Home Made Yoghurt

[Mardoo]

Yep, the grains should develop, little clearish jelly globules. They float at the top. They can get very sizeable, a big handful. The fat and protein coagulates at the top of the milk around them and it all floats on the whey. Strain the grains out, especially at the beginning as they would be small. Actually I strain every time now that I think of it. Then you can get the grains out, as well as break up the curds and mix them back into the whey. I recommend rinsing the grains every other batch or so. Keeps the flavor cleaner, but I'm not sure whether or not that's what you're supposed to do.

I'll try to remember next time I need to get rid of some (probably about 6 weeks off) and PM you. I can send you some. Don't forget that kefir is robust. It's been around since long before temperature control was around and in cultures in places with huge temperature variations.

BTW my wife who is quite sensitive to lactose gets zero reaction from kefir.

 

[Mardoo]

BribieG here's a photo of what my kefir grains look like. They are freakishly huge. I've made kefir with grains 1/8th that size, it just takes a little longer.

 

[Bribie G]

Wow frog spawn. !!
I've got two packs of Kefir culture from Country Brewer, I'll see if they develop grains. Thanks.

 

[Bribie G]

I just had a glass of room temperature 16 hour Kefir.

 

[Mardoo]

Were the angels singing? Yeah, kind of like the best buttermilk you've ever had, unless you had it on a farm. Milk quality makes a subtle but noticeable difference. Likely, being a brewer who assesses flavors, you would notice the difference. I haven't tried raw milk yet but plan on it.

What were the commercial grains like? Very curious. Did they re-hydrate and expand? Or is it more like a powdered culture?

 

[Bribie G]

They sang in a heavenly choir. Powdered culture. It seems to tick all the boxes so far. AFAIK there's no grains available commercially.

I'm interested to see if this develops grains, probably not. In that case I'll take you up on your kind offer of the grains.

Man this stuff is lovely, sort of slimy .. it just bathes the mouth then slithers down the throat leaving this creamy glowing aftertaste that lingers and lingers. I'm also getting that slight effervescent tingle.

I just cultured it in the 2L milk bottles in a warm bath in esky, have now taken them out and drop to mid teens in the garage, interested to find out what it's like for brekkie. My next lot will be on Manning Valley Farmers non-homogenised milk, cream on top, available here from the Mid North Coast Woolies stores.

 

[Bribie G]

Anyone looking for Vilii and other cultures such as Kombucha, I've found this guy:

Excuse the Geocities style web page !!

 

[Mardoo]

Now, that is quite a website!!!!! :beer:

 

[Bribie G]

Thank God they don't still allow the "blink" tag :unsure:

 

[Airgead]

That's some pretty mad HTML Skilz there. L33t.

 

[hoppy2B]

I just tried my kefir today. Its been sitting in the fridge all week. Same as Bribie, I just dropped some powder into a 2 litre milk bottle and stood it in a warm bath overnight.

Tastewise its a lot like a sour yoghurt and it is indeed very slimey. It came out pretty thick so I'm wandering if I cultured it too long. I also used full cream homogenized milk and am wondering if if would be less slimey with unhomogenized milk.

How does yours compare with the above description Mardoo?

 

[hoppy2B]

Anyone looking for Vilii and other cultures such as Kombucha, I've found this guy:

Excuse the Geocities style web page !!

That guy says he uses Paris Creek organic milk. That's in the Adelaide hills so I wonder if he is in S.A. and is available for pickups. I should send him an email when I need something. :blink:

 

[Bribie G]

Mine was a bit slimy to start off with but after an extra day it's more like buttermilk, if shaken up in the bottle before pouring to get the whey and the kefir well mixed. Dutch mate of mine said it reminded her of the buttermilk she grew up on in Holland.

 

[Mardoo]

It may have gone a bit long. The longer the kefir ferments the more of the milk fat and protein forms a plug on top of the whey. I just run it through a sieve. FWIW I ferment mine 36 hours at room temp, which varies between 16 and 21 in our house. As you go you'll find how long you like it fermented. It's very much a personal thing, nothing set in stone.

 

[Bribie G]

I followed the guidelines on the pack: half a teaspoon of culture in a litre of milk at 32 degrees and hold it there for 16 hours.

Then I put the bottles in the garage at ambient (about 14).

Initially it was a bit ropey and chewy, then the second day it started separating and needed a good shake for it to even pour.

Third day a good shake would result in a smooth drink that's still a bit more solid than buttermilk.

The culture seems to be working fine, but I've ordered some fresh Kefir grains from that Dom guy.. and yes they are in Adelaide. If you have any questions you can email Sandra there.

It will be interesting to see what difference the grains make, and Mardoo and I might swap some grains down the track, get a sort of "kefir bank" happening in case one lot fails for some reason.

 

[hoppy2B]

Thanks for that Bribie. How much is it costing you to get some grains sent out?

 

[Bribie G]

Around $29 plus postage, but as they say purchase once and have them forever. I'm drinking about half a litre a day. If you can pick them up then you'll save on the post pack.

 

[Bribie G]

UPDATE

Bringing this yoghurt thread back on track to yoghurt

I've been using the Country Brewer yoghurt cultures for a year now and have a reliable source of really good yoghurt. In the beginning I had a series of yoghurts that tasted ok but were unpleasantly stringy and ropey. I discovered that this was because I wasn't denaturing the milk protein properly, I should have brought the milk up to just sub-boiling then let it cool to around 43 degrees before "pitching" the culture. I wasn't heating it enough and when I did I ended up with a bit of milk scorching and a nasty pan to clean.

Then I remembered a post by Florian where he recommended using UHT milk. Not only is UHT sterile but it's had it's proteins denatured already during the heating process so the yoghurt culture has a clean slate. I add some powdered full cream milk as well, similarly nuked. Turns out brilliant, I also use glass mason jars and crank out the yog for around $1.30 a kilo.

So anyone who has been put off making yogurt due to the hassle of the heating and cooling process, you can whip up a batch in about 20 minutes by simply achieving 43 degrees, add culture, pour into jars and place in water bath and the job's done. Next experiment will be to preheat the milk cartons themselves to 43 in a water bath in urn so not even a pan required.

 

[fraser_john]

UPDATE

Bringing this yoghurt thread back on track to yoghurt

I've been using the Country Brewer yoghurt cultures for a year now and have a reliable source of really good yoghurt. In the beginning I had a series of yoghurts that tasted ok but were unpleasantly stringy and ropey. I discovered that this was because I wasn't denaturing the milk protein properly, I should have brought the milk up to just sub-boiling then let it cool to around 43 degrees before "pitching" the culture. I wasn't heating it enough and when I did I ended up with a bit of milk scorching and a nasty pan to clean.

Then I remembered a post by Florian where he recommended using UHT milk. Not only is UHT sterile but it's had it's proteins denatured already during the heating process so the yoghurt culture has a clean slate. I add some powdered full cream milk as well, similarly nuked. Turns out brilliant, I also use glass mason jars and crank out the yog for around $1.30 a kilo.

So anyone who has been put off making yogurt due to the hassle of the heating and cooling process, you can whip up a batch in about 20 minutes by simply achieving 43 degrees, add culture, pour into jars and place in water bath and the job's done. Next experiment will be to preheat the milk cartons themselves to 43 in a water bath in urn so not even a pan required.

Bribie,

I like the UHT idea!

You should try evaporated milk instead of powdered. Sometimes powdered milk has that "powdered milk" flavour, using evaporated milk avoids that and it seems to make the yoghurt thicker as well.

I also go to a cake decoration shop and buy the cake flavouring, blueberry and raspberry are the favourites in our house.

 

[benno1973]

...or if you're even shorter on time and patience, incubate the yoghurt in a thermos. No need for the water bath.

To derail the topic back to kefir, we just spent 4 months traveling through Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Took a small jar of kefir grains with us and drank kefir every day, even made the kids choke it down (it's a bit sour, not particularly kid friendly). Ate street food every day, and not one instance of getting sick. Not to say that it's due to the kefir, that's just anecdotal, but I am a firm believer that it's a huge boost for your gut being able to ward off any bad bugs.