4 easy steps to making your own yogurt

For many hundreds of years, yogurt (the name is an anglicized form of the Turkish word for fermented milk) has been a popular way of preserving the goodness of milk. Yogurt can be made from fresh whole or skim milk from cows, goats or sheep or from reconstituted whole or skim milk powder. By making your own yogurt you can experiment with a variety of milks, starters, incubation temperatures and culturing times to produce the desired flavour. Here are some tips on making the perfect yogurt.

When producing yogurt, scrupulous attention must be paid to hygiene, and all equipment must be sterile to protect the cultures and yogurt from contamination.

1. Begin by heating one litre (one quart) of fresh whole milk to 85°C (185°F) and holding it at that temperature for 10 minutes (to kill harmful bacteria) before rapidly cooling it to 42 to 43°C (108 to 109°F) (just above body temperature).
2. Add a starter from a health food shop or dairy supply shop according to the manufacturer's instructions or 60 millilitres (four tablespoons) of store bought plain yogurt.
3. Stir thoroughly, pour into a sterile glass jar and leave to incubate undisturbed at about 43°C (109°F) until set; it should take four to six hours.
4. When the yogurt retains the impression of a spoon pressed into its surface, stop incubation and refrigerate. Refrigeration stops it from becoming too acid and will help it keep longer.

If the yogurt is lumpy, it means too much starter was used. Yogurt can be cultured at any temperature between 20° and 44°C (68 to 111°F) but it takes longer to thicken at the lower temperatures and may have a sour flavour.

Extra tips: For a light yogurt use skim milk (fresh or powdered); for a rich yogurt use a mixture of milk and cream. For a thick curd, add up to 45 millilitres (three tablespoons) of powdered skim milk for each litre (quart) of fresh milk.

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