Yogurt Making and Our Milkman

Let me mention that I am aware, someplace in my brain, that “hooray” as in “let’s jump for joy” is not spelled (or is it spelt) with two ‘r’s and one ‘o’. But in this afternoon’s heatwave, which was a doo-zee, I lost all my senses and spelt or spelled or spell-did-dit wrong. I’m sure you will forgive me, well, I hope so. Maybe I could start a new trend? I think it looks pretty good with two ‘r’s. Anyway, this is supposed to be about yogurt, not spelling.

Let me start with the story of our milk, or what I know of it. We get our milk from the back of a motorbike that’s driven by a man named Fabrice. Yes, Faaaaaaabreeeeeeeccccccce. That’s him in the red jacket. I like his name, has a nice ring to it, but I also like to spell “hooray” with two ‘r’s so you really shouldn’t trust my opinion when it comes to anything grammatical. Back to the milk. The milk is still warm, either from the cow or the beating rays of the hot-hot sun (I am going to guess the latter), as it’s poured from an old cooking oil can into a bowl from our kitchen. This transaction takes place in our driveway.

Myles loves Fabrice too, because sometimes he gets a ride on the bike…. while it’s stationary.

Hi Fabrice! We like you!

So I guess this is turning out to be a post more about my love for Fabrice than yogurt making? Back to the yogurt. When I found out that we would be moving to Burundi, I asked my dad bring over some cheese cultures from The US of A to South Africa so that we could give it a go once we got to Burundi. They are supposed to be kept frozen, but how do you do that while smuggling them across countless boarders?

I was sure my yogurt making would flop, but these little cheese molds make it really easy for you to do well. It turned out to be the best yogurt we’ve ever made! Shush, ok, the only yogurt… but it was such a great shock to us all that we did well. So we ate it all in one day, and then made some more.

If you feel like giving it a go, here are the steps to yogurt making:

1. Heat the milk to 185 F (or boiling) and strain, if previously unpasteurized.

2. Let the milk cool to 110 F.

3. Add the cultures (freeze dried, or 2 T. store bought yogurt stirred vigorously).

4. Let it stand for two minutes.

5. Stir.

6. Fill glass or other heatproof jars with the milk.

6. Place somewhere at around 110 F for 6 hours. I filled my Le Creuset with a little water, placed the jars inside, put the end of the thermometer in the water, and put the lid on as best I could. Then I stuck the whole thing in the oven for the day, switching the oven on and off periodically to keep the temp roughly 110 F. Although, next time, I am just going to stick the jars in the sun for the day. I think that is a much better use of my resources!

7. Refrigerate.

8. Devour.

For more on the yogurt making process you can go here.

Yay for yogurt!

Kristy