Making yogurt without using commercial yogurt or starter I am happy to see that there has been a positive response to my posting about ant-yogurt. It actually seems like a plausible means of bacteria transference, more so than the cow stomach theory (which I am not saying is not true). I mean, the stomach and the udder, as far as I know (I am no zoologist, but feel confident about this claim), are not connected in a cow. The ant approach, on the other hand, is much more logical. (Incidentally, "yogurt" is one of a tiny number of Turkish words that made it into English. I mean, it seems like it could happen pretty easily, some ants carrying the appropriate bacteria could easily find themselves in milk. "Hey Ma, I'm thiiiiirsty. Anyways.
Fankhauser's Cheese Page Here is an abbreviated (roughly) alphabetized table of recipes on this site. Note that some are homesteading recipes beyond cheese: Links? News flash: Culinary Institute of America Kids website features Fankhauser's Neufchatel recipe here. Here is a new page for beginning cheese makers which lists a series of cheese making projects starting with the simplest to the more challenging. I have been making cheese since the early 1970s when my wife, Jill and I began "homesteading" on a little farm in SW Ohio. Here are recipes for cheese and other fermented food products, and milk-related information pages, all alphabetical except for the first and newest additions. Alphabetical listing of Recipes and Topics. Links to other Cheesemaking sites, Discussion Groups, etc. Here are some links that I have participated in over the years. If you are interested in an email-based discussion group, try "Cheesemakers List - Artisansrus.com". Send Email to:
Assignment: Yogurt Cheese! Hi all!! Did you think we left you in the lurch with two semi-tough assignments (gouda & cheddar)? Not to worry. For those of you still a bit nervous about making your own cheese...and those who want to forge something between lengthy assignments, we promised we'd keep adding some quicker/beginner cheeses to the mix!! And this assignment couldn't be any simpler...Yogurt Cheese. The books author, Karen Solomon, says "Yogurt cheese- sometimes called strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, or labneh- is a sharper alternative to cream cheese, but it has a similar consistency and thus can easily take its place atop bagels or toast, stirred into mashed potatoes, or plaing the starring role in cheesecake. Yogurt Cheeseadapted slightly from jam it, pickle it, cure it by Karen Solomon 1 (32-oz.) container plain yogurt Instructions: Line a large bowl with a clean, think cotton or linen towel, positioning the middle of the towel in the bottom of the bowl. So, no excuses okay? This linky list is now closed.
Beginners' blog - a starter, from scratch Contents: What you will need Background Recipe Troubleshooting Looking after your starter Glossary References What you will need: White flour (preferably organic) Rye flour (preferably organic) Water (preferably filtered) A large clean jar or container (ideally transparent so that you can see what is happening) A spoon (to stir with) a little patience… Background Sourdough is the oldest form of leavened (or ‘risen’) bread. Sourdough baking uses a technique akin to that earliest form of baking leavened bread. Established starters contain a mixture of yeast and bacteria. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The technique that I am going to use in this blog is one of the simplest of all. Starter Recipe The flour that I have used here is a combination of Kialla white unbleached organic flour and Wholegrain Milling organic rye I made this starter in the middle of a Melbourne winter, so it was reasonably slow to get going. Day 1: Stir, and set aside for 24 hours. Day 2 There won’t be much to see yet, but that’s OK. Day 3