There is a thrift store near where I live. They save animals and provide them with homes to live. I donate my kids' things and the stuff that I don't need anymore to that place. They have beautiful deals on kids' books. On and off they have these sales where in I can get 12 books for a buck. It is cheaper than driving to the library to get books and my older kid loves books. I guess I have enough books in the house to set up a library of my own. I buy cook books from there too.
The main thing that impressed me with this store is it is run entirely by volunteers. They do not get paid. So, I sometimes bake something for them and take it. One day, one of the ladies was telling me that I could make anything for her as long as it doesn't have meat in it. She didn't know that I was a vegetarian. When I told her, she started going about how to choose the vegetarian yogurt brands. I told her that I make my own yogurt so I don't have to have that problem. She went like "Where do you get time to make yogurt?". That is when I realized that people think making yogurt is hard work. It definitely is not.
My mother made yogurt every day. We didn't have refrigerator growing up and every day the remaining milk would be turned into yogurt for next day's consumption. I make yogurt every 2 - 3 days as and when it gets over. I used to heat the milk in a pot and you have to watch over it so that it doesn't make a mess. Some people use milk cooker but that needs scrubbing which takes time. BTW, I have that one too but I don't use it nowadays.
I am not saying it is my idea. Lot of people have used microwave to heat the milk to make yogurt. My tip is about bringing it down to a formula. I have two microwave safe pyrex dishes that I use to make yogurt. They are like big measuring cups with lid. They hold 4 cups of liquid and there is some room on the top even after pouring 4 cups of liquid. I have kept the timing note. I fill it up to the line of 4 cups and it takes exactly 10 minutes in my microwave. I just place it set it for 10 minutes and walk away. When it has cooled down to luke warm, I put the culture and let the bacteria grow and do its thing.
Every microwave oven is different. Keep couple of dishes just for this and make a note of how long it takes to heat the milk. You need to heat it really well so that skin forms at the top. I have timed 3 of my dishes. One that I use for just our family takes 10 minutes, and when I have milk that I need to finish up, I use a bigger dish that takes 15 minutes. There is a huge one which I use when I am expecting company. That takes 25 minutes but then it can hold almost 1 gallon of milk.
For those who have never made yogurt, heat the milk. When it is luke warm, add couple of big spoonful of yogurt. This yogurt can be store bought but make sure they have live bacteria in them. Stir and cover the pot with a lid and keep in warm place undisturbed for about 6 - 8 hours. In winter, you will need to turn the oven light on and keep it in there to make yogurt.
I will be glad if it helps someone if not many.
Enjoy!!
Thanks for sharing, i never thought of making yogurt at home,now i dont have any excuse to try out..
ReplyDeleteI didnt know that there were non vegetarian yogurt available!
ReplyDeleteFrankly, we dont like the store bought yogurt at all...
And to me making yogurt is an everyday routine, which hardly at all takes any time, as i boil milk when making the dinner ready, and by the time we are done with dinner and cleaning, it'll be luke warm, ready to add in the previous day's yogurt. (we need to boil milk here, though it is pasturised)
Your tip on using microwave is useful...
Also in winters for us it becomes difficult for the curdling so some friends suggested doing this in a hot case! Never tried as I find putting it in the oven with the oven light on the easiest so far! Putting a split green or red chilli also speeds up the process.
ReplyDeleteI am loving all such posts of yours, because these are lot of info :)
ReplyDelete