Homemade Yogurt **Updated** Cheese and Buttermilk

[MissPrissy]

I am curious. We are considering 2 sheep to add to our little farm. How long do they milk? About how much a day do you get from one?

 

[fowltemptress]

I've given you a wrong impression, miss prissy. I apologize. We keep a few sheep for meat, and come nowhere near what you'd expect from a dorset or some other breed used for milk. The only time I get milk from them is when I milk them a bit to relieve the irritation left by the weaning process. This usually gets mixed in with the dog food, but occasionally I keep enough for a treat for myself, or if I find a nice recipe I'd like to try out, but I don't keep track of how much milk I'm getting or anything like that. I will say I much prefer sheep milk to goat milk, so if I ever do want a milking animal I'll look into sheep first.

 

[MissPrissy]

Now you have me even more curious to try the sheeps milk LOL

 

[BearSwampChick]

So I made yogurt yesterday and needed a new jar. One of my jars is a straight-sided one that had contained virgin coconut oil and it works great because it seals well and it's easy to get the yogurt out. So I had a nice sized jar that had salsa in it that had the same nice, straight sides. Washed it and the lid in the dishwasher and did the sniff test on the jar, no smell of salsa. Get the yogurt all ready and pour it into the jars. Decide at the last second to sniff the lid--salsa! A regular jar lid won't work because it has the shallow kind, so I put a double layer of plastic between the lid and the jar thinking it would contain the smell. NOT! Now I have almost a quart of lovely salsa-flavored yogurt!

It was especially interesting because I added some strawberry preserves on top before I tasted it. Hmmm, what is that subtle undertaste I detect, I was thinking. Then it dawned on me

So, Miss Prissy, what can I do with this new yogurt taste sensation? Any ideas other than Mexican cornbread, taco topping?

Susan

 

[MissPrissy]

You can put it in a cheese cloth and drain the whey. After about 8 hours it will have the texture of soft cheese. You can use it as a topping for tex-mex dishes or with salso for as a cracker spread.

 

[BearSwampChick]

Oh, yeah, I forgot about that!! Thanks.

 

[jmschristiansen]

I have made yogurt for years. Usually I make 2 gallons at a time. After heating, cooling, and inoculating with the starter yogurt, I have always stuck the mason jars in a cooler with warm water. I always make sure that the water does not reach the lids, as I don't want to chance it seeping in and contaminating anything. Usually, I start in the evening, and let it sit overnight. With raw oatmeal, honey, and bananas, it makes a great breakfast. It also keeps very well. Sunday I opened a jar that I made last November, (hidden in the back of the fridge) although I fed it to the chickens, it smelled completely fine, and I am sure I could have eaten it without any problem.

I have also made the yogurt cheese that MP mentioned, just wrap the yogurt up in a clean rag, and let it drain for about half a day. Really good on pita bread.

We also use yogurt to substitute for sour cream.

It is good stuff! Make some!

Anything we can do ourselves is a step toward independance. Even small steps count!

 

[Lunachick]

Miss Priss - I finally got around to making that yogurt yesterday! It came out great. I put blueberries and splenda in one and kept the other jar plain. I had a few teaspoons of it this morning to taste test. Nothing like fresh yogurt!

Thanks for the recipe.

 

[MissPrissy]

You're welcome! Glad you made it and found out how good it is!

 

[ksacres]

The easiest (IMO) is vinegar cheese.

1 gal goats milk
1/4 cup white vinegar
salt/pepper/seasonings to taste

Heat the milk to 185, add the vinegar, stir lightly, let stand for 10-20 minutes. Strain through cheeseclothe and hang for 2-4 hours, or overnight in the fridge for a slightly dryer cheese.

The result is a cheese similar to Feta, and is some cases this recipe is called "whole milk Feta" (normal Feta is made with the left over whey from hard cheeses)

You can also do it plain to use in cheesecake recipes.

Usually add garlic and salt and pepper and eat as a cracker spread, or use in lasagna. Yum

Sorry, I apologize if this recipe has already been posted bysomeone else, I didn't read through all the pages.