The Yogurt Test!

Welcome back, fellow readers! In our last blog post, we discussed about different methods of preparing yogurt at home. This blog includes my experiment with one of these methods. 

Yogurt is a high-protein, nutrient-rich dairy food that deserves some attention. Yogurt absolutely fits into healthy diets, because it contains high-quality protein, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, selenium, iodine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid (B5), and vitamin B12. Me and my mom used to make yogurt using commercialized yogurt cultures as starters. Unfortunately, other members of our house did not like the taste of the final product. So, why not try making it at home?

Let's have a look at what I have for you guys! I have tried making yogurt starters using lemon and chilies.

                                        

Why Chilies?

It is proclaimed that the calyx of the capsicum fruits such as chili, are often rich in various lactobacilli. These natural bacteria create a starter for the lacto-fermentation of milk. In addition, capsaicin from the chili appears to increase the metabolic rate of the lactobacilli. It will provide an easy healthy starter culture in yogurt making; as pure freeze-dried cultures are scarce in the market, which makes people resort to store-bought cultures as starter cultures in yogurt making.

Firstly, I have used mother dairy's low-fat milk. Then, I prepared the culture using lemon, green chili, and red chili. Let us dig deep into this.

Here are the following ingredients: 

- 8 cups milk

- 2 red chilies

- 2 green chilies

- 1 lemon

What to do next?

Starter cultures

- Starter culture.

Step 1: Heat 4 cups of milk and let it cool down a little bit (approx 35-40 degrees Celsius).

Step 2: Transfer equal amount of milk in 3 different glass containers. Ferment it by adding different ingredients.

Step 3: Squeeze lemon juice in one container, green chilies in the second, and red chilies in the third.

Step 4: Keep it at room temperature for 10-12 hours. It will be a little watery, but after refrigeration, it will set nicely.

- Final result.

Step 1: Heat 4 cups of milk and transfer equal amount of milk in 3 different glass containers. Add the prepared starters and incubate at 40-45 degrees Celsius. Let it sit at room temperature for 10-12 hours.

Step 2: Then, set it in the refrigerator for another 10-12 hours.

Step 3: After setting, the whey will be settled on the bottom part of the container. You can freeze the whey and use it in smoothies, or different recipes such as cake, tea loaf, etc.

This method has its own pros and cons. What are they?

1) All three results were successful. The starter from the lemon base resulted in a thin structure of yogurt. The other two starters resulted in a thickened yogurt. 

2) The taste from the red chili starter was a little spicy and it was like a spiced red chili yogurt. 

The final product
1. Using lemon
2. Using green chili
3. Using red chili

Tips - 

-Prefer using full-fat milk for the best results and a good taste. 
-The results might vary a little when you use vegan milk. The yogurt can occur to be thin in nature from all three starters, but it is still consumable.
-If the yogurt is watery, remember to refrigerate it so that all the whey settles down.
-Do not open the lid of the container while it is still developing.

I hope you will try these methods at your home and share your failure and success story as well! Feel free to convey it in the comments section below. Stay tuned for my next blog where I will be posting about a simple recipe made from homemade yogurt.