(see bottom of recipe for new alteration to yogurt recipe)
As Many of you know..we are hoping to someday soon have a few goats to call our own. We have discovered that Goat meat is a wonderful alternative to beef!! So Hopefully We can keep two dairy goats and breed them as needed to a local Boer ( meat ) Goats..the idea being that the offspring will supply us with the meat we have grown to love so much! And the dairy goats will provide us with milk, yogurt and cheese.
Goat meat is 50%-65% lower in fat than similarly prepared beef, but has a similar protein content. The US department of Agriculture also has reported that saturated fat in cooked goat meat is 40% less than that of chicken, even with the skin removed!!!!
Yesterday I tried my hand at making yogurt with store bought 2% milk..It was FASCINATING!! The yogurt turned out a little thin..so I turned THAT into cream cheese..and how very SIMPLE!!
Here is what I used.
A stainless steel pot,
Two 1 litre mason jars ( washed rinsed and scalded with boiling water)
enough milk to fill the jars.
2 heaping tablespoons of plain yogurt.
a candy thermometer
a cooler
and 3 towels
First off I poured the milk into the pot and stuck in the thermometer. I set the burner to between medium and high..the idea is to get the milk simmering but NOT boiling..so to between 160-180 degrees F
While this is heating put on a full kettle of water to boil.
When that temperature has been reached..I lifted the whole pot and set it in some ice water in the sink until it cooled to 115 degrees F
While this is cooling..dump the kettle full of hot water in the cooler and close the lid.
When the milk in the pot has reached 115 DF I poured it into the scalded, warm but not HOT jars. Stirring into each jar one heaping spoon of yogurt.
Once the yogurt is stirred into the milk..screw on the jar lids.
NOW..Dump the water from the cooler..and lay a folded towel in the bottom completely covering the bottom. Then completely wrap each jar in a bath towel and place upright in the cooler.
Close the lid and sit in a place where it will not be jostled or disturbed for 8-10 hours.
Eight Hours later?? VOILA! Plain yogurt..Like I said..this was a little thin..and is best made with either Whole milk or you can add 1/3 of a cup of powdered skim milk per litre, to it before you heat it..I had forgotten that LOW FAT yogurts of today are thickened with gelatin.
But the thickness in this yogurt is not an issue as I am making cream cheese from it. After saving a 1/4 cup of the yogurt for "starter" for my next batch...I poured the yogurt into a bowl and added...
1 clove crushed garlic
2 TBS finely chopped chives
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper and stirred it in.
I then poured the mixture into a puree sieve lined with a piece of sheer fabric..( cheesecloth is best..but I had none on hand)
If you do not have a free standing sieve..just set a regular sieve in a bowl..line the sieve with cheese cloth and pour in the mixture.
Tie the cheese cloth closed over a wooden spoon handle..Laying the spoon over a tall pot. Or you can hang it from a hook over a bowl..whatever works..however..it MUST be left to drip UNDISTURBED for 18-24 hours!!!
Do NOT SQUEEZE THE BAG!!!
Once the whey has dripped away over the 18-24 hours..you unwrap the cheese and VOILA!! Mine was a little wet because I only let it drip for the 18 hours...24 makes it firmer.
Here is my DELICIOUS herb and garlic cream cheese!!
If you want Plain..the omit everything but the salt.
I think I will take some of this and mix it with broccoli sprouts and stuff some tomatoes to have with our chops and salad tonight!'
CHEERS!!
( or should I have said CHEESE!)
Alteration to yogurt recipe!!
Last night I made another batch of yogurt..and before heating the milk..I whisked in 1/3 of a cup of non fat instant skim milk powder per litre of milk..and it made the yogurt a much heavier consistency without the use of gelatin or added fat.
Also...
I found this great little cooler..
It is the perfect size for two 1 litre jars..and with the plastic insert..you just fill half way with hot hot water from the kettle and zip closed until you are ready to use it...once your milk is ready to jar..pour the water out..put in your jars of yogurt..and sparate the jars with a folded tea towel..and zip closed!! It works amazing!! The larger cooler is harder to control the temp for a small batch.
OR
Once your bottles are in the cooler fill with HOT TAP water to the bottom of the jar lids . Close the lid and let sit over night undisturbed.
Cheers!
1 comment:
This I am just gonna have to try! Thanks Bev. :)
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