richard It was way back in May 2009 when we first wrote a post on homemade yoghurt – that was 218 miles, 4 houses, 2 floods and one small child ago. I am ashamed to say the whole knit-your-own yoghurt thing was a short lived fad due no doubt to this early technique requiring thermometers, sterilised jars, a Bunsen burner and if memory serves me, a Van de Graaff generator. Fortunately Yoghurt #2 is a much more straightforward and nonchalant affair needing little more in the way of specialist equipment than a simple timing device and a wooden spoon. Also, being a recipe from Valentine Warner, it has the welcome addition of cream for extra, well creaminess.
Preparation time: 35 minutes plus overnight to set.
Cooking time: 2 minutes
Makes: about 1 litre
Skill level: easy
Ingredients
- full-fat (blue) milk – 750ml
- single cream – 150ml
- live yoghurt – 75g
Pour the milk into a large saucepan (you don’t want it to boil over) and bring to the boil.
Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the hob and allow to cool for 25 minutes.
Pour the tepid milk into a clean bowl and stir in the single cream.
Leave for (no more than) 5 minutes at room temperature and then add the yoghurt, stir well and cover with cling film.
Now at this stage Valentine Warner’s instructions are to place the bowl in a warm airing cupboard and leave overnight. If like us you don’t have a suitable warm airing cupboard because say perhaps you have a combi boiler or you don’t live in a 1950s domestic idyll, you’ll have to improvise. We put our bowl in a cool bag next to a large jar which had been filled with boiling water and wrapped in a tea towel. This was then sealed and placed just behind this very iMac – the back of which gives out more heat than a three-bar electric fire. Essentially you want your would-be yoghurt to be kept at around blood heat for 8 hours so the cultures have time to prosper and grow.
Our technique worked perfectly well and as you are a bright bunch, I’m sure whatever you come up with will be equally successful.
Anyway, next day (or 8-12 hours later) you should have a lovely, mild, creamy yoghurt.
Store in the fridge and eat at your leisure (remembering to set aside 75g to start off your next batch)
Still life of yoghurt and stolen spoon.
Verdict: As I said above, this is a lovely, mild, creamy yoghurt which is delicious as is, or could be used to make all sorts of tasty things such as this Labne or this weird but agreeable Yoghurt & pearl barley soup with spiced chickpea koftas.
Drink: Tea for her, illegal Tuesday night beer(s) for him, milk for child.
Entertainment: Work for her, ‘Dad’s Army’ for him, begrudged sleep for child.
