt from a previous batch.
4. Keep at a warm temperature for long enough for the bacteria to do its job. This can take anywhere from 4 to 18 hours depending on the amount, the temperature and the strain of bacteria used.

Truth be told, you do not need a yogurt machine to make yogurt, but I find it far more convenient. Having a machine that keeps it at the optimal temperature is just easier, and there are no spoiled batches. The way I think about it, I really don’t need a toaster either, since the oven can toast bread too, but I still have a toaster because it is easier. I figure anything that is easier is something I am more likely to do, and yogurt is something that I don’t want to do without!

Homemade Yogurt for Yonger Looking Skin

August 19th, 2008 by admin

Okay, I know that sounds like a bizarre claim, and I honestly don’t know how accurate this is. But I just saw this article and had to share it with you. Apparently the cultures in yogurt (as well as other fermented products such as soy sauce) have a positive effect on the skin. This was based on some observations on some workers in a Soy Sauce factory, who evidently had soft, smooth hands even at advanced ages.

The method given is simple enough: wash the area of skin you want to improve, slather on the yogurt (it must be homemade; even store-bought with cultures won’t be concentrated enough) and leave it there for half an hour.

Again, I am not certain how true this is. And if it is, what makes it work? I do know that the digestive benefits of making yogurt at home are due to the probiotics, in part because they help fight off unwanted bacteria. So maybe it has something to do with that. On the other hand it may have something to do with lactic acid, although I don’t think soy sauce has any of that.

If anyone knows something about this I hope they will post it in the comments.

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Yogurt Popsicles

August 16th, 2008 by admin

I saw a great idea the other day that I had to share with you. Yogurt popsicles!

We are in the middle of a heat wave here, and the kids are constantly clamouring for something to cool them down. Rather than filling them up with something full of sugar and fat and preservatives and who knows what else, why not mix up some homemade yogurt with some honey and berries, whip it through a blender and pour into popsicle molds?

Bananas work well for this too, but since I am very allergic to them I won’t attempt it even for someone else (bananas rarely make it into my home!)

Kudos to Amanda for this idea!

Why is there Water in My Yogurt?

August 16th, 2008 by admin

If you enjoy making yogurt at home, then you have probably encountered the watery “run-off” effect. This is nothing to be alarmed about, even if it is not the same color as the yogurt itself. Yellowish or even greenish shades are not at all uncommon, and are simply the effect of coagulation of the milk solids.

Remember the old nursury rhyme “Little Miss Muffet”? Well, curds and whey are just the solid and liquid parts of milk respectively. Most fermentations of dairy products involve coagulating the solids (curds) and causing them to separate from the liquid (whey). This is most obvious in making cheese, as the end product is almost entirely the milk solids and a good portion of the fat.

The effect is less noticeable in yogurt (as well as in sour cream and creme fraiche), as the liquid can easily be reincorporated into the creamy mixture of the curds. It is because the curds are not completely solidified that the whey can be mixed back in, whereas in cheese this is not possible.

Store-bought yogurt rarely separates because it has had gelatin or pectin added to thicken it, which it does in part by absorbing excess moisture. When you see whey in your homemade yogurt it is simply a sign of its purity, and the fact that nothing unnecessary has been added.

If you prefer your yogurt with a thicker texture, you can simply drain off the whey. But whey does has some nutritional value in it, so tossing it away might be a waste. In fact, the whey that is produced by making mozzarella cheese can be recooked to make a nice, light crumbly cheese. The Italian translation for this is “Ricotta”, which is where the name of that cheese comes from.

So drain it off and pour it down the sink, stir it in, or put it aside and use it for something else: it’s up to you. But don’t be concerned about the yogurt — it’s fine!

 

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Basic Recipe for Making Yogurt

August 13th, 2008 by admin

Here is my basic recipe for making yogurt. You can use a yogurt making machine or not, it will be easy either way. However, the yogurt machines are built to maintain a steady, optimal temperature, which can aid in fewer spoiled batches due to overheating, and less time lost due to too low a heat for good bacterial multiplication.

Ingredients

4 cups milk (I prefer 1%, but you can use anything from skim to whole milk)
1/3 cup powdered milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt with live bacterial cultures. If you do not have any yogurt available, you can buy some yogurt starter packages that contain live cultures.

Preparation

1. Heat the milk to 175º Fahrenheit.
2. Cool to 110º.
3. Add powdered milk and yogurt (or cultures from starter package).
4. Pour the mixture into a container (like canning jars) and put the lid on.
5. Keep the milk mixture at about 100º until done. This can take anywhere from 4 to 12 hours. The longer it sits, the thicker and tangier it will be.

If you do not have a thermometer, then you can use the following guidelines: at 175º there will be bubbles forming in the milk, but it will not be boiling (that happens at 212º). At 110º you will be able to put your finger in (clean, I hope!) but it will not be comfortable to leave it there. The 100º temperature is because that is close to body temperature, and the bacteria thrive at that level…which makes sense, since these are the bacteria that we want in our bodies.

After the yogurt has finished “cooking”, it is best to store it in the fridge for a while to set and become firmer. Also, it simply tastes better cold!