I love making my own yoghurt and I have recently discovered this yoghurt cream cheese which is so easy to make and incredibly versatile and so deliciously creamy.
I made my cheese more exciting by adding galric, mint, sorel, seasoning & a good glug of olive oil. It was a delicious dip!
Firstly - How to make yoghurt
So I usually make my own yogurt, its so simple to do, all you need is milk, fresh is the best but you can even use UHT, and a yoghurt starter; the easiest way to get this is to use plain yoghurt, this way you can buy the brand you really like and go from there.
For about a litre of milk you need 2 tablespoons of starter. Bring the milk to the boil then allow to cool slightly, because if its too hot it will kill the good bacteria that makes your yoghurt! You'll know its reached the right temperature when you can hold your little finger in the milk for 10 seconds, this is about 40-50C if you have a thermometer.
Now you can add it to the yoghurt, a sneaky little trick I use here is to add 2 teaspoons of milk powder, this helps to make the yoghurt extra creamy. Once all combined you need to leave it somewhere out of the way for about 8 hours; if you are somewhere warm you can just leave it in a container or a covered bowl, and if your in a colder climate you can put it in a thermos to keep the temperature. If your using a thermos I recommend you get one with a large opening at the top so you can clean it properly and avoid yoghurty smells when you use it for anything else!
Now for the Yoghurt Cream Cheese
My yoghurt doesn't usually go wrong, but yesterday it did! I don't know why, but after all it is a living thing and can be temperamental at times.... Anyway I was now left with this jar of not the tastiest yoghurt hmmmmm, what to do, cheese maybe?
So I did a bit of research online and discovered that in Middle Eastern countries they have been making cheese from yoghurt for centuries, they call it Labna. Perfect, sounds delicious and the recipe is incredibly simple!
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