Making Yoghurt

I worked out yesterday that the cost of making a loaf like I described yesterday is 65p including the cost of electricity to run the bread maker and bake the loaf. So it is not really cheap when you include the cost of baking in the oven but is much cheaper than I would have to pay for 800g of no-salt, no-soya bread at an artisanal bakery or Waitrose ! So well with it for us, if you're someone who can pick up a yellow-stickered loaf for 10p and pop it into the freezer then it probably isn't worth it, but the smell is priceless !

Now for today's topic, making yoghurt. There are lots of tutorials on the internet about how to do this but some of them are rather complicated, some require the use of a yoghurt maker and almost none of them tell you that it can be a bit tricky !

This is my secret weapon for yoghurt making, a wide-mouthed vacuum flask. I have 3 like this and 2 larger ones. 

Yoghurt

Heat the pint of milk to almost boiling, you can't walk away at this point, it will boil much quicker than you think ! Then leave it to cool to blood heat, tested with your pinkie finger. Now add a cup of live yoghurt, such as Yeo Valley, you can't use ready flavoured and sweetened ones. Stir well and pour quickly into the flask. Leave for 12 hours or more.

If the yoghurt has set, well done, flavour as you like or hang up in a cheese cloth to make some spreadable cheese.

If not then you can leave it for up to a day in a warm place and the bacteria will continue to work to set your yoghurt.

Problems I have had include letting the milk boil over, gosh it covers a large area; letting the milk get too cold; not using live yoghurt; leaving it too long so it gets too sour; not leaving it long enough so it is not set. But now thanks to the vacuum flasks I've got it just right and it's really good for settling dodgy tummies after antibiotics or a stomach upset.

My challenge to you :- Have you made yoghurt ?