In our goal for self sufficiency, we have introduced a yoghurt maker to the kitchen and the result has been excellent.

We purchased our yoghurt maker from Lakeland, it is very simple, compact, easy to clean and for those not familiar to making yoghurt, contains a simple instruction leaflet.  This unit can make 1.5pints at a time, enough for a family! 

Lakeland Yoghurt Maker

Yoghurt can be made from a variety of milk types, such as pasturised, sterilised, UHT and evaporated.  The Lakeland leaflet states that UHT makes the best but we tried ours with pasturised semi skimmed milk.  My preference will be to use Jersey milk of which we have a few local suppliers in Cumbria.

The standard pasteurisation process is not sufficient to render milk fit for yoghurt making, but simply bringing it to the boil then allowing it to cool at room temperature until it reaches 47 degrees Celcius works well.

Jam thermometer used to check milk temperature

A small amount of starter yoghurt (a couple of teaspoonsfull of natural unsweetened, LIVE yoghurt) is placed in the base of the container and the cooled milk is gently stirred into this, being careful not to stir too vigorously.

Small amount of LIVE starter yoghurt

Gently stir milk into starter yoghurt

The container is placed in the heater unit and switched on.  left for about 7 hours, so ideally overnight, you will have lovely creamy yoghurt to which you can add fruit, cereals or even herbs and spices to make some wonderful dips.

This is certainly a cost saving exercise and the result is just as good as bought yoghurt and will keep in the fridge for around five to six days. When it’s nearly finished you can use a few spoon full to start off your next pot.

Further interest:

The Cottage Smallholder – How to make delicious Greek Style Yoghurt.

About.com - How to make home made yoghurt.

Eat Yoghurt.com - For some great recipes using yoghurt.