I think we could easily get through 1L of yoghurt every week. It has become a breakfast staple for us, usually served with fruit and bircher muesli. I have made yoghurt at home for a few years now, and I can’t see myself ever buying 1L tubs of yoghurt weekly at the supermarket ever again. There are far too few naturally tub set ones on the market, and why does everything seem to be low fat? It’s also hard to find yoghurts with actual milk solids in it. A good quality yoghurt can cost at least about $5-6 for 1L. So in a year, I save near $260. You can keep your yoghurt supply going, buy saving a bit of yoghurt each time and using the cultures for your next batch. It’s a bit of fun to do too! I think kids might enjoy making this with you, and seeing the result.
Ingredients (makes 2L of yoghurt):
2L Milk
2 tbsp Skim milk powder
4 tbsp Yoghurt (buy a very small tub of naturally set yoghurt to start)
Method:
- Heat milk to 90C, stirring occasionally so that bottom of pot does not burn. Use a steel pot, not glass. I use a coffee thermometer to monitor the milk temperature.
My trusty coffee thermometer.
- Rapidly cool to 40C. I place the pot into a bowl of iced water.
- Whilst the milk is cooling, boil a kettle of water.
- Once milk has cooled, stir in the skim milk powder and yoghurt. Use a whisk to ensure yoghurt is distributed throughout.
- Ladle mixture into containers. I have old yoghurt tubs, but glass jam jars work quite well too.
Ready for fermentation.
- Fill up several glass jars with boiling water. These help keep the milk mixture warm for optimal fermentation.
Glass jar of hot water.
- Place the milk mixture jars and the water jars into an esky.
- Wait for about 8 hours, and you have your own yoghurt. Place yoghurt into the fridge to help harden. It’s good to refresh your cultures (ie buy new starter yoghurt) after several batches for nice solid yoghurt.
Finished yoghurt product.
Close-up yoghurt shot.
