Probiotics improve health and digestion. According to the Organic Authority the human body is host to billions of microbes that are essential to health.
“Our Standard American Diet, which often includes products from animals fed excessive amounts of antibiotics, and our own routine exposure to antibiotics (approximately 10-20 different types before we hit puberty!) create imbalances among friendly bacteria colonies. The damage is so significant that new research suggests theprobiotic cultures may never fully recover, leading to a number of health issues from diabetes and obesity to more serious gastrose intestinal issues. And, says Wahlquist, many of these processed probiotic pills and foods marketed for digestive health aren’t actually offering us any real active probiotics. “Traditional methods preserve and prolong the good bacteria vital to our digestive health. Cooking and heating [cultured foods] kills the bacteria and prevents the diverse probiotic populations from entering our systems.” (Jill Ettenger,)
How to make yogourt (yoghurt or yogurt) at home
Making yogourt at home is simple. You don’t need any special equipment. Making your own yogourt saves money, too. You only need two ingredients — 1 quart of milk (raw milk is best) and 1 tsp of yogourt culture.
Pour the milk into a clean glass quart jar, to within 2 inches of the top. Add 1 tsp. of powdered yogourt culture (buy it here on Amazon) or 1 tbsp. of yogourt with live cultures (look for organic yogourt at your grocer). Cover the jar with a lid and place it in a 2 litre bowl to which warm water has been added.
Place the bowl in the oven with the oven light on. Leave it for 20 hours, give or take. Remove your finished yogourt and refrigerate it. The yoghurt will thicken as it chills. Once the yogourt is chilled, its ready to eat. That’s it. No special equipment. No fuss.
Homemade yogourt may be thinner than grocery store yogourt. The higher the protein and butterfat content of you milk is, the thicker the yogourt. If you have your own dairy animals you’ll notice that the consistency of the yogourt changes as the lactation period moves on. Thicker and richer yoghurt is made from the early spring milk, while as the summer progresses the yoghurt will become thinner. Grocery store yogourt has stabilizers and gelatin added to make it thicker and more uniform. You can add gelatin to your milk before culturing if you prefer a thicker yogourt. I like it as is.
Eat it with fruit, jam, or eat it plain. You can use it as a sour cream substitute. Add it to salad dressing for a tangy, creamy topping. Use it in place of buttermilk in any recipe.
It couldn’t be easier. Let me know how it works for you.
You’ll noticed that I used two different spellings of the word “yogourt” and “yoghurt”. Both are correct. Another common spelling is yogurt. Which spelling is “correct” for you?
More yoghurt recipes
Make homemade Tzatziki (just yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic, and salt)