Real Yoghurt in Your Rice Cooker!

[ozsamurai]

Another share today, see the 10 min Jam recipe also.

Tired of the sweet yoghurt in Thailand? Here's how to do it Farang style.

My son comes home with endless amounts of milk from school in those UHT popper packs, more than he can drink.

How to turn this into Yoghurt??

Part 1: Open up 5 of these (@200ml each) to give you a liter of UHT milk. I then microwave it at 900W for 1:50sec, which brings it close to the desired temp, which is 43degC. A digital thermometer is handy here. I do this in a ceramic bowl that will 1) fit inside my rice cooker and 2) is microwave safe.

[]Fresh milk can be used but it must be scalded to 181degC first, then cooled down to the 43.

Part 2: When the milk is at the desired temp, put about 85g (3Tbspn) of plain yoghurt in it.

[] You only need to buy a tub once, it must have active cultures, pick up a tub of plain Greek or French Style from Tesco.

Part 3: Put the bowl in the rice cooker and shut the lid for 8 hours

[] I make it in the morning and let it sit all day, the longer you leave it the thicker it gets.

Part 4: Take it out of the rice cooker and into an airtight container in the fridge overnight, done!

[] I like it thicker than usual so I also strain it through a cheesecloth at the same time. It will almost be sour cream consistency.

Save some for the next batch......

[Jdietz]

[]Fresh milk can be used but it must be scalded to 181degC first, then cooled down to the 43.

Can you please double check on this temperature? I think 181C will leave a small layer of charcoal at best.

[ozsamurai]

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[]Fresh milk can be used but it must be scalded to 181degC first, then cooled down to the 43.

Can you please double check on this temperature? I think 181C will leave a small layer of charcoal at best.

TYPO 181deg F 83deg C sorry about the scorched milk...

Oz

[JLCrab]

Real yogurt in my yogurt maker from Verasu -- I chucked the small jars and just use a flat bottomed 800 ml bowl. I use the Dutchie plain yogurt for a starter -- the sweetening has no effect

[Konini]

I don't bother with gadgets - the ladies making it in the villages in India don't have any, so that proves you don't really need them (although my kitchen is full of gadgets I don't really need). I boil the milk, let it cool to about 41 degrees (I have a candy thermometer, but often can't find it so I just judge it by sticking a clean finger in), mix a dollop of old yoghurt, cover and leave somewhere out of draughts for about 12 hours, longer (up to 24 hours) if I want it to be really tangy.

I boil the milk as something happens to the lactose when it gets to 80 degrees, not sure what but it does make a difference to the end product, so try it one time. It's actually yoghurt after about 6 hours in this weather but very thin - some people like it that way - but I usually boil the milk as I'm making dinner and strain it the next morning so it gets around 12 hours. I leave it in a muslin 'bag' hanging for a couple of hours to get one litre of very thick yoghurt and one litre of whey which my husband insists on calling yoghurt water likes to drink. Leaving it longer than 12 hours won't make it thicker, just more tart. Adding about a quarter of a cup of dried milk will make it thicker. When I first started making yoghurt, a very long time ago, I would measure and sterilize everything but soon realised that it really isn't important. For me it's not an exact science, it's really hard to stuff it up, perhaps impossible as I've never done a single batch that wasn't right, and the hardest bit about the whole process is remembering to separate a dollop for the next batch before I start straining it. Bear in mind that the thicker it gets, the lumpier it gets. This is totally natural and if it bothers you it can be stirred or whisked until it's smooth, but that doesn't alter the taste. I always use 2 litres of milk with the longest expiry date I can find and make 2 or 3 batches every week - we go through a lot of it, and any whey that doesn't get made into lassi drinks is used in place of water in making bread.

It can be done with low or no fat milk, but it really doesn't taste the same. Full fat only is my preference, and that goes for dried milk if you're using it too. Experiment with different fermenting and straining times and fat content until you find the one you like, but don't be afraid to change it every now and again; for years, I left it for 24 hours because that was the taste we preferred, then one day last year I wasn't thinking straight and strained it after 12 by mistake. It was so nice (perhaps just a change) that I've been doing it that way for several months now, maybe time to leave a batch on for 24 hours again to see how it tastes.

Yoghurt is like compost - it just happens

[JLCrab]

I buy the marked-down whole milk at Tesco Express. Pour in the bowl. Stir in Dutchie Plain Yogurt. Turn on the gadget. Next morning yogurt. Strain to thicken.

[ozsamurai]

After moving many countries around the world, I avoid 'stockpiling gadgets' that I know I will throw, but I will always have a rice cooker, so its perfect insulation for the yoghurt. Its about time to drop another batch and enjoy some ice cold lassi.

Oz

[JLCrab]

After moving many countries around the world, I avoid 'stockpiling gadgets' that I know I will throw, but I will always have a rice cooker, so its perfect insulation for the yoghurt. Its about time to drop another batch and enjoy some ice cold lassi.

Oz

I guess you will always have a microwave as well.

[ozsamurai]

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I guess you will always have a microwave as well.

After moving many countries around the world, I avoid 'stockpiling gadgets' that I know I will throw, but I will always have a rice cooker, so its perfect insulation for the yoghurt. Its about time to drop another batch and enjoy some ice cold lassi.

Oz

I'm not entirely sure what your driving at, but anyway..... you could heat the milk anyway you please, and I think that yes, I would not survive these days without a microwave and would always purchase one. If the truth be known I will always buy a convection/microwave combo. What's your point? I could have quite easily carried a yoghurt maker back with me on my many trips back home, then it would sit there with the hot dog maker, the pie maker the popcorn maker and the bread machine gathering dust most likely.... again I fail to see your point..

Oz

[JLCrab]

A yogurt maker is inexpensive, uses 13 watts of power, and considering the lengthy instructions involved in other posts very simple to use. It makes great non-lumpy yogurt because it keeps the yogurt incubated at a constant non-wavering temperature in which the microorganisms thrive.

I use mine once or twice a week so it gathers no dust ... and this type of gadget is used all over India. (Mine is made in Germany).

[bkkjames]

A yogurt maker is inexpensive, uses 13 watts of power, and considering the lengthy instructions involved in other posts very simple to use. It makes great non-lumpy yogurt because it keeps the yogurt incubated at a constant non-wavering temperature in which the microorganisms thrive.

I use mine once or twice a week so it gathers no dust ... and this type of gadget is used all over India. (Mine is made in Germany).

ok I will bite, how much for that fancy versasu thingy?

[JLCrab]

http://www.verasu.com/product_detail.php?pid=255