What have I made?

[Thomzo]

I was trying to make yogurt using skimmed milk and the thermos method. It was still very runny so I reheated it and put it back in the thermos. The next day it had separated. When I poured the whey off, the curds were very like cream cheese.

So does anybody know what I have created? Is it cream cheese? It's quite tasty and doesn't seem to have done me any harm.

Cheers

Zoe

[Clara]

I think you have made a kind of fresh cheese. I usually make something similar by adding vinegar to milk just under the boil. If you poured your separated mixture into a muslin lined colendar and then squeezed it out, tied a knot in the gathered material and put a weight on it for a few minutes, you´ll get a slightly firmer cheese that can be grilled or fried. Add herbs and salt before squeezing if you like.

What did you add to the milk to make yoghurt? I usually use either a store bought live yoghurt or a special culture, though I´ve found that if not kept well sealed the culture loses it´s potency. You also need to make sure the milk is not too hot (or too cold) when you add the culture - around 37C should be fine.

Finally, my yoghurt making machine consists of a cool box into which I half stuff an sleeping bag, then a hot water bottle, then the yoghurt and stuff the remaining sleeping bag over the top and seal. For a minimum 8 hours, but 12 is better.

[pskipper]

Fantastic idea with the cool box, last winter I just left the culture on top of my storage heater lifted off the surface with candle light holders.

Thomzo, I think you have made Labneh...

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Ch ... Labneh.htm

[Thomzo]

Thanks guys.

Pskipper - yes that looks like it.

Clara - I used some culture from previous yogurt making. It would have started life as shop bought (probably yeo valley organic yogurt). I always store it in the fridge and use it fairly quickly so it keeps quite well.

I like your yogurt machine. I don't think my thermos keeps it warm enough for long enough to make good yogurt from skimmed milk so I will give your idea a go.

Cheers
Zoe

[Shirley]

What a great idea for a yoghurt making machine.. I've got an old cool box... got an old sleeping bag.... bingo!... oh, got no yoghurt to start it off though.

[Clara]

I like your yogurt machine. I don't think my thermos keeps it warm enough for long enough to make good yogurt from skimmed milk so I will give your idea a go.

Just a thought - is it that the lack of fat in the milk makes yoghurt making more difficult? I only make a greek style yoghurt, where you reduce whole milk by a third and then add some cream (god knows what the inside of my arteries look like!).

[mrsflibble]

I've only ever used a plastic box, my water heater tank and whole milk... the problem ehtere is that someties I have been known to forget about it...

[Thomzo]

It's definitely more difficult to make thick yogurt from skimmed milk than the fatter versions but I'm trying to do this diet thing so for the time being, skimmed it is.

Zoe

[pskipper]

Try adding dried skimmed milk powder (~4 tablespoons per batch) the extra milk protein thickens the yoghurt up wonderfully.

[Thomzo]

Thanks Pskip
Unfortunately, under Slimming World that also adds sins so I'll give it a miss. If I add enough culture and keep it warm enough for long enough I can still get a good firm set. It's a bit hit and miss but the misses can be interesting too.

I've also been experimenting with what to add to the yogurt once made. Lemon curd is indulgent for not too many calories, as is instant chocolate drinking powder. A drop of vanilla essence gives a smooth flavour or a drop or two of lemon juice for a nice tang.

Zoe

[mrsflibble]

did you try warming the flask with warm water first? it stays at the right temperature for longer.

[Thomzo]

Hi
Yes, I always warm the flask first. It really does help.

My flask isn't a very good one. It's great in that it has a wide neck making it really easy to get stuff in and out. But it doesn't keep food hot for very long. I've got a batch of yogurt on the go at the moment but I'm using the flask-plus-coolbox method. Only I've got towels in my cool box not a sleeping bag, partly as I don't have a sleeping bag and partly cos my cool box (which is actually a bag) would be too small.

Perhaps that's another use for these pesky spare pillows?

Zoe

[Thomzo]

Well I have been using the thermos-with-cool-bag-and-a-pile-of-towels method now for a week or two and it's working perfectly. Nice firm fat free yogurt from skimmed milk in about 6 hours with no added syns.

Brilliant

Cheers
Zoe