I prefer using yogurt "cheese" to using cottage cheese in the Budwig
Protocol. It seems to agree with me more (the bacterial cultures actually
predigest the lactose), and it tastes better and lighter as well. Many people
prefer yogurt cheese (drained yogurt) for sweeter mixtures and cottage
cheese for the savory or spicy mixtures such as for dips or dressings.
Making yogurt is a very simple process and can cut your yogurt expense
nearly in half, if you have access to organic milk. There is only one very
slight drawback, and that is that homemade yogurt is a usually thinner than
purchased yogurt. When you drain the yogurt, however, to make the
yogurt cheese for blending with the flaxseed oil, the yogurt cheese will be
satisfactorily thick.
If you like, you can add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of fruit pectin to the milk as you
heat it if you'd like to thicken it a bit. (The pectin must be heated for it to
work.) There are new studies showing that Modified Fruit Pectin is a great
cancer-fighter as well, so don't worry about adding the pectin!
I have a 1-quart Salton Yogurt maker, avaiable from many online retailers
for about $23.00. (One at Amazon.com here www.amazon.com/Salton-
YM9-1-Quart-Yogurt-Maker/dp/B00004SUHY) You can also just put
your yogurt-to-be in a quart jar and set it in a warm place, like in the oven
with the light on for a few hours.
The method is quite simple:
Protocol. It seems to agree with me more (the bacterial cultures actually
predigest the lactose), and it tastes better and lighter as well. Many people
prefer yogurt cheese (drained yogurt) for sweeter mixtures and cottage
cheese for the savory or spicy mixtures such as for dips or dressings.
Making yogurt is a very simple process and can cut your yogurt expense
nearly in half, if you have access to organic milk. There is only one very
slight drawback, and that is that homemade yogurt is a usually thinner than
purchased yogurt. When you drain the yogurt, however, to make the
yogurt cheese for blending with the flaxseed oil, the yogurt cheese will be
satisfactorily thick.
If you like, you can add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of fruit pectin to the milk as you
heat it if you'd like to thicken it a bit. (The pectin must be heated for it to
work.) There are new studies showing that Modified Fruit Pectin is a great
cancer-fighter as well, so don't worry about adding the pectin!
I have a 1-quart Salton Yogurt maker, avaiable from many online retailers
for about $23.00. (One at Amazon.com here www.amazon.com/Salton-
YM9-1-Quart-Yogurt-Maker/dp/B00004SUHY) You can also just put
your yogurt-to-be in a quart jar and set it in a warm place, like in the oven
with the light on for a few hours.
The method is quite simple:
- Heat 4 cups of organic pasteurized milk to 18o F over medium heat,
using a double boiler, or set your pan of milk into a slightly larger
pan of water. Use a chef's instant-read thermometer for the most
accuracy. (Surprisingly, my instant-read thermometer was much
more accurate than the new candy thermometer I'd just bought for
this purpose.)
- Let the milk cool to 110 F, then add two or three tablespoons of
yogurt from your previous batch. Stir the yogurt into the cooled
milk gently with a spoon, not a whisk, as the bacteria are delicate.
You will have to take these tablespoons from purchased plain yogurt
the first time you make yogurt, obviously. Stoneyfield's or Brown
Cow will work. Alternately, there are dry yogurt cultures available
online and in health food stores.
- Put the milk mxture into the yogurt maker (or a warm spot if not
using the yogurt maker) for about 4 hours, or longer if you like it
tarter. The longer you leave it, the more the good bacteria will
multiply, making it more tart. You know it's done when you see the
clear liquid (whey) has separated out around the edges. I pour out
some of this whey that has risen to the top at this point, before
pouring it into a storage container (usually just a saved commercial
yogurt container).
- Stir it well, and put in the refrigerator overnight before using or
draining for cheese. It will set up a little more as it cools.
- Notes:
- Some recipes call for heating the milk to only 110 F, as it is already
pasteurized. Others say that it is a bit safer to heat to 180 F first, just
in case there were some bad bacteria in the milk. For some reason,
though, the yogurt turns out to be a little thicker if you've first
heated it to 180 F, so I generally stick to this method unless I'm
pressed for time.
- After a few times making yogurt, it's a good idea to boost or freshen
the strain of bacteria. This is done by purchasing a fresh carton of
yogurt for starter, or by adding dry starter or acidophilus powder.
What I've been doing is opening up a capsule of acidophilus
supplements to pour in and mix with my 2Tbls of starter yogurt
before adding the cooled milk. Be sure to sitir the acidoplhilus into
the starter yogurt well, as it will turn brown if exposed to the air.
- Line a wire strainer with a cloth napkin or several layers of
cheesecloth. Pour in yogurt. Set this over a bowl or pan to catch
they whey as it drips out. Drain in refrigerator overnight.
- Another method is to use a permanent coffee filter to drain the
yogurt, the kind with a metal mesh screen at the bottom. Set it on
top of a 32 ounces cottage cheese or yogurt carton, and put the
carton lid on top. This is a nice, compact method that doesn't take
up much room. However, it makes a smaller quantity of yogurt
cheese, so you have to do it more often, or perhaps have two of them
draining at once. This is the method I prefer, as my refrigerator gets
so full at times, and the clean-up is very easy with the metal mesh
coffee filters. Just wash them out once a week or so.
- There is a yogurt cheese drainer available online. It has mixed
reviews. (You can Google it or go to Amazon.com to find it.)
| Making Yogurt for Yogurt Cheese (Quite simple, actually!) |
|
| Heat 4 cups of organic milk to 180 F in double-boiler (a pan set in a slightly larger pan containing water) |
| Cool to 110 F Gently stir in 2 or 3 T. yogurt |
| Put in yogurt maker (or in a warm spot) for 4 to 6 hours |
