William Ting

Home Make Yogurt ... more information...
Picture above is home made yogurt with some honey.
I posted last week about making yogurt. I thought it was so easy that anyone can follow my simple instruction. However, there are more problems than I thought. For example, the "starter" yogurt is so expensive at RM23. Is there a cheaper method? Can any milk be used? So, I did some asking around and found that there are options:


I remember that the above used to be marketed via direct selling. Also, I was told that pharmacy also sell lactic bacteria which can be used for making Yogurt. Check the "ingredients" above. The only active ingredient is Lactic bacteria. Just follow the direction above.
Anyway, here is the step by step (almost) guide using my method.

I use 8 tablespoons of the above as my yogurt "starter" to make 2 litres. This natural yogurt can be purchased from Boulevard Hypermarket (in Miri, Malaysia) or any large supermarket. I find it convenient.

I use the cheapest UHT milk I can find (oh, I got it from Brunei!) ... made in China (actually it was from Mongolia). Not sure whether this is available in Miri (or even Malaysia). If UHT milk can be used, milk powder should perform just as well.

Pour 2 litres into a pot (or as much as you wish) and heat it up to 80degC, while stirring occasionally and use low fire to prevent burn. (If you wish, you can bring it to boil. I use UHT milk - which mean the milk has been treated to ultra high temperature.).

Now, cool the milk down quickly to 40DegC. If you don't know how warm is 40degC, well, it is the temperature of your body when you have a fever. I hope you don't get 40degC fever too often!

Add 4 tablespoonful of "starter" for each litre of milk or follow your own calculation if you use a different amount of milk. Stir and mix well.

Leave it in a warm place and incubate for about 4 hours or until firm. (I leave mine in the oven switched to the lowest temperature)

This is how the completed product should look like. Refrigerate to stop incubation.

Post script: You don't really need a thermometer. You just make sure that you don't put in the culture (starter) when the milk is too hot. Otherwise, the friendly bacteria will all be cooked. 40degC is because the bacteria multiply best at that temperature. I bought my thermometer from CKTang in Singapore many years ago. I used it to make jam, conserve, etc. If I make again, I will share my recipe but unfortunately, it is not very healthy due to the huge amount of sugar needed.

My wish is to be able to sell my yogurt with my friend's organic fruit/juice. He should be opening his store in mid September. The only problem is that yogurt is quite expensive if I use fresh milk. Anyway, I will see what I can do and whether there is any demand.