YOGHURT ... THICK AND NATURAL
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Serves: 2 litres
 
The resulting thick and creamy yoghurt ... delicious!


Please refer to main post for full details of process
Ingredients
  • INGREDIENTS
  • 2 litres full fat milk
  • 200g full fat yoghurt
Instructions
METHOD – IF USING A THERMOSERVER (CULTURE FOR 24 HOURS)
  1. Place milk into TM bowl and heat 25 minutes / 90 / speed 2
  2. While the milk is heating place a thick towel (I use a beach towel) on your bench and put your 2 litre Thermoserver in the middle
  3. Remove bowl from carousel and put aside … take the lid off to allow heat to escape so that the milk cools quicker
  4. Allow milk to cool enough so that when you put the TM bowl back into the carousel there is no light showing, i.e. you do not want to see the 37 degree light come on (this can take 2-1/4 hours so put a little sticky note beside your machine to keep track)
  5. Add 200g yoghurt and mix 10 seconds / speed 3
  6. Heat for 10 minutes / 37 / speed 3
  7. Whilst milk is reheating boil your kettle, then pour boiled water into the Thermoserver and put lid on
  8. When the milk is ready, remove water from the Thermoserver and pour in milk (be careful as the Thermoserver is hot ... I always use rubber gloves when doing this)
  9. Put lid on and wrap the Thermoserver in the beach towel and place in a warm spot where it won’t be disturbed (every time you move the Thermoserver you are disturbing the developing cultures so put it where you won't need to touch it ... I use a sideboard that no-one goes to)
  10. After 24 hours unwrap the Thermoserver, put it into the fridge and allow yoghurt to cool completely (do not be tempted to stir the yoghurt yet … allow it to get cold first for a couple of hours ... or if it suits your timing leave it overnight)
  11. Once cold, stir the yoghurt around and you will find it will loosen up quite a bit ... if a thicker yoghurt is desired drain yoghurt for 30 minutes ... it will continue to thicken further in the fridge as it sits but do 30 minutes the first time, and if a thicker result is wanted next time do 45 minutes or a touch more (if you have taken it too far you can add some whey back into the yoghurt in the next step to loosen it up a bit)
  12. To drain the yoghurt I use the Veroma which I sit over a Tupperware mixing bowl (it fits perfectly) ... I line the Veroma with a butter cloth (also known as a cheese cloth) which is folded in a few layers
  13. Carefully pour the yoghurt into the lined Veroma, cover with the Veroma top and place into the fridge for 30 minutes (put on a timer)
  14. Remove Veroma, have a bowl ready to put the yoghurt into, lift the cheesecloth by the edges and carefully unfold the yoghurt into the bowl (it should slip off the cloth fairly easily ... use a large spoon to help scrape it off if necessary ... it may look a little lumpy)
  15. Use a whisk to stir the yoghurt to remove all the lumps and to check the consistency ... if you want to loosen the yoghurt up a little you can add some whey back in
  16. Once you are happy with the thickness decant the yoghurt into glass jars and store in the fridge
  17. Place the whey into a container and also store in the fridge to use some time over the next six weeks
METHOD – IF USING A YOGHURT MAKER (CULTURE FOR 12 TO 15 HOURS)
  1. Place milk into TM bowl and heat 25 minutes / 90 / speed 2
  2. Remove bowl from carousel and put aside … take the lid off to allow heat to escape so that the milk cools quicker
  3. Allow milk to cool enough so that when you put the TM bowl back into the carousel there is no light showing, i.e. you do not want to see the 37 degree light come on (this can take 2-1/4 hours so put a little sticky note beside your machine to keep track)
  4. Add 200g yoghurt and mix 10 seconds / speed 3
  5. Pour milk into the yoghurt maker and leave for 12 to 15 hours depending on how tart you like it (the yoghurt maker will culture quicker due to the application of consistent heat, so you can culture for up to 24 hours if you wish but it will be quite tart ... I always do it for 14 hours which is perfect for me, my dear brother Mario does it 12 hours which is perfect for him ... it comes down to the taste you like)
  6. At the end of the culturing time put the 2 litre yoghurt insert into the fridge and allow yoghurt to cool completely (do not be tempted to stir the yoghurt yet … allow it to get cold first for a couple of hours)
  7. Stir the yoghurt around and you will find it will loosen up quite a bit ... if a thicker yoghurt is desired drain yoghurt using the process described previously
  8. Remove Veroma, have a bowl ready to put the yoghurt into, lift the cheesecloth by the edges and carefully unfold the yoghurt into the bowl (it may look a little lumpy ... see NB in following step)
  9. Use a whisk to stir the yoghurt to remove all the lumps and to check the consistency ... if you want to loosen the yoghurt up a little you can add some whey back in (NB: when using the yoghurt maker you will find that your yoghurt will be a little more lumpy than usual, because of this my brother prefers to put the yoghurt back into the ™ bowl and[b] blends it for 10 seconds / speed 4 which I have found to be perfect for incredibly smooth and thick yoghurt)[/b]
  10. Once you are happy with the thickness decant the yoghurt into glass jars and store in the fridge
  11. Place the whey into a container and also store in the fridge to use some time over the next six weeks
Recipe by The Passionate Pantry at https://www.thepassionatepantry.com.au/yoghurt-thick-and-creamy/