Homemade Yogurt

I have been making my own yoghurt for a while now. To be honest I don’t like natural yogurt! It’s too tart for me. But…. I know that it’s GREAT for gut health. So I use it in smoothies, or mix a bit of honey with it or some muesli, and…YUM. And I find I feel better when I have it every day, less bloated! So I know it’s good for me, so I eat it!

It is almost a ritual when I make yogurt at home, putting it ‘to bed’ at night and unwrapping it in the morning, and looking what the marvelous act of fermentation has done overnight!

My mum said that she remembers seeing her mum put the yogurt on the fridge – being put down for the night!

I hope my children have the same type of memories. That things at home were done by hand, made from scratch. The feeling that they helped create things!

I’ve been asked what yoghurt recipe I use – so here it is.

I have a Thermomix and use the recipe straight from their book – it is as follows:

Ingredients:

50g Milk Powder

800g Full Cream Milk

3 Tablespoons of Pot Set Natural Yogurt

Method:

Place powdered milk, and milk into TM bowl and mix for 10 seconds, speed 7.

Cook for 30 minutes at 90degrees, speed 1.

Allow to cool to 37degrees (this takes about 30 minutes).

Add the yogurt and gently mix for 4 seconds, speed 4.

Cook for 10 minutes at 37degrees, speed 1.

While yogurt is cooking, pour boiling water into thermo flask to sterilise and warm.

Once yogurt is cooked, pour water out of thermo flask, and pour in yogurt. And leave overnight (for around 8 hours to set). Do not disturb the yogurt during this time.

Place in the fridge after your 8 hours, and reserve 3 tablespoons for next time.

So that is what I do! Because this is done in the Thermomix I don’t have to stand at the stove stirring and it kind of does it by itself! But…you could convert this recipe!

Converted recipe: SAME INGREDIENTS AS ABOVE

Make sure you have a thermos, and a thermometer.

And with all ‘milk based’ things (butter, cheese, yogurt) the better quality and fresher your milk is, the better your result. And STERILISE EVERYTHING!

So, get your saucepan and add the milk and milk powder. Whisk till combined.

Stir gently for 30 minutes at 90 degrees.

 Let cool till it reaches 37 degrees (takes about half an hour).

Add 3 tablespoons of pot set yogurt. (You can buy this from your supermarket, or get some from a friend!). Whisk that in gently, and then cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring gently at 37degrees.

Pour into a pre-warmed and sterilised thermos.

I place mine on a tea towel, and wrap it in a tea towel, to make sure that it cools very slowly!! Leave undisturbed overnight. And you are done! YUM!

---My top tips for making yogurt---

1 – Sterilise everything.

2 – The better quality milk, the better the yogurt.

3 – Wrap thermos in tea towels once done to make sure it cools slowly.

4 – The yogurt will continue to get thicker each time you make it, and will take on ‘your flavor’ as the good bacteria in your home is different than someone else’s!

5 – Don’t be scared to try it, it’s easy and great for gut health!