How to make your own healthy Yoghurt
So you want to know how to make yoghurt at home or on your boat. Great decision!
Making yoghurt is easy and your home-made yoghurt will be twice as nutritious as any you buy. Yoghurt contains the highest number of live probiotic bacteria when it is fresh. I’m a firm believer in finding ways to provision the boat with ingredients that are versatile. We take probiotics on a regular basis. So I’m always shopping for the best deals and the best brands of probiotic supplements. Most probiotic supplements only have two types of bacteria: Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium. I figured the best brand will have the highest number of active bacteria and the greatest variety of bacteria. I finally found one that has ten different strains of friendly bacteria. It’s called PB8. And it was the spendiest of the probiotic supplements on the shelf.
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Live bacteria gradually die in yoghurt and although the reputable makers ensure there is still the legal amount left by the end of the yoghurt's shelf life - why settle for that. A study on the viability of Bifidobacteria in commercial yoghurt products during storage found that only 76% of the yoghurts contained live bacteria. |
Put your probiotic milk into a sterile containers and set inside the pot of hot water on a trivet. (Or use your yoghurt maker at this stage). Let it sit undisturbed for a couple hours. Do not stir the yogurt. Ever.If you are using a stove top pot to incubate. Remove the yoghurt container after a couple hours and reheat the water. Place the yogurt container back into the hot water. The culturing process will take five to six hours (you may have to re-heat the water one more time, if the weather is cool I place a lid on the pot and then place the pot into the sink surrounded by hot water this helps maintain the right temperature of between 35-45C).
So I thought of a way to stretch my probiotics budget by multiplying the bacteria in my gut. More specifically, in the culturing process of homemade yogurt. Saving me dollars in provisioning supplies and providing a healthy alternative in our diet
To make the bacteria reproduce, incubate the yoghurt at a temperature between 35C and 45C. General principles that apply to all methods on how to make yoghurt.
Yoghurt is simply fermented milk. We provide conditions favourable to selected bacteria and let them do their thing. The starter bacteria will produce lactic acid as they begin to digest the lactose in the milk. Lactic acid lowers the pH (that's what makes yogurt tart to the taste) and causes the milk protein to thicken, and the pathogenic bacteria can't live in the acid conditions created.
There are many ways to incubate yoghurt. You can place it in a yoghurt machine, thermos, conventional oven, crock pot, heating pad, microwave or even a dehydrator has been know to be a successful incubator. Which ever way you decide to cultivate one key to success is to have everything sterilised. Sterilise jars and equipment in 4 parts boiling water to 1 part vinegar, followed by a final bath in boiling water is how I achieve this in Our Galley.
How I Make Homemade Probiotic Yogurt
Ingredients
1 litre of milk
Optional: + 1/3 cup instant dry milk (use to make the yogurt creamier and boost the protein content)
1/4 cup of quality plain yogurt
2 capsules of probiotic
Let’s get Cooking
Mix the instant dry milk with the fresh milk with a whisk until well combined.
Heat 1 litre of milk on the stove for five minutes brining to a simmer. Stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn or stick.
Remove the milk from heat and let cool to baby-warm. You know what I mean by this test it on the inside of your wrist. It should not burn you, it should be lukewarm.
Heat 2 litres of water in a large pot on the stove. Get it as hot as you can and still put your hand in it. Turn off heat.
“Starter” ... In a small cup, spoon a 1/4 cup of plain yogurt (that you should have in the fridge leftover from the last time you made or from the yoghurt you bought) and break open two capsules of probiotic supplements into the yoghurt.
If using a Yoghurt maker pot. Seal the lid and leave overnight for 8 hours, with the quantity of boiling water recommended by the manufacturer. I find the longer I leave the incubation the more “Tart” in taste.
The culturing process puts all the good bacteria back into a new batch of yoghurt, saving you the need to buy expensive probiotic supplements every month to make another batch. When you learn how to make yoghurt you can tailor it to contain the exact blend of probiotic bacteria you require. Or use several different starters to get a unique blend.
A fun alternative to this recipe is to use coconut milk or almond milk. This is especially good for anyone who is lactose intolerant, It’s also way better dessert than frozen yoghurt which does not contain live bacteria cultures.
There are also plenty of ways to make your own flavoured Yoghurts but this one makes tasty yoghurt using fresh ingredients that you have on hand at home. You can flavour it however you want. I always make plain yoghurt (or Honey which makes a fantastic base for dessert ideas) and flavour it to my own taste. My favorite is simply to stir a spoonful of homemade blackberry jam into it. You can make it with a yogurt machine, or without as previously mentioned. Here's another perk to making your own flavoured Yoghurt: You can make it healthier than pre-made varieties that you buy at the store. Perhaps you don't want to use traditional sugar; you can substitute a healthier sweetener. You can choose the milk, both variety and source. Yoghurt can be made from sheep's milk, goat's milk, buffalo's milk, mare's milk, soy milk, almond milk, and probably a zillion more types of milk. Milk can be organic or not. You can choose the fat content - full fat, low fat or no fat. And with tons of flavour combinations, you may be able to come up with some pretty interesting concoctions yourself.
For the sweet tooth try this ....
Ingredients
1 litre full cream milk
1/4 to 1/3 cup sweetener (Options include sugar, honey, maple syrup, chocolate syrup, malt, molasses, stevia, or any artificial sweetener.)
Optional: + 1/3 cup instant dry milk (use to make the yogurt creamier and boost the protein content)
1 rounded tablespoon plain yogurt starter from your probiotic yoghurt (or a quantity of quality purchased yoghurt)
Optional: flavourings or fruit of your choice
Let’s get Cooking
Mix the instant dry milk with the fresh milk with a whisk until well combined.
Heat 1 litre of milk on the stove for five minutes brining to a simmer. Stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn or stick.
Stir in 1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar, honey, syrup, malt, molasses, artificial sweetener, or any other sweetener of your choice.
If other flavours are desired after dissolving the sugar or honey, you can stir in 1 tablespoon of an extract such as vanilla, lemon, almond, or peppermint. You can also crack open your spice cabinet to add more flavour. Try adding 1 teaspoon of ground spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, or your own special combination.
Add the instant dry milk, cool the mixture to 42 degrees C, and stir in the starter culture or yoghurt.
Pour the mixture into warm sterile containers, cover and incubate.
If using jams or preserves, put 1 tablespoon of the flavouring into the bottom of 1-cup containers and pour the warm milk-yogurt mixture over it. Cover and incubate as usual.
To add fresh, canned or dried fruit, add them in after the yoghurt has incubated. This should come last because the acid content of some fruits can curdle the milk-yoghurt mixture and prevent proper fermentation.
Incubate for five to overnight.
Then let it cool and refrigerate the yoghurt.
Whenever you are flavouring yoghurt, always remember to leave 1 cup plain, so that you will have Incubating Yoghurt Without remaking or purchasing a new starter.
Problem Solving
The most common problem with newbie yogurt makers is that the yogurt simply isn't firm enough. Increase the amount of yogurt you use as a starter or increase the amount of time you leave it fermenting. If that doesn't sort the problem, try DECREASING the amount of starter yogurt used. The bacteria can sulk if they're too crowded. It's a trial and error process.
Making Yoghurt with ready made packet mix.
There is a huge variety of ready made Yoghurt starters on the market and most follow the same process as the one I have described. I have found some brands better than others so it is a bit of searching for the brand that suits you best.
The key to these mixes is to get the temperature and ratios right.
Using 15-20C water you fill your container up to the halfway mark. Pour in the mix. Close the lid and shake well till combined. Add more water until 1/2 cm below rim, close lid and shake again.
Fill the incubator to the water level indicating your weather temperature with boiling water. Place your filled Yoghurt container in the incubator close the lid and let sit for 8 hours minimum. Once set move to refrigeration.
Variations on this. Use 1/2 water and 1/2 chilled coconut milk to make the yoghurt. Stir through flavourings after the yoghurt is set, eg: jams, fruit, pulp, sweeteners.
REFERENCES
1. Ibrahim SA, Carr JP. Viability of bifidobacterium in commercial yogurt products in North Carolina during refrigerated storage. International Journal of Dairy Technology vol 59, issue 4 pp272-277 Nov 2006
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