Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Yogurt Experiment

I have been making my own yogurt on and off for a couple of years now, using my Eziyo, Eziyo sachets and an extender recipe that allows you to get 6 ltrs out of one sachet. I got the recipe over at the Simple Savings forum. The idea came about because one very clever lady read the back of the packet and realised that the sachets are something like 95% milk powder with a  bit of powdered yogurt starter thrown in.

This is the recipe, a sweet one and a plain one:

SS easi-yo -plain

1 cup water
1 1/3 cup powdered milk (dry)
2 TBS starter (dry powder: recommmended: natural, greek)

Combine the above in easi-yo container, shake or stir to mix well. Top up to 1 ltr with water, seal and process in easi-yo flask.
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SS easi-yo sweet vanilla

1/2 cup boiling water
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup cold water
1-2 TBS vanilla (extract with no alcohol seems preferred)
1 1/3 cup powdered milk (dry)
2 TBS starter (dry powder: recommmended: natural)

Dissolve sugar in small amount of boiling water..add another cup of cold water...allow to cool a little if needed (should not be too hot) Add vanilla, starter and milk powder, shake or stir to mix well. Top up to 1 ltr with water, seal and process in easi-yo flask.

I usually make plain and add fruit or just cinnamon. Chloe loves it without sugar so I don't bother with the sweet one anymore. Also another tip, the Greek Eziyo seems to be the best and I use Homebrand or Aldi milk powder. Also, do not attempt to make it with low fat milk!

Anyway...so this method has been working wonderfully and saves us alot of money as yogurt is so expensive and we all love it so go through alot. We also cook with it so having such a cheap supply means we can use as much as we like. I also like it because I know whats in it! This was all great until little elyssa came into our lives with her various allergies and sensitivities. After thinking she couldn't eat gluten for a year and that she is lactose intollerant, it turns out it is more likely to be an allergy to the cows milk protein in dairy. The peadiatrician we saw thinks that she can tollerate lactose free stuff because the process used to remove the lactose also can break down the protein a bit making it easier her her to digest. So...she can't eat our yogurt!!



Today I am trying an experiment. I am attempting to make an almost lactose free yogurt in the Eziyo. I am using about 1/2 cup of left over natural yogurt and her UHT lactose free milk. If it works Ill then make another yogurt with her lactose free milk using 1/2 cup of todays almost lactose free yogurt and if that works Ill try Elyssa with it. By this stage Im hoping most of the lactose will be out of the yogurt. I should then be able to continue to make lactose free yogurt with the lactose free milk...Did that make sense? Ill report back if it works because I know Im not the only one out there with this problem!

2 comments:

  1. How did it go? If you have problems getting fresh live culture from the yoghurt [it can be a bit old by the time you get it home from the shop] you can buy yoghurt culture online - I found it for about $20 which is enough to make enough for a year [depending on how much you make maybe :) http://www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au It'd be worth taking a look at.

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