Homemade Yogurt **Updated** Cheese and Buttermilk

[cookinmom]

How do you have yours hanging up? I got mine all wrapped up and tied and then stood there looking around for something to hang it on!

James' post with the pics of the bucket gave me an idea, so I tied the little bundle to a wooden spoon and set it across the top of my big stockpot. As the level of the whey came up, I added more spoons to the edge of the pot to move my first spoon up. By time I left for work today, it looked like Lincoln Logs on the edge of the pot, but the cheese was high and dry!

People here are just so full of good ideas!

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Mine is just at the warming up stage before tying it up to drain. I was figuring I'd do the stockpot idea as well. I also have some pretty decent sized plastic storage containers that will work.

What I don't have is the proper muslin, but I do have some of my grandma's old tea towels and I wonder whether they'd do the the trick.

 

[cookinmom]

I think they would. My mom used them before for hanging fruit to make jelly. It's pretty much the same principle. the weave is tight enough to keep the stuff in, but big enough to let the juice out, and smooth enough not to get all in the cheese. matter of fact they usually are muslin, and that's what they put in my cheese kit, a piece of what they call butter muslin.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

That's exactly what I was thinking Valerie. Sometimes the best new thing is an old thing, ya know?

So far, so good. I already have about a 1/3 cup of whey that has dripped out! I've got mine hanging over a tall plastic storage container. I'm using a wood spoon to dangle the tea towel that I closed up using extra long plastic coated twist ties. I twisted a rubber band around the towel for extra holding power, then used another twist tie to affix the whole thing to the spoon. It seems to be holding nicely. I'm thinking that zip ties could work nicely too. I might have to remember that for the next time. Either way, I don't have any foreign objects falling into the whey, so that's a good thing!

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! This has got to be the most incredible, enlightening thread I've ever read! I have a pal that has a goat dairy --- I don't drink milk, so I have never sampled her goat milk.
BUT yoghurt and cheese! I'll be trying all of the recipes for sure.
A question please...
Would it effect the outcome of recipe(s) if the milk had been frozen?
Thanks, Y'all are just great!
Lisa

 

[cookinmom]

I couldn't find string to tie mine up with, so I used purple curly ribbon!

I don't know for sure about this kind, but I've been reading about making other kinds of cheese, more like the aged kind, and for those they will not do right if the milk has been frozen. But MissPrissy said you can freeze the yogurt for the culture and it will still work, so for yogurt etc it might be ok to use previously frozen milk.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

For those of you who will eventually make goat cheese, boy do I have a hot tip for you! I bought some goat cheese at Costco that was flavored with honey. It was so incredible!! It had that sweet honey taste offsetting the tangy goat cheese flavor. I brought it to church (we have wine and cheese hour after our Sat. evening service) and everyone kept commenting on that cheese and how yummy it was. If someone tries to make it, let me know the ratios.

 

[ozark hen]

I used a hair rubber band..the coated kind around a large white table napkin (didn't have any muslin) then used a piece of yarn, doubled, to tie it up with. Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't Miss P. referring to "freeze dried yogurt starter"? It can be purchased at the health food store. I just found both white muslin and cheese cloth at a Super Wal-Mart. Cheese cloth is packaged and hanging up with stuff like scissors, etc. Muslin was on a bolt. This is an awesome thread. It never crossed my mind to ever make yogurt or cheese before and this is wonderful! You guys rock yourselves!!

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Quote:
Well, dang. It sounds like your yogurt cheese wins the beauty award. Sure beats my twisties and rubber bands!

 

[MissPrissy]

I have never used frozen milk but I do know when freezing the milk the water separates and it is hard to get the milk back to the consistancy of 'milk'. I wouldn't use frozen milk for cheese or yogurt. I might be wrong but that is just my opinion.

I buy organic yogurt in a large container as my starter culture because it is the only size organic, plain yogurt my grocery store carries. I freeze it in an ice cube tray and use it when I need starter for my yogurt. Just thaw and bring up to room temp and the cultures are alive and active.

You can also buy a powder freeze dried yogurt starter but I just buy what I can get at the grocery store and always have some on hand when I need it.

BackyardBuddies - when I make the yogurt plain with nothing added to it at all when I serve it I use local honey. It tastes great. I can imagine just how awesome the yogurt cheese would be with an excellent honey blended in.

You can also use the whey to culture your own buttermilk.

I am so glad you all having as much as I have making yogurt and cheeses. Next we'll try something a little harder but still very simple.

I have made a batch of yogurt and yogurt cheese from my goat milk. I am enjoying every bit of it. Having my own source of milk, FRESH milk is crazy cool! My goats are giving me a little more than 3 quarts a day now and will be giving more when we take the babies away at night. I am saving up to have enough to make a nice batch of mozzarella cheese.