Homemade Yogurt

Updated 28-Jun-2024

Yogurt (Yoghurt) is a great food. Compared with cheese and milk, it is better in terms of a healthy body. It can be used in a variety of ways for cooking, not only a standard cup of yogurt with fruit. Here are some of the ways we use yogurt:

  • Muesli, fruit, milk and creamy yogurt
  • I like a dollop of creamy yogurt on eggs
  • The same creamy yogurt can be a replacement for any sour cream or cottage cheese ingredient
  • Spreadable yogurt cream cheese (over-incubate and strain, and you get a grainy-textured mild cheese), great on toast, in a salad (think spinach, pecan, sun-dried tomato and bacon)...
  • In cakes, yogurt is a great moistening element and adds some heft. Both spreadable yogurt and creamy yogurt can be used in a cheesecake (which could be part cream cheese or wholly yogurt/yogurt cheese)

Yogurt is costly

The only negative is expense. Yogurt is expensive. Even at 59 THB per 454g we are dealing with a cost that is approximately 5 times the cost for wholesale milk (25 THB/liter with 5 liter minimum for raw milk). Even buying at the retail price of 205 THB for 5 liters, the cost of yogurt is double that of the cost of milk. And it is easy enough to transform milk into yogurt, using heat and a smaller amount of yogurt.

Ingredients

  • Milk
  • Yogurt
  • Heat

Procedure

  • Pour 5 liters of milk into a large rice cooker (the cheap variety)
  • Turn heat on and heat to 65c
  • Cover for 30 minutes
  • Cool to 45c
  • Stir in a small amount of fresh plain live yogurt (about 1/2 cup)
  • Cover and wrap with towels for 12-24 hours.
  • Refridgerate

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