Miss Muffet's Curds and Whey

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Miss Muffets Curds and Whey

For over five or six years now I have been making my own Yogurt and I recon its far better than any I can buy in the shops, although I have to buy a starter about once a month. I buy the smallest punnet of that thick Greek Yogurt, because I prefer my yogurt to be the consistency of clotted cream. Over the years I have experimented with various ingredients such as adding a punnet of whipping cream and four desert spoons full of dried milk, that mixture was fantastic but Oh-boy did I start putting on weight. I cut out the cream and retained the powder but still had problems with overweight. Now I just use the blue-top milk and Greek starter and my weight has dropped back to a healthy level.
Yesterday,when I started making my weekly supply, I thought it might be a good idea to share my knowledge with my friends in Grows-on-you, so here goes.

At first I thoroughly sterilize a large pan and the sealed storage jars, spoons, whisk, temperature gauge and cup. I try to use stainless steel in the kitchen because it has a good health reputation.

I pour 4 pints of milk into the large pan and put it on the stove, using low gas to heat up slowly, and clip a temperature gauge onto the pan and stir the milk regularly with a whisk.

After the jars have been prepare I get the older yogurt from the fridge and with a desert spoon take out four spoonfulls as this will be the starter culture for todays batch.

When the milk has heated up to 80 degrees centigrade I turn off the heat and let it stand on the stove for half an hour.

I pour cold water in the sink and when the half hour is up I place the pan of milk into the water to cool the milk down to the temperature of about 45c.

As its cooling I take milk from the pan to thin the starter and mix it up till its liquid enough to pour back into the pan

I carefully whisk the milk till satisfied it is throughly mixed

Then with the cup I scoop out the mixed milk and pour into the three storage jars.

4 pints of milk is enough to fill two large jars and one smaller one

Then I place the jars into an esky or cooler and pour in hot water with a temperature of about 120c.On closing the lid I then wrap with towls

I leave my yogurt to mature for about 24 hours, because it is more benificial to leave it longer at a warm temperature. (See below)

The next day I sterilize a bowl and large sieve and into a good straining cloth I pour the curds, and leave for over half an hour to drain

After half an hour quite a bit of the whey has drained out and the curds can be spooned back into the jar

I next empty the smaller jar into the cloth for draining. When I’m satisfied enough has drained from that one I spoon the curds into the first jar and there should be just enough to fill it.
The whey is poured into a sterilized jar or milk bottle.

Finaly the 2nd large jar is then put into the cloth for draining and on completion the remaining curds is just enough to fill the smaller jar.

There we have it, one large and one smaller jar of good thick yogurt that is put into the fridge for cooling. This is just enough yogurt to last me and my wife for the week. Ann likes to pour a little amount of Maple Syrup on hers, she recons it helps her Diabetic tablets to go down easier.

Not only do we eat Yogurt each day but I also drink a daily half cup of whey, because although I am a registered Diabetic I don’t take any medication, I just fight it by careful diet, and Whey is one of the important diatry items in that fight.

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Whey is a protein found in milk and is also available as a nutritional supplement. Researchers say the results suggest that whey aids in blood sugar regulation by stimulating the production of the hormone insulin in the pancreas. Insulin helps the body regulate blood sugar naturally. Liquid whey contains lactose, vitamins, protein and minerals along with traces of fat. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden discovered that whey appears to stimulate insulin release, they also discovered that whey supplements can help regulate and reduce spikes in blood sugar levels among people with type 2 diabetes by increasing insulin secretion.
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Yoghurt is rich in potassium, calcium, protein and B vitamins, including B-12. Research shows yoghurt strengthens and stabilizes the immune system.The lactobacillus in yoghurt feeds the intestines, maximizes nutrients you can absorb into your body, insures the digestive system stays healthy, and stabilizes the immune system. "Yoghurt has strong medicinal properties, including the ability to stimulate the immune system and kill bad “bugs” or bacteria in the human gut. …research at the University of California at Davis showed that eating live-culture yoghurt was associated with higher-than-average levels of gamma interferon, a key component of the body’s immune system". The secret to good yoghurt is that it contains live cultures, there are four major strains of bacteria to look for: L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus, and bifidobacteria. There are good brands of yoghurt available check the label to make sure it specifies active cultures. It is always better to buy the yoghurt plain and add in the fruit or jam just before eating it. Frozen yoghurt is not the same product and will not yield the same health benefits; even if they specify live cultures they will have only a fraction of the beneficial bacteria of fresh yoghurt and they will not enhance lactose tolerance. Lactose in milk is converted by Yogurt’s bacteria into lactic acid which helps digest lactose or dairy products. The lactic acid of yoghurt is a perfect medium to maximize calcium absorption. In yoghurt the process of growth from milk into yoghurt involves the conversion of lactose into lactic acid. Lactic acid helps digest lactose. In other words, yoghurt provides the enzyme needed to digest milk products. Calcium, which is found in dairy products, needs to enter the body in an acid matrix or your body will not absorb it. So the lactic acid of yoghurt is a perfect medium to maximize calcium absorption. Eight ounces of yoghurt will equal 400 mg of calcium, 25% more calcium than you would get out of a glass of milk.“While some commercial yogurts are better than others, most do not allow the bacteria to multiply to the extent that you can when you make it at home. The longer you let your yoghurt sit a room temperature before refrigerating, the stronger the bacteria cultures will become. Most commercial yogurts, even those made without gum, gelatin or stabilizers, add milk solids to thicken the yoghurt. This makes the yoghurt a concentrated food which is more difficult to digest.”

I hope this Blog helps you my friends who have this terrible complaint called Diabetes.
Tanny

• 6 May, 2010
• 1 like

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