This is a thread that I am starting to learn about, and would love input both from people who have done this before, as well as people who are interested in learning about culturing dairy products. When I was on Amazon looking at live yogurt cultures, I discovered something called “mesophilic yogurt cultures”. It is a type of Scandinavian yogurt that can culture with out needing the heat that most yogurt needs; so you can make it on the kitchen counter (like Kefir) and do not need a yogurt maker. They also had a package special where you can get the culture for mesophilic cheese making, and the information said it was easy (a qualifying statement for me). I had some amazon points from surveys, so I cashed them in for the gift card, and ordered the package of both the yogurt and cheese culture. When they get here, I am going to try making both the yogurt and the cheese. The yogurt culture grains are an heirloom variety, so it said I can save a starter from the first batch and continue to make yogurt from the starter I save. I would love input from anyone here who has made (or wants to make) cheese and/or yogurt. This is not necessarily just for the mesophilic varieties, but any kind of cheese or fermented milk products can be discussed here. I know that there are other kinds besides yogurt and kefir that are made in different ways, and it would be interesting to talk about and learn about some of those other fermented milks, too.
I have made lots of yogurt; I have a machine and just buy grocery store yogurt with live cultures for starter. It always turns out very well. I posted on here somewhere about making yogurt without a yogurt maker... the video where the woman uses an igloo cooler to ferment (?) her yogurt in mason jars. (Is yogurt fermented??)
I don’t make as much yoghurt as I used to , I’ve used an electric yoghurt maker that holds 7 single serve size jars I’d use long life milk ( I can no longer get ) heated to blood temp ..then added a tiny bit of starter and a 1/4 cup of powdered milk …..then put into the jars in the electric yoghurt maker ( that kept it at an even temp for 10 hours so it set ) And I’ve used the https://au.easiyo.com/collections/m...MI7Z3w9tvx_QIVy5lmAh1tJQ5GEAAYASAAEgLgavD_BwE However I don’t like the taste of easiyo packs either plan or flavoured ….I have a method / recipe to only use a couple of table spoons of easiyo mix / powdered milk / long life milk / kept warm for required time in the boiling water method of the easiyo method As far as saying yoghurt is fermented ….I think it comes under the banner of fermented foods @Beth Gallagher Lately I’ve just been buying a litre tub of plain Greek yoghurt home brand from Coles it costs $4.50 and with rising costs long life milk has got very expensive ( fresh has as well) so if I have to buy milk for $3 + then extras to make it into yoghurt I might as well just buy ready made from Coles .IMO @Yvonne Smith
Back when I milked cows, I could get raw milk to make cottage cheeses easily. It being curds and whey, like Miss Muffet used to eat. It was made from milk from a close to fresh cow (recently had a calf), just set out for a few days. The milk basically soured and separated. I poured off the whey and then added fresh cream. One could also tie the curds up in a mesh bag, squeeze it and hang it to make what was called 'farmers cheese'.
We started out years ago using an electric yogurt maker and store-bought milk. Very easy. When we had dairy goats, we made yogurt in a thermos designed for yogurt with no additional heat. We also made hard cheeses and cottage cheese-farmer cheese as @Mary Stetler described. To make the hard cheeses, you have to have a cheese press and a place to age them, which makes the process more difficult. The cheese we made most often was a type of soft "farmer cheese" when a pot of milk is heated to just below boiling and an acid was added--vinegar or lemon juice usually--to curdle the milk. That was not fermented and was used like ricotta although it was not a true ricotta.
My mesophilic yogurt cultures arrived yesterday, and it came with 4 different kinds. Each packet ferments one cup of milk, and then you use 1/4 cup of the starter culture to ferment one quart of yogurt. I started the first culture, and it is supposed to sit out on the counter for up to 48 hours, depending oh the temperature. Since this is an heirloom culture, once I use it, all that is needed is to save enough from each batch to use as a starter culture for the next batch . My cheese cultures arrived today, along with information to go to the Cultures for Health website for directions to make the mesophilic cheeses. They also sent me a link to download several free ebooks for making fermented foods, and I am going to post the link in case it will also work for other people. https://culturesforhealth.com/pages/ebooks? Once I read the instructions and start cheese culturing , I will post more cheese making info.
One of the videos that I watched, they did just that. They poured the starter into ice cube trays and froze them, and then put them in freezer bags. That way, they said they always had fresh starter. The little packets of yogurt culture said to freeze those until I used them, so I put them in the freezer, too. I have to wait until I get groceries again to try making cheese because I have to have a full gallon of milk, and I have only part of a gallon right now. Meanwhile, I am reading the free ebook .
@Yvonne Smith this is the starter / culture I used for making yoghurt ,it has to be kept in freezer and made up 100 ltrs per pack. ..only use a very tiny bit … I used the same brand vegetable culture Some Heath food stores stock the one I buy to save on postage How many ltrs / pints will the culture make that you bought ? Just curious https://www.greenlivingaustralia.co...MI4-CgtsH1_QIVyJlmAh1joQ84EAQYBCABEgL6TPD_BwE
Last night the starter culture for the mesophilic yogurt was ready. I tasted a bite and it has a good flavor and texture, and even in the cooler weather it just took one day sitting on the kitchen counter to culture. I stirred it around, and it is about like the texture of regular yogurt, not Greek yogurt. The instruction manual said that it would get thicker and more flavorful each batch as the culture develops more (after having been freeze-dried). The Scandinavian yogurt is an heirloom variety, which means that this one cup of cultured yogurt can be used to start 4 quarts of yogurt with the original batch, and then each of those yogurts is used to culture more, like having sourdough starter or kefir grains, you never need to buy any more starter culture. Here is a picture of how it looked after I stirred it .
I found using some of the previous batch of yoghurt wasn’t all that successful of course that can all depend on milk used / temps the fermenting / brewing batch is kept in , it’s sorta a science to getting it just right OMO …..and oh course we all like different textures/ tartness/ sweetness , I like a tart yoghurt …….and add my own fruit / flavours hubby likes a sweet yoghurt like blueberry flavour ( which says on pack it’s flavoured / coloured by using purple carrots ) Found this article about using purple carrots in yoghurt https://www.ulprospector.com/en/na/Food/Detail/11392/355712/Black-Purple-Carrot
That is exactly right, and I have had all kinds of difference in the batches both with using store-bought yogurt as a starter, and also with the starter packets. This is one of the reasons that I am excited about making the Scandinavian yogurt, that ferments right on the counter, just like kefir does, but makes a nice thick yogurt. Even using my yogurt machine, batches came out differently, and it works at the same temperature all of the time.
We grow colored carrots every year @Kate Ellery but my wife thinks the taste of dark purple carrots is bitter. We also grow purple cauliflower, potatoes, and, recently, broccoli. I had a friend who worked in a microbiology lab who bought all the yoghurt brands he could find and cultured them in his lab. Then he tried blending the cultures to match his taste in yoghurt. It was a lot of trouble and expense, but I think he finally had the taste he liked best.
I’ve experimented with many different yoghurt making methods over the last 18 years or so ….I remember it was when I first joined a diet place after being told I had diabetes …. part of my diet was eating yoghurt for breakfast …( replaced cereal) I tried long life milk / fresh milk / full fat / 4% fat .I tried several brands but didn’t or couldn’t get used to the taste of any that I could buy ..either to sweet or they were like runny custard Blah … I used wide mouth thermos …Eziyo method ( they tasted like they had to much preservatives in them ) Oven methods / slow cooker method/ esky methods ( @Yvonne Smith new method sounds good ….only need to store on bench top to ferment ) So I settled for using the green living method mentioned up here ^^ but that still didn’t have the tangy taste I like ….like Greek yoghurt ….after I lost 26 kg in weight I went back to Greek style plain yoghurt which I like the tang of … And best of all No diabetes at all ….I’m sure the low carb diet helps keep that at bay as well as my weight @Don Alaska