The Milk Of Human Kindness - A Yogurt Tutorial

Lady Macbeth uses this phrase - concerned that her husband's compassion will get in the way of her ruthless plans for his future kingship. Milk is an important part of our diet - certainly at birth, and "mother's milk" is a term meaning something very necessary for life. As we grow older, things change - many nations drink a lot of cow's milk. In Finland the average is 2 pints per day, in the UK just over a pint. But in some countries there is widespread lactose intolerance [e.g. Yemen and South Korea] and some religious groups have rules about milk [Jews do not eat meat and milk together, or cook meat in milk]

Before the advent of fridges, people were concerned to ensure their milk was fit to drink - hence the development of things like kefir and yogurt- both fermented products, and clotted cream, which is heat treated, and can last up to 14 days. I like yogurt, and for years have been making my own. Anne asked for a tutorial. I use an electric yogurt maker like this. Sadly they are no longer made!

The basic principle of home made yogurt is this - take a pint of milk, warm it to 'blood heat' , stir in a tablespoon full of natural yogurt, and leave in a warm place overnight.  And in the morning, voila! yogurt.

You can use an electric model - they use less energy than leaving a light on overnight - or simply put the warmed milk into an insulated flask [this Kilner system is good]  Here is a simple recipe from Tesco

Over the years I have modified my system

• I use UHT milk - because that way I can make it as and when I need it, without using up our 'everyday' milk from the fridge
• I add a heaped tablespoon of dried milk powder to give a richer yogurt
• I've discovered that using whole UHT milk gives a really lovely creamy texture, more like Greek yogurt
• Once made I use the yogurt as is - perhaps adding fruit, nuts, a spoonful of honey/maple syrup/jam as a sweeter.
• If I am almost at the end of a jar of jam, I will mix it in with a stick blender to make pink yogurt!
• I use it as a topping for desserts in place of cream or custard [sometimes sweetening with a teaspoon of icing sugar]
• I use it in recipes, often in place of buttermilk, eg in scones or soda bread - or spoon a little on top of a bowl of thick soup.
• I blend yogurt into smoothies and milk shakes [and this summer I plan to make frozen yogurt ice creams as an alternative to shop-bought UPF ices]
• Strained [through coffee filter, kitchen paper or muslin cloth] it makes a soft cheese, lovely with a little salt and chopped fresh herbs. Keep the whey and use in scones, or as stock in soup.
• Make a pancake batter with eggs, yogurt and a banana.

DO keep everything spotlessly clean, or the yogurt will spoil quickly.

DO remember to keep back a spoonful to start your next batch

IF it starts to taste acidic, then buy a small pot of yogurt and use that as a fresh 'starter'

QUICK IDEAS

layer up granola, yogurt and fruit in sundae dishes for a quick dessert

add chopped cucumber and mint to yogurt for raita to serve with curry

mix yogurt 50/50 with mayo for a lighter coleslaw dressing, or for Coronation Chicken

In my teens, I was staying overnight with a friend. She said yogurt was supposed to make a good facemask for purifying the complexion. We bought a pot from the co-op. At 9.30pm [after her brother had gone to bed] we smeared it on, and left it to dry, then around midnight, sleepily rinsed it off and went to bed. We awoke with smelly yellow streaks on our necks and ears. Since then I have eaten yogurt but not used it as a cosmetic!

Liz had this lovely book for Christmas and she has sent me Olia's recipe for drop scones, which uses kefir [usual method]

• 150ml kefir
• 1 egg
• 100gm flour
• ½tsp baking powder

Do you make your own yogurt?

Do you have a favourite recipe which uses yogurt?