Good morning readers!
Wondering what to have for breakfast today? How about some fresh home-made yoghurt?
Health Benefits of Yoghurt
Yoghurt has several health benefits such as aiding our digestive system. It is a good source of probiotics to help aid in our digestion. It also contains nutrients such as calcium, Vitamin B and other essential minerals like magnesium.
However, it can be somewhat costly if you opt for a good-quality and natural plain yoghurt. A tub of natural or Greek yoghurt cost up to $7!
Making You Own Yoghurt
To save money, you can make fresh yoghurt right at home even without the yoghurt-making machine or any complicated equipment like a thermometer.
In addition, Singapore’s warm climate is perfect for the bacterial culture to grow and carry out lactose fermentation in milk. All you need is some milk, some yoghurt as the starter culture and a glass jar to contain the yoghurt!
Once it’s done, you can enjoy freshly-made yoghurt with fruits, honey or granola for breakfast.
Natural Yoghurt VS Flavoured Yoghurt
Natural yoghurt has a sourish taste due to the lactic acid form during the fermentation and many didn’t like the natural taste of it. So many will often prefer to go for sweetened flavoured yoghurt but the flavoured ones commercially available in the supermarkets often contained sugar, fat and preservatives.
The healthier option is to go for natural yoghurt with no sugar or frozen fruits added. To add flavour to the plain yoghurt, you can add honey and some fresh fruits like banana, strawberries or blueberries.
Left-over plain yoghurt can also be used as a facial mask or hand mask to gently exfoliate and soften the skin. I tried it and it instantly brightens up the skin!
And do you know that you can make your own yoghurt at home using a few simple ingredients and tools? You do not have to use fresh milk. Here’s a recipe of how to make natural yoghurt using milk powder.
How to make Natural Yoghurt
What you’ll need:
250 ml Fresh Milk (Half a carton)
1 teaspoon Plain Yoghurt ( Starter culture: Lactobacillus Acidophilus)
1 sachet of OsteoMilk ( Low-fat dry milk powder)
Thermos flask
Steps:
1. Heat the milk gently til it almost begins to boil. Turn off the fire once the milk starts to boil.
2. Wait for the milk to cool to about 38- 40 degrees Celsius.
3. Add a sachet of OsteoMilk into the warm milk and stir well.
Note:
Do not add OsteoMilk when the milk is still very hot. Wait for the temperature to cool first before adding.
The addition of low-fat dry milk powder helps to give the yoghurt a creamier texture.
4. Pour the warm milk into a clean thermoflask.
5. Add a tablespoonful of yoghurt into the milk and stir well to distribute the bacteria in the yoghurt evenly.
6. Then place the thermos flask into the oven to keep warm.
It is important to maintain the temperature of the milk in between 35 to 38 degree Celsius for bacteria to grow well and efficiently. There are several ways of keeping the milk warm. For instance, storing the milk culture in a glass jar wrapped with a towel. I find that storing the culture in the thermos flask produces better results.
7. Store the jar in the oven for about 12-14 hours.
Some recipes advocate 8 to 11 hours while others, recommended 22 to 24 hours. It all depends on your desired consistency of the yoghurt. Do experiment and find out a suitable timing for the yoghurt to set.
8. Enjoy a delicious and creamy yoghurt! It has a texture just like Greek Yoghurt! Serve with some fresh fruits, honey and granola!
The addition of OsteoMilk makes the yoghurt tasted less sourish and more creamy. Also, it adds milk calcium and marine collagen into your yoghurt. What a great way to kick start your day with all those nutrients.
