So I’m not ENTIRELY done with the food photos. Today, for example, I wanted to talk about yogurt, which I started making myself because we eat it for breakfast almost every day:
I’ve been making homemade yogurt since February and I wanted to post an update in case anyone out there is inclined to try making their own yogurt.
Observation #1: It seems crazy to make your own yogurt. When I mention it to anyone I cringe a little bit, mostly on the inside. I can’t help myself. Making your own yogurt seems like such a hippy dippy thing to do, doesn’t it? But then I chastise myself for thinking that way. SO WHAT, I say. And who gets to decide what’s hippy and what’s dippy?
Observation #2: Making your own yogurt it is a lot easier than it sounds. You’re essentially warming milk, that’s it! The challenging part is keeping that mixture at the right temperature for 4-6 hours afterward. My oven has a convection heating setting and a digital display, which helps. So when I’m making yogurt I just let it sit in the closed oven with the light on. Every hour or so I turn the oven on until it reaches 110F and then turn it back off. This seems to work. Would my end results be different if I had a yogurt maker? It’s possible, but I am doing just fine without one for the time being.
Observation #3: Almost all commercial yogurts add other ingredients to give their brand a thicker consistency, including gelatin, corn starch, and milk solids. I don’t know about you, but I just want yogurt, plain old yogurt with some bacteria thrown in.
How do you like your yogurt? Yogurt can be as thin as milk and thicker than sour cream. Since I eat my yogurt almost as a milk substitute for breakfast (see photo above), I don’t actually want superthick yogurt. So what I’ve been making is fine by me. In the last few batches I have skimmed some of the liquid off the top. I could strain it too, but I don’t want to bother. Apparently, if I heat the milk for a bit longer it will result in a thicker yogurt. I might try this next time, just to see what happens.
Observation #4: It pays to experiment! I’ve made yogurt with a starter (bought at Rainbow Foods) and with actual yogurt. The stuff I made with the starter is tangier. The batch I made with yogurt tasted sweeter. Maybe it’s because I used Saugeen Country brand organic yogurt, which I bought at Farmboy. It is probably my favourite commercial brand at the moment. Funny thing, it’s a bit on the thinner side too, just like the stuff I make myself.
Observation #5: It’s very easy to turn plain yogurt into flavoured yogurt. Just add diced fruit, a spoonful of jam, or a bit of honey. It also makes a great base for a smoothie.
Observation #6: I have decided to embrace my inner hippie. ;)
