OK I have just found this recipe online however I don't buy milk we only use powdered milk at home so I'm assuming I will just make four cups of powdered milk as per instructions on milk powder packet and then add the required amount of extra milk powder. Also I don't own a cooking thermometer just a family thermometer for when we are sick I don't think I want to use this and I think it might not be suitable for use at those temperatures anyway, Do I really need a thermometer has anyone made yogurt without one ?? Off course next year I would like to be making our yogurt using goat milk but that is a wee way away so I think I need to figure this out for now and worry about that later .
Homemade Yogurt Recipe
4 cups of fresh, organic 2% milk
1/3 cup of powdered milk
1/2 cup organic yogurt (this will be your starter)
Making yogurt begins with milk. Readers of 101 Cookbooks will not be surprised with the advice to buy organic milk that is fresh as possible. Slowly heat the milk on the stove over low-medium heat.
At this point you can choose to add powdered milk. Powdered milk creates thicker yogurt that takes less time to ferment. It's optional if you are using whole milk or two percent. Some skim and one percent milk include added milk proteins which make the product taste less watery and will behave the same way as if you added powdered milk.
For your first batch we are going to go with two-percent milk plus 1/3 cup of powdered milk. This combination of milk with the powder will produce a delicious, basic yogurt.
The most tedious thing about making yogurt is watching the milk get hot. You need it to hit 170 degrees, but not have it boil. So you want to pay attention to the pot and have a thermometer at hand. Once you've hit the target temperature, remove from heat and then wait for the milk to cool. Unless you put the pot in the refrigerator it will take some time to cool to 108-112 degrees.
If you are using existing yogurt as a starter, have it handy in a cup. When the milk is cooled to the proper temperature, mix a small amount it in with the yogurt. This will break up the yogurt and makes blending it with the rest of the milk easier. Once you add the starter, the milk can be placed in the pre-heated yogurt maker for four to eight hours. Refrigerate before serving. Makes one quart.
A little mini update on food from home while I'm here. Still no chickens laying. We haven't eaten any roosters yet. We haven't eaten Billy(Goat) yet. My silverbeet is still awesome and we eat that regulary. One carrot grew but it took months and tasted horrible. I pulled out all the broccoli as it was covered in greeen catterpillars. The accidental Tomatoes are still growing under the pohutakawa tree , we have eaten one and it was a bit soft not quite the right texture. We still have four or five pumpkins to eat from my vine and they are lovely. Tree's we have planted are Tamarilo, Fejoia, Lime, Lemon, Orange, No fruit yet obviously. Although playcentre has a lovely hedge of fejoa tree's and we always take a bag home and the boys eat them whole .
Home made bread is the staple carbohydrate in our house along with home popped popcorn. I am going to buy one sack of wholemeal and one sack of white when our flour runs out and start making 50/50 bread with the idea of maybe moving to full wholemeal bread once we are used to that.
As you know homemade yoghurt is a work in progress and homemade cheese will start when we have a nanny goat.
The sheep should be here soon and we can start eating them next year. Need to keep talking to neighbors about who is killing what when with the hope of getting some home-kill meat in the freezer, just need to get the cash behind us to be able to spend a few hundred on meat in one hit rather than drizzling it away at the supermarket every week.
So still buying groceries every week but the bill has decreased and the amount of packaging is getting lower.
I had a little case of feeling sorry for myself yesterday when visiting friends in Mairangi bay because they are able to walk to the park or the beach. Yes I miss footpaths , but we are able to do more at home so I guess Either way you can't have it all. There are positives and negatives to living rural or living in suburbia. Yes Fin is not so great as his suburban friends on his scooter but he is probably much better at feeding chickens and wearing bare feet on rocks or running in long grass. But ahhh how I longed to have the freedom to leave the house without jumping in the car.
I am also considering a little project called an AFM, auckland free month. Off course Nev will still go there everyday for work but I would not be going there for any visits that would force us to do more around the house on weekends and enjoy more of the local area. Save petrol money and reduce my big fat carbon footprint in the car.
No comments:
Post a Comment