If you are an Indian, especially a South Indian – then a day does not pass without you having eaten yogurt. It forms a part of our meal and our typical day to day menu is finished with yogurt (not dessert). When I first came to the US, I couldn’t digest the fact that Yogurt was not a part of a meal here, leave alone having a daily presence. It amuses me to see Probiotics capsules and pills adorning the shelves of all the stores (P.S This amusement is not directed to people with specific requirements like No Dairy diet, Vegans etc, but for those who opt for it inspite of being able to afford/digest yogurt).
But it also made me realise how I took humble yogurt for granted back in the days in India.”Curd” [in Indian English], “Dahi” [in Hindi], “Thayir” [in Tamil], “Perugu” [in Telugu], “da’i [in Bengali], “Mosaru” [in Kannada] enjoys a grand reception in India and no meal is complete without some yogurt preparation. Every family makes their own yogurt and I never heard of store bought yogurt until well into my 20′s. I remember my mother buying yogurt (in small earthen pots) only 2 times and that too ‘cos of dire emergencies. Oh yes, if you don’t have enough yogurt at home, its indeed an emergency.
It took me quite a while to start making my own yogurt in the US and now that I have, I desist the ones from the store.
Points worth knowing
- Type of Milk: The type of milk you use [Goat Milk, Full fat milk, Pasteurized Milk, Homogenized Milk, Raw Milk, 2% Milk, 1% Milk, Fat free] will dictate how your yogurt will turn out. The lower the fat, thinner the yogurt.
- Is Thermometer Required: No. I have never known my mom or grandmothers to ever use one. The heat of the milk should be warm not hot. Feel it on your wrists before adding the yogurt to the milk.
- Can you use Slow Cooker (Crockpot) to make Yogurt: Yes, if your slow cooker can keep the milk temperature at 105-110F for around 6-8 hours.
- My Yogurt is thin, why?: See Point 1.
- My Yogurt is not set – its still Milk. Help!: You probably used UHT (Ultra High Temperature) processed milk. Though at times, it still makes yogurt, I have had trouble with it.And/or You probably used a yogurt culture that did not have live cultures and/or had loads of additives (that’s a norm in the US market). And/or You probably did not keep the milk at 105-110 F temperature or added the culture when the milk was too hot/too cold.(...)
Read the rest of How to make Yogurt at home using Raw Milk at Chef In You
© DK for Chef In You, 2013. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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