Making Yoghurt at Home Making your own yoghurt couldn’t be easier. You can even exchange the cow’s milk for goat’s or sheep’s milk and you will get goat’s or sheep’s yoghurt! Bring 1 pint (600mls) full cream milk to the boil in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Once it has boiled take it off the heat, and let it sit until its body temperature. This may take up to 40 minutes. Stir in 2 teaspoons of live, natural, plain yoghurt. Pour into a bowl and cover with cling-film. Place the bowl in a warm, draught-free place until set. This may take anywhere from 6-16 hours depending on the temperature of the room.
The cooler the temperature the longer it will take to set. But too high a temperature will kill the live bacteria that are multiplying in the yoghurt. The yoghurt will become slightly sour if left for too long in the warmth. Once the yoghurt is set, pop it in the fridge.
A few tips…
- The boiling destroys any unwanted bacteria that might interfere with the bacterial action of the yoghurt bacilli (Lactobacillus Bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus). - Use your finger to check when the milk has become body temperature.
- When you put the bowl near a warm, draught-free place, you want to create steady even warmth to allow the bacillus to grow. A warm airing cupboard would be fine, or near an Aga or radiator with a blanket wrapped around it.
- Skimmed or low-fat milk can be used but the yoghurt made from this milk will lack flavour.
- The bacteria turn the natural sugar in the milk (lactose) into lactic acid. This thickens the milk into yoghurt and gives it its characteristically tart, tangy flavour. - Before finishing all your delicious homemade yoghurt, make sure that you keep back 2 teaspoons of it to make the next batch.
- Remember all the ways you can devour fresh yoghurt…for breakfast with muesli or soft fruit and roasted seeds, as dessert with baked fruit, as a marinade for meat with mint, lime, olive oil and coriander seeds, or, with a meat stew or Indian curry…ENJOY!
