My mothers insists that one tsp is sufficient and as soon as the yoghurt has “SET”, which means it has solidified….you can stick the bowl in the fridge and voila you have fresh yoghurt ready for consumption.

The one thing to remember here is that the warm weather contributes to the live bacteria multiplying at a faster pace and your yoghurt is set in a few hours. In colder countries, you would require to warm to the milk just above lukewarm temperature and put one TBS(tablespoon) of yoghurt in it. place the bowl of yoghurt(to be set) in a deeper plate filled with hot water and cover and leave to set. This is to ensure the milk doesnt cool down quickly and the yoghurt does not take longer to set. Also once the bowl has been set aside to make the yoghurt, resist moving that bowl about or opening and stirring or checking on it. Only do it a few hours later, wen you simply lift the lid and you will see whether the yoghurt has set or yuo need to leave it for a couple o hours more.

That is why the most convenient time to set the fresh yoghurt is last thing in the night before going to bed and its ready when you wake up.

My mum insists that the yoghurt which is placed at the fridge right at the setting point will be the sweetest of all yoghurts. Its at the point before it starts to sour slowly. Its a matter of trial and error before you start to recognise wen that milk has fully set and you can stick it in the fridge. Save a spoonful of this yoghurt to set your next one.

If you want to make a low fat version, then you boil your fresh milk completely. Allow it cool down and you will see a layer of cream on top. Remove this layer and you can reheat the milk again to boil again and repeat the process and take the cream off to create a low fat milk. This then can be used to set low fat yoghurt. But try setting yoghurt from a packaged low fat milk and it just does not have the desirable effect.

Of course here in India, everything has its purpose, so the cream that you take off the milk is usually collected in a large jar and kept in the fridge until the jar fills up. This then is used to prepare clarified butter aka “ghee”.

My mother in law tend to set her yoghurt in sweetened milk…where she adds a tsp/tbs of sugar to the warmed milk so the yoghurt is set sweet as she desires. I recommend against it cos if you wanna sweeten it you can usually add some honey on top when you are having it. But once you start to set natural yoghurt on your own, you will begin to appreciate the taste of just plain yoghurt and simply adding some chopped fruits in it will be dessert enough.

For people who find it difficult or too heavy to consume a bowl of yogurt everyday, yet want to reap the benefits of it, simply add a glass of water to it and shake it. Season with either salt or sugar and make yourself a soothing drink. You can season with whatever you like….sweet or spicy spices.

I hope this has helped some of your queries on how to make natural yoghurt at home. It really is the simplest recipe and the most beneficial….packaged yoghurts are not entirely beneficial since they do have preservatives in them to keep sustain them from longer.

Is there any Kombucha that tastes good ? Are there reliable studies about the health benefits ? Thanks !

November 30th, 2009 at 5:43 pm”

I have found that the flavours of High Country Kombucha are quite agreeable to me, my favourite being Goji Berry. They are also packaged in amber coloured glass. I’m not sure if they are available at all Whole Foods, but I get mine at my local Whole Food Market.

See ya’