How to make Yocheese?

[Dace]

I know I saw it in a thread...and I looked but can no longer find it.

I have yogurt and cheese cloth...I think I dump it in the cloth, tie it up and let it drain for a couple of days into a bowl. Can someone fine tune this a bit for me?

Also....if this is made with cultured yogurt, it is still considered live when it is in cheese form? My kids are not big yogurt eaters, but if I can make this and flavor it with some herbs, they might just eat it!

 

[big brown horse]

I think all the cheese makers are busy, so I will give you my unprofessional answer.

You got the right idea on the cheese. I think it was wifezilla and freemotion who have really perfected the technique, so I hope they see this soon. I just tied mine over the bowl in cheesecloth and let it drain over night.

Um as far as I know it still has the good cultures in it...I'm pretty sure it does.

 

[freemotion]

Here I am! This is what I did when I was using commercial yogurt.

You need the kind of yogurt that does not have any additives. Watch for pectin, this is a harmless ingredient healthwise but it prevents the whey from separating.

I use a piece of fabric from a t-shirt. Cheesecloth that is readily available has a very loose weave and cheese gets into the holes and sticks, and it is difficult to clean. T-shirt fabric is perfect. Cut a square maybe a foot square of clean material.

Line a small collander with the fabric and place the collandar over a bowl to catch the whey. Dump the quart of yogurt into the fabric, and carefully drape the corners over the yogurt to keep flies off (and cathair and cat tongues, in my house!) Leave it at room temp for a while....whey drains better warm. At least a couple hours.

Then tie the corners (diagonal pairs) over the handle of a spoon or fork and hang it in a pitcher and put it in the fridge overnight. I usually pour the whey into the pitcher first just to keep it all in one place, but of course you can put the whey into your whey jar (use glass, it is mildly acidic.) I put a post-it or a card attached with a rubber band on the jar with the date and what it is, so things don't get lost in the fridge.

The next day, carefully peel the cloth off your cheese. It will be like cream cheese in texture. You can flavor it any way you'd like....herbs, or sweeten it with stevia and a bit of vanilla extract, or mix fruit in it. I love it! I like to layer it, parfait style, in half-pint canning jars with fruit. Since they are so pretty, they get eaten up rather quickly, and are a great grab-n-go food.

As long as you don't cook it or heat it up, it will contain the live cultures.

 

[Dace]

Excellent! Thansk you ladies

Off to pull my straining-as-we-speak yogurt out of the fridg....

 

[big brown horse]

Tee-shirt material, how perfect!! I remember how schmucky my cheese cloth got...THANKS!!!

 

[keljonma]

I do pretty much the same as free, except I feed the whey to the flock. I use butter muslin (a flour sack towel works too) for cheese making instead of cheesecloth...it's what I had in the house.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Dace, thanks for asking this question!
Free & keljonma, thanks for the tips

I made yogurt last night for the first time

 

[keljonma]

I made yogurt last night for the first time

Congratulations! Have you already noticed how much better it is? And you probably saved quite a bit of money, when you consider what good yogurt goes for in the store. We began with Dannon plain yogurt as the starter back in the 70's. But now I use Stoneyfield Organic Yogurt for the starter when I don't have any left of our homemade yogurt. YUMMM!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Congratulations! Have you already noticed how much better it is? And you probably saved quite a bit of money, when you consider what good yogurt goes for in the store. We began with Dannon plain yogurt as the starter back in the 70's. But now I use Stoneyfield Organic Yogurt for the starter when I don't have any left of our homemade yogurt. YUMMM!

Oh yes!!! Yummy and waaaay cheaper! The only active type the store had was the activa. Didn't even have plain. Not perfect, cause it still has junk in it, but it worked! Those 4 tiny little cups were $1.50 more than a gallon of milk. That alone convinced DH.

How's your cheese coming Dace?

 

[Dace]

Cheese did not drain a whole lot, I will let it go for today and then check it tonight.
Any suggestions on seasonings to put in it?

I think I want a yogurt maker now! Do you need to use raw milk?