# Yogurt?



## masterspark (Sep 2, 2012)

x


----------



## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Yep, yogurt, kefir, etc 
IMO it is like brewing or similar things, typically very easy and straightforward to try, the occasional failure at first, and then something that some people spend years mastering if that's their thing.

I am not one to relay "recipes", and I am certainly not an expert in it (even in our family), also we have found some wholesome sources for dairy so have been doing a bit less of our own. I also typically only use "plain" yogurt, most of the sweet concoctions in the store are beyond me. We use it for lots of savory sauces and marinades as is, or add some fruit, honey, stevia, etc to taste.


----------



## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

Yoghurt, soft and hard cheeses. Just starting on kefir.

I've been making yoghurt for over 20 years and tried many different methods. The one that works best for me is to pasteurise the milk, let cool to about 40 deg c or a little lower and dump in a cup of the last batch of yoghurt I made. I don't stir just leave to set. I like my yoghurt thick, so once set (about 10 hours or so) I drain some whey off (suspend in cheesecloth) and then refrigerate. I keep fresh culture in the freezer to make a fresh batch if my ongoing batch gets contaminated. I am careful to make sure everything is clean but I'm not over the top about it. Like cowboyhermit I like my yoghurt plain but I also like it mixed with home canned fruit or used to make a cheesecake, mmmmmmm  Before I drain the freshly made yoghurt I take out enough to use as culture for the next batch, this goes into a sterile container and is marked DO NOT OPEN, everyone here knows not to touch anything labeled like that  . In summer I set on the bench next to the wood stove, in winter I move onto the shelf above the wood stove.


----------



## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Yup, what she said.

Except that when we get the milk from the local goat dairy - we dont pasturize it.

We have one of the few dairies that legally sells raw milk, just down the road and around the corner.

Put some dill flower in a bowl of it, let it set for a while and it's great in and on anything cucumber.


----------



## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

Davarm my milk is from my cows. I only pasteurise to keep the strain of yoghurt pure. I also make raw milk cultures but tend to refer to them as clabbered milk rather than yoghurt which to me means a very narrow range of bacteria to culture with. Same with cheeses, I make both raw milk cheeses and cheeses that I pasteurise to control the lactic acid stage very closely.


----------



## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

my great grandmother used to make "clabbered milk", about the only thing she'd use in baking, sometimes she would put a spoon full of jelly or preserves in a cup of it and we would have it as a snack. 

Now-a-day, about the closest thing(from a grocery store) you can get to it is "buttermilk" which usually isn't fit to feed the hogs. It's an art form, one that is worthy of keeping alive and passing on.


----------



## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

I haven't made yogurt of a long time but we make soft cheeses. Along similar lines, sourdough is a lot of fun.


----------

