Episode 004: Making Yoghurt

In the last episode of the podcast, we talked about bone tools.  We also talked about all of the things you can do with animal bones, whether it’s an animal from the farm or from the field.  Some of these included tools, decorative artwork, bone broth, marrow recipes, and fuel.  Using bones in all of these ways relates back to our discussion about showing respect for an animal’s life by maximizing our utilization of the animal’s body. 

For thousands of years, humans have used animal stomachs in a variety of ways.  One of my personal favorite uses of the stomach is as the sausage casing for a traditional Scottish haggis.  Maybe one of these days we’ll do an episode on making haggis.  Traditionally, though, stomachs were cleaned out and used as a container for carrying liquids. 

Now what happens when you take the stomach of a calf, lamb, or kid, along with its unique micro biome, including some very unique bacteria that are good at digesting milk, and then fill that stomach with milk from your dairy animals?  Well, most likely, it’s going to turn into yoghurt, especially if you accidentally leave it laying in the hot sun and it gets nice and warm. 

Tune in to episode 004 of the podcast to learn a whole lot more about the fascinating history and science behind yoghurt. 

On the podcast, we make a batch of yoghurt, but in case you forgot some of the details, here’s the basic recipe. 

Ingredients: 1 gallon whole milk, 1 or 2 cups of starter (yoghurt)

Supplies: 5-quart pan, 9 1-quart mason jars, stove, kitchen thermometer, insulated cooler, 2 gallon milk jugs

Steps:

1)      Set the yoghurt starter out and allow it to come up to room temperature. 

2)      In the 5-quart pan, heat the entire gallon of milk to 185 deg F, stirring constantly to avoid scalding. 

3)      Allow milk to cool to 110 deg F. 

4)      Stir yoghurt starter until it is smooth, then add it to the milk and mix thoroughly. 

5)      Pour mixture into glass jars (or other containers), and stack them close together in the insulated cooler. 

6)      Fill gallon jugs with hot tap water, and set them in the cooler as well. 

7)      Close the cooler, and allow to incubate for 8-12 hours, or until yoghurt has set up firmly in the jars. 

8)      Refrigerate and enjoy; that’s all there is to it!