I like fresh live yoghurt.
Especially when traveling places where the food is foreign to my stomach, yoghurt with muesli and some local fresh fruit preserves the functioning of my digestive system.
After a breakfast of yoghurt fruit and muesli I can handle almost any foreign foods later in the day.
I use an electric thermostatic controller which senses the temperature in a water bath to keep the yoghurt at as close to 40 degrees Celcius (104Fahrenheit) as possible - which grows the best culture.
The thermostatic controller powers a 60 watt immersion heater element. (see pic)
I like to use a glass jar for growing and storing the yoghurt.
Its also handy to have a small thermos or sealable container for mixing the milk powder...and for transporting the culture when you travel longer distances.
Start with a live culture from home or buy some fresh live yoghurt culture from a supermarket.
Whole milk milk powder is best for making yoghurt and you can make the outcome thicker and creamier by concentrating the amount of powder used.
Mix the milk powder thoroughly with warm water (not too hot) and then add some live yoghurt to get it started and put the mix into the water bath.
You can make a lot of yoghurt from 1 Kilo of whole milk powder.
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143 sats \ 0 replies \ @endothermicdev 5 Nov
I used to make a batch every week with plain whole milk from the store. A spoonful of a previous batch it enough to inoculate the new one. Just simmer the milk first and let it cool before adding the culture.
I've never made it while travelling - thanks for the tips!
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39 sats \ 9 replies \ @aljaz 5 Nov
Excuse my ignorance but why powdered milk instead of raw milk?
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0 sats \ 8 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 5 Nov
Good question and I am not 100% sure of the correct reasons but from my experience fresh milk just does not work as well - it may be that the chemistry of shop bought milk has been altered via homogenisation and pastuerisation.
Also using milk powder allows you to adjust the thickness of the mix and resulting yoghurt, and is a lot more convenient especially when traveling.
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10 sats \ 7 replies \ @megaptera 5 Nov
This also works perfectly with normal milk. Perhaps the consistency is not always exactly the same.
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0 sats \ 6 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 5 Nov
I never found fresh milk consistent although it may depend on the type of fresh milk you use.
Was using full cream pastuerised and homogenised, as unhomogenised is quite expensive here and very hard to get unpastuerised.
Fresh unprocessed milk from the cow might be different again?
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4 sats \ 5 replies \ @megaptera 5 Nov
Funnily enough, the consistency always gets better when I use pasteurized milk instead of fresh milk. The fresh milk always leaves the yoghurt a little watery. But the result really varies from milk to milk and I haven't yet found out what exactly makes the difference.
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0 sats \ 4 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 5 Nov
Fresh unpasteurised may have some natural bacteria present that might change the culture of the yoghurt?
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10 sats \ 3 replies \ @megaptera 5 Nov
Exactly. I could try boiling the fresh milk and then see how the consistency behaves.
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @aljaz 5 Nov
boiling raw milk negates all the benefits of using it :)
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10 sats \ 1 reply \ @flat24 5 Nov
Thanks for sharing, I remember my grandmother making yogurt when I was a kid, and I've never made it myself.
I don't remember that she kept track of the temperature, I remember that it was just put in the oven and couldn't be touched until the next day.
Can you tell me why it's important to control the temperature?
I want to do more things at home and depend less and less on the store, this could be one of them...
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 5 Nov
Keeping the temperature stable around 40C helps the bacteria you want and keeps a healthy yoghurt culture.
Too much hotter and the bacteria will die- too much colder and other bacteria will take over.
I have made yoghurt without a thermostat using a thermos flask and starting it at about 43 degrees C then wrapping the thermos in a blanket and putting it in the sun - in hot weather (28C plus) this has worked as it keeps the yoghurt culture at a stable enough temperature long enough. It takes 5-6 hours for the yoghurt culture to convert the milk to yoghurt.
A thermostat makes it easier and more consistent.
Given the price of store bought live yoghurt you can save a lot by making your own.
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10 sats \ 2 replies \ @megaptera 5 Nov
After you have made the first yogurt, you can use part of it to create the next one. Theoretically, you can keep doing this as long as you can keep the yogurt cool.
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 5 Nov
Yes- I sometimes take a small container and freeze some so there's a reserve yoghurt culture, literally 'on ice', in case the main batch loses health.
Frozen, the yoghurt culture can remain viable for several months...maybe longer.
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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @megaptera 5 Nov
Good idea, thanks for the hint. Will try.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @megaptera 5 Nov
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