As expected Patches has settled down nicely and is getting used to her new routine. I've been milking by myself and since I am a little more focused, I think that helped her to settle in.
We are making our first batch of yogurt as we speak. It is really easy and the only special equipment that we use is a thermometer. We eat up the milk to about 150 degrees. We've heated to lower temps but the yogurt seems thicker when we go up to 150. Then wait for it to cool to about 115, add some yogurt and stir it up. We use about a cup of yogurt to a gallon of milk. You don't need any special yogurt culture, just the kind you usually eat - plain, no sweetners etc. Then we wrap up our pot in a towel and put it in a pie basket by our woodstove for about 5 hours. If you don't have a woodstove you could use the warmer of your Aga. Unfortunately here in New England there aren't too many Agas around.... I could get on a huge tanget about the wonderful Aga cookers but I'll spare you all for now. Anyhow if you don't have woodstove you might want to invest in a yogurt maker. I'll get some links together about yogurt makers and post them when I get a chance.
Yogurt making is a little bit like making bread. The milk has to be warm, but not too hot or you will kill the cultures. If the milk is too cold, it won't get going. Also, there is a wide range of variables that may make the yogurt thicker or thinner or more sour. Through trial and error we've come up with a routine we like.
We also made our first butter yesterday. My dad, Corey, was here and I skimmed some milk for him. What a great opportunity to make a little butter! I poured the cream in a jar and we shook it up for about 10-15 minutes and viola! Unfortunately I didn't have any cheese cloth on hand to really squeeze out all the extra liquid but it was fine. Bea drank up all the buttermilk with her supper. Eventually I hope to make some real quantities of butter. I hear you can use your cuisinart with the dough blade so I'll try that.
2 comments:
Hi Tracy, our two last posts go together! I wrote about seeing one of the girls who milks at our farm making butter in the blender. Don't even need the cuisinart, though it may be faster.
As for yogurt, I got this last year: http://www.amazon.com/Salton-YM9-1-Quart-Yogurt-Maker/dp/B00004SUHY/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1200347170&sr=8-1 and it's nice because it fits a glass quart jar with those white plastic lids on it. This is much easier than buying a yogurt maker with a bunch of little cups and is prob. more realistic for some who don't have a gallon of milk (or don't eat that much yogurt) to make into yogurt at a time.
You are inspiring, glad to hear the milking is going well. How much milk do you get in the morning/ afternoon is it the same?
I have successfully made yogurt by incubating it in my picnic cooler and a lot of towels for about 6 to 8 hours. I have also put the yogurt in a cheese cloth to drain the whey and make yogurt cheese. That takes about 24 hours and it REALLY good with fresh fruit. :)
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