Homemade yoghurt and greek yoghurt...

We are a natural yoghurt family. My daughter was eased into dairy using natural yoghurt because it is more easily digested than full on cows milk. I usually put some fruit into it so that she has something to chew. It's an excellent source of nutrition and as an added plus, the good bacteria in it helps keep your gut healthy.

I discovered recently that manufacturers here add "starch" to natural yoghurt (read flour). I was so disappointed. I generally keep off from flavored varieties because of the sugar and chemicals in them.  There are two brands that offer greek yoghurt and though they claim to be completely dairy (no starch), they are mostly available in Nairobi (I live in small town Nakuru) and are expensive.

I decided to make my own. How hard can it be?


STEP I: Making the yoghurt. Boil some milk and let it cool to warm. If you want low fat yoghurt, use low fat milk. But I don't believe in low fat milk. I use whole milk.

Stir in a spoon ful of the natural organic yoghurt to the milk while warm. The photo below shows two jugs of milk (in the process of forming yoghurt) immersed in warm water. You need to keep the milk warm for 6 - 8 hours as the yoghurt ferments. I kept the water warm by re-filling it with boiled water every hour. I had stored the boiled water in a thermos in order to save energy heating water all the time. I am sure you can find other ways to keep the milk warm. If you want a thicker yoghurt, ferment longer BUT use caution. The longer you ferment, the tangier the taste. After 12 hours you mightn't like it that much.

STEP II - Sieving out Whey to make Greek Yoghurt.   Greek yoghurt is simply made by taking the natural yoghurt and taking out some of the liquid part of it (called Whey). This is done by using a cloth (the cloth below doesn't run colour....don't worry!) You can also use coffee filters. I put the cloth in the microwave for thirty seconds to sterilise it but you don't have to do that. I'm a bit anal like that.

AND...Voila! Greek Yoghurt! This contains more protein than natural yoghurt (duh, it's the concentrated form) and makes a great part of post workout snacks. It is also great to cook with. So there you go, a project for a Saturday or Sunday, make enough yoghurt for the week!