Everyday Systems

Oh, I was researching some really healthy food the other day and someone mentioned 'Wheat germ' so I checked it out a lil' bit more and today since I was at the grocery store ... I looked ... and found it !

Wow, this is a super additive you can use in plenty of different things, yogurt, cereals, etc. You sprinkle a tablespoon on your food daily and you're all good.

It contains A LOT of vitamins and minerals, plus it's not expensive at all, I bought a big bag in the bulk section and it only cost me 1.50$US (2$ Canadian) I'll have a tablespoon daily along with my tablespoon of ground flax seed.

Also ... Plain Yogurt ... What's the deal with plain yogurt, why is it so expensive ?? I was at the grocery store today as I said and I check out the plain yogurt containers, no good deals there this week, no specials, everything looked rather expensive, like 4.29$ for a lil' container, what's up ?? Is there a Yogurt Cartel ??
I buy one and sometimes even 2 containers nearly every week, seems like big money at the end of the year.

I need yogurt daily but I was researching this as well and I'll probably start making my own at home soon, at least experimenting with that, in small quantities ... then maybe I can make a container or two every week to 10 days.

it seems really simple to make and you don't need any special equipment except for a candy thermometer, which I already have ... Plus this way I know it hasn't been MESSED WITH at all, I know what goes in there.

All you need to make yogurt, a pyrex bowl, a microwave, 2% milk, a couple of tablespoons of real probiotic plain yogurt to get it started (bought some today, later you can use a couple tablespoons of your own yogurt as a 'starter', but you need the real stuff the 1st time at least.) Danone Activia Plain yogurt ... 1 teaspoon of powdered milk (optional, supposed to thicken the product a bit) Candy thermometer (That can even be optional if you are creative)

Takes about 15-20 minutes of preparation and then you let it sit for 6-8 hours undisturbed. I am curious to see the result. They say it's really easy and I have experience making my own beer. That turned out really fine, I make big batches 4-5 times per year for me and I bring some to my friends as well, mad scientist in the kitchen, all bottled properly and whatnot ! My friends are sayin' it's better than the store bought stuff. Higher alcohol percentage too, I make strong lager, heh !

With the yogurt I'll experiment with very small quantities at first ... it sounds a lot simpler than beer anyway where you can mess up easily if you don't know what you're doing as a beginner. Anyway, saving 3-4$ a week every week, that's 175-200$ at the end of the year. Could be more than that if you eat larger quantities weekly. I also like the idea of making it myself of course. I haven't tried bread or bagels but I know some people do that at home too.

You can't make too much yogurt at once though, cos' it'll only keep for 2 weeks top apparently (some people say it's good for a month really, but better not push your luck)

More info on home made yogurt ... Google it if you fancy the idea. Plenty of people do it so there are many sites, good tips and ideas.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Yogurt

Cheers !

Marc

I don't think I'll be making my own yogurt, but there's a lot of joy that comes out of making your own stuff that you would normally buy pre-made. I've been making my own pizza dough the last few months and it's really rewarding, as I'm sure you've found with your beer.

I've thought about making my own yogurt before but just never got around to doing it. I hope it works well for you.
Wheat germ - I did try that. Not so fond of it. I think it might actually still be in my fridge - from 4 or 5 years ago. Definitely need to throw that out.

I LOVE wheat germ. Try it on cottage cheese with strawberries or the TINIEST drizzle of honey; sounds disgusting, but it's yummy.

I like making my own yogurt as well, although it was always a snack for me, rather than a meal component, so I haven't been eating it much lately. I use a yogurt maker, which isn't required, but harder to mess up. I started doing it when I developed a taste for Fage (greek-style strained yogurt), which is mind-numbingly delicious and filling, but WAY too pricey for everyday. So I make my own, and the strain it. I posted instructions at:
http://omnivory.blogspot.com/2008/06/do ... -gods.html
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for straining steps)


If you're interested in trying home-made bread, I recommend the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day". It's really easy and it makes fantastic bread (my favorite is the rye, but they've all been good so far). The five minutes is five minutes of active time, though, not start-to-finish time. Essentially, you mix up one batch of dough every two weeks, then cut off and bake just the amount you need. You don't even have to wash the bowl; you get a better flavor if you stir the leftover bits of dough into the new batch.

You can try the basic recipe for free online:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/dining/211brex.html
(go to bugmenot.com if you don't want to register)
It can take a few tries to get the shaping technique right. The authors have some videos online that are really helpful:
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?page_id=63

Hey, thanks JessDr. Nice to see you had those ideas already !

I am even thinking of starting making my own CHEESE at home, apparently it's not that hard either ... lol ! Somebody stop me ! The mad scientist ! Bread, bagel and pizza dough coming up ??

Cheese :
http://tinyurl.com/dcup87

This seems easy, you know what's in it and you save some money at the same time. Cheese is another item I always think seems quite expensive and I was just checking the side of the yogurt container, it's very healthy of course but they do add some things in there to make it more 'creamy' and 'smooth' ... not to mention the sugar in some kinds of so-called healthy yogurts.

Cheers !

Marc

marcdesbiens wrote:Hey, thanks JessDr. Nice to see you had those ideas already !

I am even thinking of starting making my own CHEESE at home, apparently it's not that hard either ... lol ! Somebody stop me ! The mad scientist ! Bread, bagel and pizza dough coming up ??


Marc

I'm not sure about the mad scientist -- but one heck of a house-husband! I've done the wheat germ in the past, but not in 10-15 years or so. Well, maybe more like nearly 30. I've also tried to make yogurt, but without much success.

Though I eat healthy foods, I don't eat anything because it's healthy. It's got to taste good and appeal to my family, too.

marcdesbiens wrote: I am even thinking of starting making my own CHEESE at home, apparently it's not that hard either ... lol ! Somebody stop me ! The mad scientist ! Bread, bagel and pizza dough coming up ??

Heh. We are clearly thinking along the same lines!

I borrowed Ricki Carol's book from the library, but never got around to trying it. I hear her classes are great too.
http://www.cheesemaking.com/

If you try it, let us know how it goes.

I have been dying to make my own cheese ever since I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle -- but I'm suspicious that it's going to be a huge production. I was on a bread-baking kick for a while, and the results of that are AWESOME. And of course homemade pizza is amazingly good for something so easy.

When my kids were younger one of them wanted to know how tofu was made so we made some! it was like making cheese which is also fun to make.

Yes, I made yogurt for the first time yesterday actually. Went really well and now I know how much time is required for the milk to heat up to the right temperature in the microwave.

I made a regular yogurt container 's worth, 650g., it should last me nearly a week. It turned out real fine too. It's not as 'creamy' as store bought yogurt though, more like, huh ... a thick smoothie ... but I like it !

I may add a bit more powder milk in the future to thicken the preparation ... not sure since I am new to this and experimenting. It was nice to make it myself and I also saved 2-3$ in the process. Since I have yogurt daily it could be a good FINANCIAL move, saving 150$ per year, something like that. Plus, I thought it was a fun project !

Maybe I'll make slightly more next time as well but not too much since apparently it only keeps for a couple of weeks. It's also better to experience with smaller quantities at first.

Cheers !

Marc

I've eaten yogurt, or curds as we call it in India, all my life. I make it with 2% fat cow milk everyday. My family of three eats one litre of curds a day. I heat the milk in the morning to a little above body temperature, then add about a tablespoon of 'starter' (nothing but a little bit of curds from the previous day), stir it well once, cover the vessel and keep in a draught-free place in the kitchen - usually inside a cubboard. In the summers with outside temperatures at 40 deg C, the milk curdles in about three hours. I immediately store it in the fridge and take it out only when needed or the curds will turn sour. My sister who lives in CA curdles the milk in a slightly heated oven and it seems to work well for her. In India, we not only eat curds just by itself but also along with rice (great in the summer!), in salads and buttermilk.

In India we also get curds in the stores (probiotic yogurt) but it tastes nothing as good as the home-made version.

Good point, Savita. I know in many countries people make their own yogurt all the time (Sometimes, it's not called yogurt of course, but it all starts with milk, a starter, and a bit of heat) They make it outside when it's hot enough ! In north america we are more used to going to the store to buy yogurt although there are many people who make it themselves as well. I remember in the early 80's my mom was makig her own yogurt at home sometimes, although most times she would get store bough yogurt.
Cheers !

Marc

Update, I made another container of yogurt today ... worked even better. The yogurt seems a bit thicker and also creamier. I did both containers the same way except this time I put 2 tablespoons of powder milk instead of just one, seems to have improved the result. I am surprised how good, tasty and creamy my yogurt is actually, especially this 2nd container ... I mean it could almost pass as store bought material in my opinion, especially since I like it plain, no artifical flavors, nothing.

I'll find a way to make a container or two every week to 10 days from now on ...

My recipe :

Fill an empty 650g. yogurt container with 2% milk

Transfer to a Pyrex bowl

Add 2 tbsp. of powder milk, mix with a whisk

Heat the milk in the microwave, 5 min. 30 sec. at 80%
Time may be different on another microwave !)

Then I take the bowl out of there and mix with a whisk

Heat the milk in the microwave, 1 min. 30 sec. at 80%
Mix with the whisk. (Normally the temp. is now about 180F, which is good)

I put the bowl in the sink where I previously put some cold water ... careful, the temperature drops quickly. I find that within 10 minutes the mix is at the right temp. to mix in the starter. 110F

I take 3-4 tbsp. of the hot milk and mix it with the starter I previously put in another small bowl, mix it with the spoon so it gets more liquid..

I used 2 tbsp. of Danone Activia plain yogurt this time. (It has to say something about Live active bacteria somewhere on the container, also I think it's better to use plain yogurt as a starter.) Later I can start it up with my own yogurt, I just put aside 2-3 tbsp. each time for the next batch.

Pour the starter in the hot milk. Use the whisk for 20 seconds to mix it all up.

I cover the bowl with a towel and put it in a cardboard box in the cupboard. I have a heat bag I put it in the microwave for 2 minutes and put it alongside the bowl in the box, making sure the bag doesn't touch the side of the container ... cover this with another towel. Midway through, after 3 and a half hours, I take out the heat bag and reheat it again, place it back alongside the bowl ... another 3 and a half hours ... done. I mix up all the yogurt in the pyrex bowl with a spoon and transfer it to a clean container. I put it in the fridge overnight.

I could even skip the heat pad thing possibly ... maybe I could just put it in the shed out back on a hot day, or place it by a window on a sunny day, something like that ... I'll have to experiment. I read some people don't even use an exterior heat source, they just wrap the bowl in towels and then put it near a sunny window or even in the car outside if it's relatively hot. The mix has to be around 100-110F for about 7 to 7 1/2 hours.

You can use your own yogurt as a starter for a few times but apparently it's better to use the real stuff again once every 4-5 batches... so I saved some of the real Danone Activia plain yogurt for future batches. You can put those in small containers (2-3 tbsp. in each one !) or zip lock bags. You can freeze 'em too ! It works just fine from what I read... You just have to make sure to let the frozen starter defrost by itself on the kitchen counter before using it.

Yum !

Cheers !

Marc

My Mid East family does yogurt the old-fashioned way:

Heat 1 qt of whole milk (you can use 2% but it will be thinner) in a saucepan just until it starts to boil -watch carefully for boil-over.

Cool the milk either by placing pan in cold water or the longer way of leaving it on counter top. Stir it now and then. It takes a while to cool it down at first but after a certain point it cools down quickly, so watch!

Here's the old fashioned way of testing temperature ( I use this because I have no luck with thermometers): Cool milk until your pinky figure can be held in the milk for 10 full seconds without burning your finger yet water is too warm to put a baby in it. Don't worry about different pain thresholds-it should still work.

Into a bowl (with a lid) that you'd want to store the homemade yogurt in, place 1 full TBS of store bought active yogurt and whisk it. Now pour your warm milk into the bowl. Whisk well. Cover with lid and wrap with towels to keep warm. Place in a draft-free area, undisturbed, 9-10 hours. Overnight is good. Remove towels, then refrigerate.

Optional To Thicken yogurt:
When yogurt is finished, remove towels and lid and place one or two paper towels on top of yogurt, being sure to tuck the edges of them into the bowl so prevent leaking. Refrigerate. When yogurt is cold, remove and squeeze out the paper towels, and use them again to collect more of the whey depending on how thick you want it.

Don't forget to save a full TBS of homemade yogurt for your next batch. It's good for two weeks, altho' I had success with three weeks. The first batch is mild but the following batches will be more sour. A good sour.

I had previously bought a yogurt maker and was dissappointed with the watery results. I had gotten this recipe that my aunt and mother use and had success as well. I was ready to ditch the yogurt maker when I thought to combine the two techniques. I make the yogurt as above but instead, I place the mixture in my yogurt maker jars and it goes for about 6-8 hours and the consistency is good.

One thing that my aunt said was that if your plain milk cools too much, you need to start again with fresh milk or it won't turn out. I've never had that problem so far so I don't know first hand.

You obviously need clean hands to make this yogurt