Yo-yo-yoghurt!

I mentioned in my previous posts about how much I am enjoying cooking/baking foods over the last few months (pretty much post Ironman Melbourne 2013). This is a post about home-made yoghurt (or yogurt) and how easy it is to make your own.

So when I was young, my mum went through a phase of making yoghurt. Just a side note, I have a feeling I have the obsession traits from her. As we lived in Port Moresby (in Papua New Guinea), the microwave or pantry was the perfect temperature and humidity to cultivate bacteria and make natural yoghurt. I don't think my mum has made home made yogurt in years but she still makes her own soy milk which is very different from the store bought stuff....anyways back to the topic.

Since the nutritionist came to my work to talk about probiotics a few months ago, I have been increasing the amount of natural yoghurts in my diet*. I have stopped buying fruit yoghurts (even the Chobani) ones as they are often flavoured with fruit jams which means that their probiotic levels are not as high as the bad bacteria feeds on sugars.  So I researched into yoghurt making - there appears to be two main methods. The first is growing your bacteria from existing yoghurts and the second is to introduce them via a probiotic source (i.e. powder in capsules that you swallow).

I have only used (cow's) milk in my recent yoghurt making experiments as I like my yoghurts quite thick and I also add milk powders to increase the milk content of my products. I have also bought a "yoghurt maker" so the temperature of my yoghurts are controlled but you can use other methods depending on your room temperature controls - some people just cover their yoghurt with a blanket or a heat pad, others can store their yoghurts in a small esky. I bought mine from Aldi for $15 (no joke!) and it comes with 7 glass jar servings.

So this is what I have been doing:

In a jug, I pour in ONE litre of UHT milk - If you want to use fresh milk, you have to heat treat it first, this means bringing your milk to near boiling point and bringing the temperature down to approx 100F or 40C. I like to take that process away and since I can buy UHT milk, this was easier. I then add 1 cup of milk powder (I like my yoghurts thick and full fat) to the milk and dissolve the milk powder in the milk.

So the first time I made yoghurt, I added a small tub of existing natural yoghurt (I used my Chobani) to the milk solution. The second time, I added 3 capsules of probiotics to the mixture instead. For both attempts, the yoghurts turned out great. I guess if you wanted to reduce the fat content of the yoghurts you can use skim milk and skim milk powder.

Once everything is stirred through, I pour the mixture into the 7 jars and then I turn on the machine for 8 hours. I then turn off the machine and let the yoghurts sit there for a further 2 hours before I put the jars into the fridge.

7 jars in my yoghurt maker (I have taken the photo without the lids on each jar).
You need to place the lids on each jar for the yoghurt making process.

I really never have to buy yoghurt ever again as I am able to use my (made) yoghurt as my existing yoghurt to the mix too.

In the near future, I will try to make yoghurts with almond and coconut milk. I know that they will not be as thick as my milk yoghurt. Will report how it goes.  

*I am not on a diet, I am using the term "diet" as "what I am eating".