greg@olivej.UUCP (Greg Paley) (01/28/84)
We started making yoghurt regularly when our two
little boys began eating it in massive quantities.
You can buy a yoghurt maker for $10-$15. These
are primarily for convenience - you basically need
some sort of containers for it and a draft-free
place that will keep the surrounding air warm
enough to keep the culture activated. We use a
yoghurt maker, but I've heard that a closed oven
with only the pilot on will do. The general
procedure is to boil a quart of milk, let it cool
to lukewarm, and add two heaping tablespoons of
yoghurt with active culture or a package of starter.
If you use commercial yoghurt for the starter,
be sure it has active culture. A good way to tell
is to see that gelatin is not among the ingredients
since gelatin as a thickener implies a lack of
confidence in the culture. Mix in the starter,
pour the mixture into containers and let it sit
either in your yoghurt maker or wherever it can
rest warm and undisturbed. The length of time
depends on the sourness you want - the longer it
sits the more tart it will get. A general
guide (which will change according to the culture,
and the ambient temperature) would be:
Mild 5 - 7 hours
Medium 8 - 10 hours
Tart 10 - 14 hours
Some experimentation is necessary to get the
tartness and texture you want. There are all
kinds of variations. You can mix milk and heavy
cream for a very rich yoghurt, add powdered milk
for reinforcement, use non-fat milk for a very
liquidy, light texture, etc. The general
consensus is that flavorings should be added
after the yoghurt has completely "ripened".
You can use some of your yoghurt as a starter for
the next batch. This will, however, only work
3 or 4 times before you'll need to use another
source of starter.
Hope this is of some help.
Greg Paley