Authors: Kathy Farrell-Kingsley
The Home Creamery (3 page)
Cultured dairy products — yogurt, buttermilk, kefir, and some soft cheeses — taste great and are easy to make at home by simply adding cultures of selected strains of yeast or bacteria to start the process of fermentation. The cultures add rich and tangy flavors to the dairy products.
People have been making yogurt
and other cultured dairy products for thousands of years. The first cultured milk product probably occurred spontaneously. Folklore describes the story of a traveling nomad in the Turkish desert. Legend has it that he kept some milk in a goatskin bag hung across his camel. After his bag traveled with him in the hot sun and was agitated constantly, the milk was transformed into a tangy custard. The warmth, bacteria in the bag, and agitation of the camel’s movements were all ideal for making the first yogurt!
Not only do cultured milk products taste great, they’re also good for you because they contain probiotics, sometimes referred to as “good” or “friendly” bacteria. According to the National Institutes of Health, there’s encouraging evidence that probiotics can boost your immune system and may also help protect you against cancer and high cholesterol. Cultured dairy foods are also easier on the stomach than other dairy foods because bacteria are already digested partially with the milk protein.
Most good bacteria come in two basic groups:
BIFIDOBACTERIUM AND LACTOBACILLUS.
Within these two groups there are many different species. Probably the most familiar good bacteria are
Lactobacillus acidophilus,
found in yogurt. These friendly bacteria exist naturally among the hundred or so types already present in our gastrointestinal system, but they’re under constant siege by human indulgences such as coffee and alcohol. They also die when we take antibiotics. Making and eating your own cultured dairy products can ensure that your body is well-stocked with these health-enhancing bacteria.
YOGURT
You are in for a real treat if you’ve never tasted homemade yogurt.
It has a far-superior taste to the commercial variety. Instead of the sweet taste that many of us are used to in commercial products, homemade yogurt tastes fresh and tangy. In addition, homemade yogurt isn’t as smooth or as thick as commercial yogurts. It doesn’t have the added sweeteners, stabilizers, and natural or artificial flavors found in commercially prepared products.
Note that goat’s milk or sheep’s milk can be used to make yogurt, and skim or low-fat milk can be used as effectively as whole milk, though yogurt made with whole milk will have a thicker consistency. All homemade yogurt will separate. The whey may pool, but it can be mixed in again or spooned off for use in other fermented foods or in recipes such as Twisted Whey-Wheat Rolls (
page 174
). Yogurt can also be made easily into delicious low-fat cheese (called “yogurt cheese”) that has a consistency somewhere between sour cream and cream cheese.
HOMEMADE YOGURT
INGREDIENTS
4 cups (1 quart) milk,
skim or whole works best
¼ cup yogurt starter
(see Note)
The most important factor to keep in mind when making yogurt or any cultured dairy product is that everything must be perfectly clean so that you don’t invite any unwanted bacteria into your mix. It’s not necessary to sterilize equipment and utensils, but they should be washed thoroughly in hot, soapy water, then rinsed and air-dried.
Note:
For your first batch, you can use store-bought yogurt for the starter. Just make sure the label says it has live cultures. Otherwise, purchase a commercial starter from a cheese-making supply house.
Temperature recommendations on packaged starters may vary, so be sure to read the instructions before you begin.
MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS
PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES
1.
Heat the milk to 185°F in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Remove from heat and allow it to cool to between 105 and 115°F, about 5 minutes.
2.
Stir in the starter and mix well. Pour the mixture into a commercial yogurt maker, if using, and follow manufacturer’s instructions. Alternatively, pour the mixture into a clean, quart glass jar and put on the lid. While the culture is forming, the temperature of the milk should remain at about 110°F. (See next page for tips on regulating the temperature.)
3.
Incubate the yogurt for 6 to 12 hours, depending on how firm and tart you want the final product to be. When the curd is well formed, refrigerate the yogurt. A little whey may form around the edges — simply pour it off or stir it in when you’re ready to use the yogurt.
To regulate the temperature or incubate the yogurt, try one of these ideas:
• Put the quart jar into a medium-size picnic cooler with a few jars of hot water, then close the cooler.
• Put the quart jar of yogurt mixture into a gas oven with a pilot light. Do not turn on the oven.
• Put the mixture into a thermos bottle.
• Wrap the jar of yogurt in a blanket.
BENEFITS OF YOGURT
Eating yogurt has long been associated with good health and longevity. The ancient Assyrians called it
lebeny
(meaning “life”), and today, food scientists consider yogurt a probiotic food, meaning that it contains beneficial, or friendly, bacteria. There is a long-standing belief that probiotic foods such as yogurt promote intestinal and vaginal health, improve lactose intolerance, build stronger bones, enhance immunity, lower blood pressure, and may even have anticancer and weight-loss effects. Beyond this, yogurt is also a good source of protein, B vitamins, calcium, and other nutrients. Remember that for yogurt to have these benefits, it must have “live active cultures,” which your homemade version will have.
YOGURT CHEESE
INGREDIENTS
4 cups (1 quart) plain yogurt
1 teaspoon salt
You can use homemade yogurt (or commercial yogurt) to make this spreadable soft cheese. It’s great for dips, spreads, and desserts such as cheesecake and pies. Yogurt cheese takes on the flavor of whatever you mix it with. That means you can mix it with ice cream, peanut butter, mayonnaise, or other foods to reduce the fat calories.
1.
Line a strainer or colander with a double layer of butter muslin and set it in a large bowl. Spoon the yogurt into the muslin and let drain for 30 minutes.
MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES
2.
Tie together the ends of the butter muslin. In the refrigerator, let the yogurt drain into the bowl for 8 to 24 hours, depending on the desired consistency. The longer the yogurt sits, the thicker the yogurt cheese.
3.
Transfer the cheese from the cloth to a medium bowl and stir in the salt. You can save the whey for other uses if desired. Cover the cheese tightly and refrigerate up to 1 week.
YOGURT-MAKING TIPS
• Yogurt made from pasteurized milk is often more successful because the “friendly” and “unfriendly” bacteria are not competing.
• Be careful not to use milk that is too hot when making yogurt. Temperatures over 115°F can kill the acidophilus.
• Adding more starter will make the yogurt more sour rather than thicker. Powdered milk and unflavored gelatin can be added for thickness. Add ⅓ cup powdered milk powder to 1 quart milk before the milk is heated, then sprinkle 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin over milk and let stand 5 minutes to soften. Stir the milk while heating to dissolve the gelatin.
YOGURT TROUBLESHOOTING
IF YOUR YOGURT IS TOO THIN …
• The milk may have cooled too much before the starter culture was added.
• The yogurt may not have been kept warm enough during incubation.
• The starter may have been too weak.
• Antibiotics that may be in farm-fresh milk could have killed the starter. If using farm-fresh milk, allow it to stand in the refrigerator for about 2 days to diminish the antibiotics before using.
IF YOUR YOGURT HAS CURDLED…
• The milk may not have sufficiently cooled before the starter culture was added. The hot milk can cause the starter to curdle.
IF YOUR YOGURT HAS AN OFF TASTE …
• You may have over-boiled the milk without proper stirring, which can cause the milk to scorch and give the yogurt a burned taste.
• You may have over-incubated it (allowed the milk and yogurt to sit for longer than required), giving the yogurt an overly strong, tart taste.
• You may have used containers that were not entirely clean. Foreign bacteria may have entered your yogurt and produced an off taste.
KEFIR
Kefir (pronounced ka-FEER) is a fermented milk drink
that originated in the Caucasus Mountains in Russia, where it’s still a daily food staple. It’s tangier than yogurt but sweeter than buttermilk. You can buy packaged kefir culture, but true aficionados use kefir grains — little white kernels about the size of tapioca that swell and initiate fermentation. A good kefir contains many different types of friendly bacteria as well as some yeasts, and it packs one of the strongest health punches of all the cultured dairy foods.