Make Your Own Yogurt

Yogurt has many health benefits

Supposedly of Turkish origin, yogurt nowadays is one of the most used and versatile foods in a variety of ethnic cuisines. Not only is it considered a great breakfast snack, a healthy mid afternoon bite and a great addition to curries, yogurts are used in many other dishes and can be great in both sweet and savoury recipes.

Yogurt is mainly known as a popular health food and because of this soared in popularity in the 1950s. Yogurt is thought to have first been made in 5000 BC when accidental curdling of milk occurred.

Yogurt has many health benefits for the reason that it is made using the fermentation process which allows the milk to thicken and create the smooth and creamy yogurt texture. It also contains active cultures which are known to boost digestive health and improve your immune system by using good bacteria. These cultures and positive bacteria can also help you fight infection and reduce the risk of inflammation.

Did You Know?

• It wasn’t until 1946 that fruit was added to yogurt to sweeten it!
• 300,000 tons of yogurt per year are eaten in America alone.
• There are over 50 different flavors of yogurt.
• Yogurt comes from the Turkish word ‘yogurur’ which means ‘long life’.

Making homemade yogurt

If you have tried many types of yogurt before, you may like to try your hand at making your own – this way you know what is going into it rather than relying on the nutritional information on a yogurt packet.

You need:

• 4 cups milk
• 3 tbsp live yogurt

1. Whisk dried milk with milk then add to a pan over a medium high heat until it is almost at 180 degrees Celcius.

2. Take milk off the heat and allow to cool to 43C. Mix with the dry yogurt culture.

3. Pour the mixture into a yogurt glass jar or glass bowl with a lid.

4. Keep the yogurt at 43C for six hours – you could preheat a slow cooker and heat it this way (just make sure you turn the heat off before you put the jar in). Alternatively, heat up lots of hot jars and place the yogurt with those jars in a picnic cooler.

5. Once fully cultured after 6 hours, remove and place the yogurt in a lidded container in the fridge.

There are many other methods to creating yogurt but this is the simplest recipe out there. It is also fantastically versatile and only takes you to the stage where it is a plain flavour. For a different flavor yogurt ideal for breakfast, mix in berries of your choice and possibly a dash of honey. Experiment with your flavors and you’ll soon be creating a food to be proud of!

Besides eating yogurt as is or with fruits and cereals, yogurt may also be used in making sald dressings, in curries and many other recipes. Find some of these yogurt recipes on Recipebridge.