Week 2: The Yog Blog
I have to be honest; I don't actually drink a lot of cow's milk nowadays. If I have cereal, I'll normally opt for soya or almond milk (purely because I like the taste and the variety of options; plus they're healthy too!). I generally drink my tea and coffee black and have done for some years, but I still like to have a pint of whole milk on standby for cooking or for an occasional hot chocolate. All in all I'd say I get through about a pint a week, the plastic packaging for which gets recycled, so I've not historically given myself too hard a time about that.
I am aiming to go totally plastic-free though, so even a little plastic is too much! As a result, I have indulged in a little childhood nostalgia and started ordering milk bottles from our friendly neighbourhood milkman; delivered straight to my door! I'll admit it's a pleasant buzz opening my door in the morning and seeing two gleaming milk bottles magically waiting there for me. It feels like coming downstairs on Christmas morning when you're a kid!
So, that's the milk dealt with and like I say it was never a great offender. However, the one dairy product that I do consume on a regular basis and in vast quantities (and I really do mean VAST!) is yoghurt. I love thick Greek-style yoghurt with berries, thinner pouring yoghurt for baking and having with cereal and if I cook spicy food, a soothing splodge of plain yog on the side of my plate is an absolute must (I can get quite competitive with my chilli intake). So on average I reckon I've been going through at least two big pots of yoghurt every week. Scale that up (using some "cereal box" maths) over the course of a year and the amount of plastic waste that I have been generating through my yoghurt habit alone is (ah-hem!) considerable...
So, last week I resolved to invest in a yoghurt-making machine to alleviate this strain on the planet's resources! I picked one up online dirt cheap: They can be had for as much as £165, for which I can only imagine that they not only make yoghurt and cheese, but also clean themselves, calculate your BMI and read your kids a bedtime story as well, but I don't require any of those functions, so I picked my little Lakeland one up for about £35.
I had to do some research though before getting stuck in: yoghurt requires a 'starter', which can be either your normal shop-bought yoghurt or a homemade solution brewed from a sachet of bacteria in warm milk, which must be brought almost to boiling temp, then cooled to around 43℃. For this I had to invest in a yoghurt thermometer (most food thermometers only start at 50℃) in addition to the yoghurt-maker. This was equally cheap though (under a fiver), as was the starter packet, which makes enough for several batches of yoghurt and can keep in the fridge for up to three weeks. Once your hot milk is cooled to around 43℃, you just add your sachet of starter bacteria and give everything a gentle stir with a whisk.
The yoghurt-making process is simple, although requires some preparation so you do have to be patient. Once my starter was made I stored that in the fridge overnight to give it a chance to work its magic. I was a little concerned that I had done something wrong at first when I check on it the next day: it looked and smelled just like, well, milk. However, I persevered with the next step, as per the machine's instructions. The same process that I had used to make the starter solution just had to be repeated, but instead of placing my litre of warm milk and starter agent in the fridge, this was decanted into my yoghurt maker to incubate overnight at a steady 43℃.
The next morning; MAGIC! What had previously been thin whole milk was transformed into gloopy gorgeousness!
However, the process still didn't end there, as I wanted to put the strainer attachment though its paces and see if I could make Greek-style yoghurt (one of my favourite sins!). So, I saved half of my freshly-made regular yog in a sterilised jar and placed the remainder back into the strainer compartment to sit in the yoghurt maker for another six hours or so.
So, all in all the entire process took about two days (like I say, you have to be patient!), but the flavour and texture of my first batch of thick and creamy strained yoghurt was well worth the effort! Plus, the starter solution only needs to be made once every three weeks or so. I like both styles of yoghurt, as I say, so I expect I'll be making both types from the same batch in much the same way from now on.
I really cannot stress how delicious the results of my first foray into the weird and wonderful world of homemade yoghurt are! Somewhere between art and science, the process, although long-winded, was fun and straightforward and really doesn't take up much of your time per se; those lovely little bacteria can just be left to entertain themselves whilst you busy yourself elsewhere and dream of your delectable yoghurt...
The only considerations I could recommend taking into account when making your own yoghurt are the time-factor really (you need to be organised to make sure you have a steady supply ready for when you need it) and to be prepared for the amount of milk you are likely to get through! I reckon a litre/2pts of whole milk makes enough plain yoghurt to fill one of those large plastic tubs I am so used to buying from the supermarket, but the strained Greek-style yoghurt reduced in volume by at least a third!
So I've had to order two extra pints from my new milkman on this bi-weekly round...
I am aiming to go totally plastic-free though, so even a little plastic is too much! As a result, I have indulged in a little childhood nostalgia and started ordering milk bottles from our friendly neighbourhood milkman; delivered straight to my door! I'll admit it's a pleasant buzz opening my door in the morning and seeing two gleaming milk bottles magically waiting there for me. It feels like coming downstairs on Christmas morning when you're a kid!
So, that's the milk dealt with and like I say it was never a great offender. However, the one dairy product that I do consume on a regular basis and in vast quantities (and I really do mean VAST!) is yoghurt. I love thick Greek-style yoghurt with berries, thinner pouring yoghurt for baking and having with cereal and if I cook spicy food, a soothing splodge of plain yog on the side of my plate is an absolute must (I can get quite competitive with my chilli intake). So on average I reckon I've been going through at least two big pots of yoghurt every week. Scale that up (using some "cereal box" maths) over the course of a year and the amount of plastic waste that I have been generating through my yoghurt habit alone is (ah-hem!) considerable...
So, last week I resolved to invest in a yoghurt-making machine to alleviate this strain on the planet's resources! I picked one up online dirt cheap: They can be had for as much as £165, for which I can only imagine that they not only make yoghurt and cheese, but also clean themselves, calculate your BMI and read your kids a bedtime story as well, but I don't require any of those functions, so I picked my little Lakeland one up for about £35.
I had to do some research though before getting stuck in: yoghurt requires a 'starter', which can be either your normal shop-bought yoghurt or a homemade solution brewed from a sachet of bacteria in warm milk, which must be brought almost to boiling temp, then cooled to around 43℃. For this I had to invest in a yoghurt thermometer (most food thermometers only start at 50℃) in addition to the yoghurt-maker. This was equally cheap though (under a fiver), as was the starter packet, which makes enough for several batches of yoghurt and can keep in the fridge for up to three weeks. Once your hot milk is cooled to around 43℃, you just add your sachet of starter bacteria and give everything a gentle stir with a whisk.
The yoghurt-making process is simple, although requires some preparation so you do have to be patient. Once my starter was made I stored that in the fridge overnight to give it a chance to work its magic. I was a little concerned that I had done something wrong at first when I check on it the next day: it looked and smelled just like, well, milk. However, I persevered with the next step, as per the machine's instructions. The same process that I had used to make the starter solution just had to be repeated, but instead of placing my litre of warm milk and starter agent in the fridge, this was decanted into my yoghurt maker to incubate overnight at a steady 43℃.
The next morning; MAGIC! What had previously been thin whole milk was transformed into gloopy gorgeousness!
However, the process still didn't end there, as I wanted to put the strainer attachment though its paces and see if I could make Greek-style yoghurt (one of my favourite sins!). So, I saved half of my freshly-made regular yog in a sterilised jar and placed the remainder back into the strainer compartment to sit in the yoghurt maker for another six hours or so.
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| A few frozen blueberries are divine with super-thick Greek-style yog! |
So, all in all the entire process took about two days (like I say, you have to be patient!), but the flavour and texture of my first batch of thick and creamy strained yoghurt was well worth the effort! Plus, the starter solution only needs to be made once every three weeks or so. I like both styles of yoghurt, as I say, so I expect I'll be making both types from the same batch in much the same way from now on.
I really cannot stress how delicious the results of my first foray into the weird and wonderful world of homemade yoghurt are! Somewhere between art and science, the process, although long-winded, was fun and straightforward and really doesn't take up much of your time per se; those lovely little bacteria can just be left to entertain themselves whilst you busy yourself elsewhere and dream of your delectable yoghurt...
The only considerations I could recommend taking into account when making your own yoghurt are the time-factor really (you need to be organised to make sure you have a steady supply ready for when you need it) and to be prepared for the amount of milk you are likely to get through! I reckon a litre/2pts of whole milk makes enough plain yoghurt to fill one of those large plastic tubs I am so used to buying from the supermarket, but the strained Greek-style yoghurt reduced in volume by at least a third!
So I've had to order two extra pints from my new milkman on this bi-weekly round...
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