This week, in Aldona makes something: Yogurt making. My interest in this project was sparked by a habit change I’ve been working on for several months.
After some research on the trusty internet, I decided that the cure-all I’d try next was diversifying my gut bacteria with yogurt. Probiotics are supposedly very healthy, but they are very difficult to study because there are thousands of strains of good bacteria.
The research I found suggested that a wide range of gut bacteria is important for many aspects of our health, but scientists have not figured out if there are some strains that are more important. It also seems a little unclear whether eating probiotics actually increases diversity of bacteria in the gut — especially whether the bacteria can set up camp and stay long term.
I read that a study showed women who ate probiotic yogurt regularly lost weight, but that when they stopped the weight returned. Another study showed that probiotic yogurt daily helped clear up acne in adult women.
These seemed like positive results. I also think my diet doesn’t include enough probiotics. Historically, people ate more diverse bacteria because fermentation was an important way to preserve food. Now we tend to can goods to prolong shelf stability.
While all yogurt is made by adding certain strains of bacteria (including Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus) to warm milk, most commercial yogurts are heat treated after fermentation.
To retain probiotic qualities, the bacteria must still be alive in the food product — and high temperatures kill bacteria. But Stoney Field Farms makes a probiotic yogurt, which I started buying regularly and eating every morning with the homemade granola I wrote about a couple weeks ago.
The pile-up of plastic containers started to bug at my conscience. Surely there was a way to do this without creating so much waste.
Then came a serendipitous conversation with my sister, about her adventures in yogurt and kefir making. She uses an Instant Pot, an appliance I haven’t gotten yet due to small kitchen space constraints.
Still, people made yogurt long before Instant Pots were invented. I figured I could surely do the same.
The directions I found for making yogurt seemed pretty simple: Warm half a gallon of milk to just below boiling (around 200 degrees), then cool. When milk cools to around 112 degrees, ladle some out to whisk with half a cup of live culture yogurt. Pour the yogurt and milk back in, and then keep the mix at about 110 degrees for four to eight hours.
I kept my yogurt-to-be warm by putting it in a Pyrex bowl which fit into a cast iron soup pot which I filled with warm water. With a lid covering the bowl, I put the whole shebang wrapped in a towel into a slightly warm oven, and left it alone over night.
In the morning I found yogurt! It was slightly runnier than store-bought but had a wonderful flavor. Should I ever want thick yogurt I’d consider investing in a yogurt maker or Instant Pot, but for the moment I’m perfectly content with what I’m able to make with this process.
I’ve started each batch of yogurt with new store-bought yogurt, but buying a yogurt culture to start with could allow me to make self-perpetuating yogurt.
If I skip breakfast, I’ve found that mincing onions and garlic into a bowl of homemade yogurt, adding salt and herbs makes a tasty lunch.
I haven’t seen any benefits yet from my upped bacteria consumption; I’ve definitely enjoyed this fermented treat.
ALDONA BIRD is a journalist, exploring possibilities of local productivity and sustainable living in Preston County.
