A healthy diet cannot do without natural yogurt. You rarely find it on sale, so it is best to prepare it at home. And most importantly, learn to do it correctly.

If you have dull skin, rashes, problems with it, or you’re just too lazy to prepare the first, second and third – enjoy homemade yogurt, getting maximum benefits and benefits for your body!

Pamper yourself with healthy goodies and!

And don’t think that you need a yogurt maker to make delicious natural yogurt. Everything is much simpler than you could imagine!

5 important rules:

1. Milk must be boiled in order to kill all pathogenic bacteria that may be contained in it. It is recommended to bring even pasteurized milk to a boil.

2. To make yogurt, do not use too hot milk, otherwise the beneficial bacteria will die. The ideal temperature is +38°C...+40°C, that is, slightly above warm.

3. Cutlery and all dishes in which you will prepare yogurt must be doused with boiling water.

4. The quality and consistency of homemade yogurt is affected by the fat content of milk, so choose the optimal 3.2-3.5%. Those who do not care about their figure and just want delicious natural yogurt can use milk with a fat content of 6%.

5. Do not shake or stir the fermented product so as not to destroy the structure, otherwise the yogurt will not ripen.

Classic yogurt in a thermos

What do you need:

1 liter of milk

200 g of natural yogurt (carefully study the composition, the yogurt must be fresh)

How to prepare classic yogurt in a thermos:

1. Boil milk and cool to a temperature of 38-40°C.

2. Rinse the thermos with boiling water, pour out the water and leave for 1-2 minutes until steam comes out. Then cover with a lid.

3. Combine 100 ml of milk with yogurt and stir so that there are no lumps.

4. Add diluted milk with yogurt to the remaining milk and mix.

5. Pour the resulting mixture into a thermos, close the lid and leave for 6-8 hours.

6. Pour the finished yogurt into small jars and refrigerate for another 8 hours.

Greek yogurt

Greek yogurt differs from classic yogurt not only in consistency, more reminiscent of creamy soft cheese, but also in the method of preparation. After traditional fermentation, this yogurt is suspended in a clean cloth or paper filter to get rid of excess whey, for which Greek yogurt is also called filtered.

What do you need:

1 liter of milk

200 g natural yoghurt

How to make Greek yogurt:

2. Dilute yogurt in a small amount of milk.

3. Combine the diluted yogurt with the remaining milk in a saucepan. Cover with a lid and wrap with a thick terry towel, or better yet, a blanket.

4. Leave in a warm place for 6-7 hours, then put in the refrigerator. Do not stir or shake the contents of the pan!

5. Line a colander with several layers of gauze and carefully pour the resulting yogurt.

6. Cover and leave for several hours until the excess whey is gone. As a result, you should have 350-450 g of real Greek yogurt.

Homemade yoghurt with sourdough

Yogurt made from pharmaceutical sourdough has a delicate creamy taste and a very pleasant consistency.

What do you need:

1 liter of milk

1 bottle of starter (sold at any pharmacy)

How to make homemade yogurt with sourdough:

1. Boil milk and cool to 40°C.

2. Dissolve the dry starter in a few tablespoons of milk and pour into the rest of the milk. Pour into portioned glass jars.

3. Cover with cling film or close with lids, wrap in a terry towel, or better yet, a blanket.

4. Leave to ferment for 12-14 hours.

5. Cool in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours and the yogurt is ready to eat!

Natural yogurt in the oven

If you don’t have a thermos or a multicooker, and you always miss the temperature of the milk in the pan, then the recipe for making homemade yogurt in the oven is just for you.

What do you need:

1 liter of milk

200 g natural yogurt (you can use fresh sour cream with 20% fat content)

How to cook natural yogurt in the oven:

1. Boil milk and cool to room temperature.

2. Dilute yogurt/sour cream in 0.5 tbsp. a glass of milk.

3. Combine the resulting starter with the rest of the milk and mix gently.

4. Pour milk into portioned glass jars.

5. Preheat the oven to 50°C and turn off.

6. Place jars of milk on a baking sheet, cover each jar with foil, sealing tightly.

7. Place the baking sheet in the oven and close the door.

8. Every hour, turn on the oven at 50°C for 5-7 minutes. Yogurt preparation time is 6-8 hours.

9. Place the finished yogurt in the refrigerator overnight. Those with a sweet tooth can add 1-2 tablespoons to each jar before pouring the milk. homemade jam.

Yogurt is a fermented milk product loved by adults and children for its pleasant taste and benefits. Natural yogurt contains only milk and lactic acid bacteria. They make this product so beneficial for the body.

Its regular use improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, stimulates metabolism, and helps strengthen the immune system. This is the most easily digestible dairy product. Even people who are lactose intolerant can eat yogurt, as beneficial lactic acid bacteria ferment it in the milk.

Benefits of homemade yogurt

Nowadays yogurt can be found in any supermarket. However, you should carefully read the information on the label before purchasing. If the composition contains any stabilizers, flavors, or flavoring additives, then the product cannot be considered natural and will be less healthy.

But when preparing a fermented milk product at home, you always have confidence in the quality and correctness of its composition. This also applies to various additives; at home they will only be healthy and natural: fruits, nuts, muesli.

Moreover, you can independently regulate the fat content of the product by choosing more or less fat content of the original milk. This is important for those who are watching their caloric intake.

Therefore, it’s definitely worth making your own yogurt at home. Moreover, doing this is not at all difficult if you have special equipment in the form of a yogurt maker and even without it.

The principle of any method of making yogurt is simple. Milk is heated to 40-45 0 C, combined with live lactic acid bacteria and kept under constant temperature conditions for 8 to 12 hours. After which the finished product is cooled, this improves the consistency and guarantees the safety of bacteria.

General cooking rules:

1. UHT industrial milk is the safest and most ready-to-use. Other types of milk, including country fresh milk, must first be boiled. This is done because the cooking temperature of about 40 0 ​​C is favorable for the development of not only beneficial bacteria, but also pathogenic microorganisms;
2. In this case, it is better not to take sterilized industrial milk. The taste will be just as pleasant, but the product will not have the expected benefits;
3. Dry yogurt starter is sold in pharmacies and health food stores. It comes with instructions according to which the fermented milk product needs to be prepared;
4. Bio-yogurt from the supermarket is also suitable as a starter. You just need to read the label and make sure it is natural. It’s good if it contains only milk and fermented milk cultures. One glass is enough for a liter of milk;
5. It is very important to mix the starter and milk thoroughly. It is better to first dilute it in small quantities, and only then combine it with the main volume of milk;
6. Cooking utensils must be thoroughly washed, sterilized or doused with boiling water;
7. Try to “disturb” the yogurt as little as possible during preparation - do not stir, shake, or shake;
8. Prepared yogurt can also be used as a starter. However, it is not recommended to re-ferment it more than 5 times, because the composition will change each time.

Cooking without a yogurt maker

Making natural yogurt is possible at home even without the use of special equipment. The main thing is to follow all recommendations and maintain temperature conditions.

The simplest option is to combine milk heated to 45 0 C and sourdough in a clean saucepan. Cover the pan with a lid, wrap it in a warm blanket and place it next to the radiator for 8 hours. Then the blanket is removed, the pan is allowed to cool to room temperature, and the finished product is placed in the refrigerator.

After mixing all the ingredients in a saucepan, you can pour the mixture into sterilized glass jars. Cover the jars with film and place in a mold with warm water. Also cover the mold with cling film and place in the oven, turned off, but preheated to 50 0 C. Let stand for at least 6 hours.

The optimal cooking time is often determined experimentally - the longer the mixture is kept warm, the more sour the taste. It’s up to you to decide which flavor you like best. But the average cooking time is 8 hours. It is convenient to leave the starter overnight so that you get a ready-made product in the morning.

Yogurt in a slow cooker: easy and simple

If you have a yogurt maker at home, the process of preparing this healthy product is simplified as much as possible. The device creates the necessary temperature conditions, heats the jars of sourdough for the required amount of time, and then automatically turns off.

All that is required is to dilute the milk and starter in the correct ratio, mix well and pour into the jars that come with the yogurt maker.

A multicooker is another assistant in making yogurt at home. Many models even have a special mode and cups included. In this case, you just need to pour the mixture of milk and starter into containers, place them in the multicooker bowl and select the desired program. After 8 hours, the yogurt will be ready.

If the multicooker is not equipped with this cooking mode, it is still possible to make homemade yogurt in it. In this case, the mixture is poured into jars.

It is very convenient to take baby food jars. They are covered with cling film and placed in a multicooker bowl, into which warm water of approximately 40 0 ​​C is poured. The water should reach the “shoulders” of the jars.

Greek yogurt: delicious recipe

Greek yogurt is similar in composition to regular yogurt, but has a denser consistency and is more reminiscent of soft cheese. It is eaten as an independent product, and is also used to prepare various dishes.

The procedure for preparing Greek yogurt is the same as for regular yogurt. The milk is combined with the starter, poured into a container and suitable temperature conditions are created for 8 hours.

As a result, you get about half as much Greek yogurt as usual from the same amount of milk.

The product is extremely healthy, it contains a lot of calcium and protein and little milk sugar, which comes out along with the whey.

If you plan to leave Greek yogurt for fermentation, then you need to do this before squeezing out the excess liquid.

Frozen yogurt: how to make it at home

Frozen yogurt is a delicious, low-calorie dessert that's rich in calcium and contains beneficial lactic acid bacteria. In terms of usefulness, it is significantly superior to ice cream.

The frozen dessert is based on natural yogurt, prepared at home in any convenient way. To make the product tasty, fruits, berries are added to it, and sweetened with sugar or honey. It is better to add fruits and berries to the yogurt mixture in the form of puree or finely chopped.

The ideal consistency of the dessert without any inclusion of ice is obtained when prepared in an ice cream maker. But, if there is none, cooking in the freezer is possible. You just have to set a timer and every 20-30 minutes take the yogurt-fruit mixture out of the freezer and beat until it thickens completely. The frozen treat will be soft and pliable, with a consistency similar to ice cream.

You can do it easier and freeze the mixture by pouring it into molds. The taste and benefits of the product will remain, but it will no longer be a soft and plastic mass.

Recipe for fermented milk drink in a thermos

On the one hand, a thermos is an ideal device for making delicious yogurt at home in the absence of a yogurt maker. Since it is able to maintain the desired temperature for a long time. On the other hand, using a thermos makes it more difficult to achieve sterile cooking conditions.

It is quite difficult to rinse thoroughly, especially the lid. Therefore, when preparing yogurt, it is better to choose a thermos with a wide neck. It is recommended not only to pour boiling water over it, but also to wipe it with alcohol.

The rest of the cooking process is simple. You will need a liter of milk and dry starter in the required proportion or a glass of natural industrial yogurt. To make the finished product tastier, it is better to take milk with a fat content of at least 3%. Any milk other than ultra-pasteurized milk must be boiled and cooled.

In a clean bowl, mix milk and starter heated to 40 0 ​​C. Pour the mixture into a thermos, close the lid, and leave for at least 8 hours. During this period, try not to rearrange or shake the thermos. Pour the finished yogurt into a glass container and store in the refrigerator.

Experimenting with taste

Despite all the benefits of natural yogurt, children, and many adults, also prefer sweet fermented milk products with various additives in the form of dried fruits, chocolate chips, and jam. Of course, at home, a whole variety of yogurt flavors are also available.


The only thing is that you should not add fillers to the mixture until the ripening process is completed. Otherwise, beneficial bacteria, instead of fermenting lactose, will switch to other sweets, fruits or sugar. And yogurt just won't work.

Therefore, it is better to add all sorts of goodies to natural yogurt immediately before serving or after it has already been prepared, before cooling.

If the natural fermented milk taste is not sweet enough and you want to add sugar, it is better to use powdered sugar. Or make sugar syrup - dilute the required amount of granulated sugar in water, and then pour it into the prepared yogurt and mix.

Sometimes you need to make thick, dense yogurt. You can achieve thickness in the following ways:

• Before fermenting, add a couple of tablespoons of dry milk to the milk mixture;
• When the yogurt is ready, add corn starch to it at the rate of 1 teaspoon per serving glass;
• Before cooling, add agar-agar to the finished product.

Natural yogurt should only be stored in the refrigerator and no more than a week. After 7 days, the usefulness of the product is significantly reduced.

In addition to eating yogurt in its natural form and with sweet additives, this fermented milk product goes well with herbs such as cilantro, dill, parsley and various spices. And if you salt it, add pepper and finely chopped garlic, you get a tasty and light salad dressing.

Meat for barbecue is also marinated in yogurt; it can neutralize excess fat content, for example, pork. Conversely, lean meat will become juicier when marinated in yogurt.

It should be remembered that fermented milk product curdles at high temperatures. Therefore, it is added to hot dishes, gradually stirring in at the end of cooking, while the yogurt itself should not be chilled, but at room temperature.

Thus, homemade yogurt is not only healthy and tasty, but can also be widely used in the home kitchen.

Making yogurt at home: pros, recipes (in a yogurt maker, thermos, saucepan, jar). Secrets of successful yogurt.

Today, despite all the variety of yogurts presented on store shelves, it is very difficult to find a truly healthy, safe product, especially if you want to please your child with it. But you can make yogurt at home, and there are many advantages to doing so.

Pros of making yogurt at home

1. You will receive an environmentally friendly, natural product with live active bacteria, without preservatives, dyes and other harmful additives;
2. By using milk of different fat content, you can control the calorie content of the drink;
3. Yogurt at home is an opportunity to experiment by adding different berries, fruits, nuts, coconut flakes, dried fruits, and pieces of chocolate to the finished product;
4. Homemade yogurt is perfect for dressing vegetable and fruit salads, preparing all kinds of sauces, for example, with spices and garlic. It gives savory dishes and desserts an exquisite taste and makes them much more interesting and healthy;
5. Homemade yogurt can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. True, the delicate taste of this drink will surely please your loved ones so much that it will not stay there for more than 2 days.

Making yogurt at home

1. Milk

Whole country milk is ideal for making yogurt. You can buy it at the market from a grandmother you know or a seller you trust. At home, you need to take enamel dishes, moisten them with cold water, pour in milk, boil and cool to 37-42 degrees. Many housewives test milk with their finger. But this is unhygienic, and you may not be able to guess the temperature. It is very important that the milk is not hotter than 45 degrees, otherwise all the beneficial bacteria will die. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can simply put the bowl of milk against your cheek: if it’s not hot, then the temperature is ideal.

Well, if you have no choice but to go shopping at the store, look for pasteurized milk with a short shelf life. It is highly undesirable to use a sterilized product. Baked milk will give yogurt its original caramel taste.

2. Sourdough

In addition to milk, to make yogurt you will need dry starter. It can be bought at a pharmacy. A small amount of milk (about 2 tablespoons) should be added to the bottle with the starter and the resulting liquid should be mixed with the remaining milk (or add 2 capsules of the starter per 1 liter of milk).

Some sources advise using natural “live” yogurt with a minimum shelf life as a starter. But it’s better not to do this: after adding yogurt, active reproduction of not only beneficial but also pathogenic microorganisms may begin in the milk. If the amount of foreign microflora when preparing a homemade drink exceeds the permissible limit, this can cause food poisoning and infectious diseases.

3. Homemade yogurt: recipes

Recipe No. 1. Cooking in a yogurt maker

It’s very good if you have such a miracle device at home as a yogurt maker. This device makes the process of preparing a healing drink as easy as possible; it maintains a constant temperature necessary for its maturation. You just need to pour the milk with the starter into a container, place it in the yogurt maker and wait 8-10 hours. For 1 liter of milk you will need 1 tablespoon of liquid starter.

Recipe No. 2. Cooking in a thermos

If you don’t have a yogurt maker, a thermos (ideally with a wide neck) is perfect for making yogurt, and the technology is the same. You need to check the readiness of the yogurt after 4-5 hours, using a spoon, very carefully, without shaking the thermos. If whey has formed, you can taste it. The yogurt needs to thicken. This usually happens within 4-8 hours. If you keep yogurt in a warm place, it may turn sour. You cannot “disturb” the yogurt: shake it, stir it, move the vessel from one place to another. The finished drink should be poured into clean, sterilized jars and refrigerated.

Recipe No. 3. Cooking in a pan or in a jar

You can use a saucepan with a thick bottom; it has the ability to retain heat for a long time. The bowl with milk and starter should be covered with a lid, placed on a heating pad with hot water, wrapped in a thick blanket and left for 6-8 hours (can be overnight). Instead of a saucepan, you can use a glass or ceramic jar. It is filled with the prepared mixture, covered with a lid, wrapped in a woolen blanket and placed in a warm place.

You can prepare homemade yogurt in a slow cooker (this is as easy as shelling pears if you have a modern model with a “yogurt” button) or even in the oven: you need to turn it on and off, first heat it to 40 degrees, then turn it off, then turn it on again, etc. .d.

Secrets of successful yogurt

It is very important that all the vessels that are used to prepare the healing drink are clean - the yogurt maker container, the thermometer (it needs to be washed with warm water and wiped with alcohol), the spoon with which you will stir the milk with the starter. All dishes must be treated with boiling water.

It is better to add any additional ingredients to the finished product. Beneficial bacteria do not need anything other than a milky environment to function normally. The presence of sugar in sourdough can lead to the development of yeast, fruit - to the proliferation of putrefactive bacteria. You should also not add powdered milk or starch to yogurt. The finished yogurt should be placed in the refrigerator immediately to stop the growth of bacteria.

How to Serve Yogurt

Children will really enjoy homemade yogurt mixed with nuts, berries, fruits, and natural juice. This wonderful drink goes perfectly with bananas, peaches, raspberries, strawberries, and currants. They can be cut into pieces or blended in a blender immediately before eating dessert.

For breakfast, you can flavor oatmeal with yogurt, cook an omelette with yogurt, add honey and cinnamon to a freshly prepared drink, and for dinner, yogurt with bran or a vegetable salad seasoned with a healing drink is good. You can mix yogurt with your favorite berries and freeze it to make wonderful ice cream.

As you can see, making yogurt at home is not difficult at all. Homemade desserts are always tastier and healthier than store-bought ones, because we make them with love for our nearest and dearest people. I wish you healthy yogurt and good health!

In our understanding, yogurt is a dessert, a delicious fermented milk treat, which, however, has recently ceased to be available to all categories of consumers. At the same time, for example, Greeks or Bulgarians use yogurt as a dressing for salads, cold soups and other dishes, since this product is like a base: you can add fruit and make a dessert, and if left in its original form, it will perform the role of sour cream.

Traditional yogurt: what it is and how it is prepared

Yogurt is the result of fermentation (fermentation) of milk with lactic acid bacteria, as a result of which the product gets its thickness, color and characteristic taste. Even doctors often recommend it to those people who have certain problems with the stomach or intestines, since yogurt stabilizes their microflora, improves the metabolic process, and improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, it is well absorbed and digested by the body, so even people with allergies or lactose intolerance, who are contraindicated in consuming milk and dairy products, can in some cases consume yogurt. But first, you still need to consult a doctor about this.

Natural yogurt should not contain any additives in the form of preservatives, sweeteners, dyes, flavors or stabilizers - only in this case can it truly have a beneficial effect on the body. In addition, it can be stored for about a month, but no more, since over time the number of vitamins and live bacteria decreases, and the effectiveness of the product is reduced to a minimum.

To produce factory-made yogurt, live fermented milk cultures - bacteria (streptococcus thermophilus and Bulgarian bacillus) - are introduced into the milk, after which fermentation begins. For this, the required temperature is provided - within 45 degrees and about 10 hours of exposure. After this time, the resulting yogurt is cooled to 5 degrees, and in this way it is possible to preserve bacteria and, accordingly, obtain a product of the best quality.

The process is easy to repeat on your own, at home, both with and without a yogurt maker. This yogurt is healthier because it does not contain sugar, and is allowed even for people who are forced to give up sweets due to diabetes. Homemade fermented milk product contains a much smaller amount of fat, so salads and dishes seasoned with it will not cause any harm to the figure - on the contrary, yogurt tends to accelerate metabolism, so the process of getting rid of extra pounds can go faster and without any harm for the body. In addition, homemade yogurt contains more fermented milk cultures, and its usefulness significantly prevails over the properties of store-bought ones. The latter, in turn, contains a lot of preservatives, which allow the product to be stored for months without compromising its taste, but at the same time with a complete loss of health-promoting properties.

Sourdough and milk for yogurt

One of the most important and responsible stages in making yogurt is the search and selection of starter culture. In itself, this is a substance that causes fermentation. So, the starter for bread is yeast, and for yogurt it is a fermented milk culture that contains all the necessary lactobacilli. This starter can also be consumed in its pure form, on its own; it is also very beneficial for the body: it helps strengthen the immune system, creates protection against viruses, especially with the onset of bad weather, improves the gastrointestinal tract, speeds up metabolism and helps normalize body weight.

There are several types of yogurt starters:

1. Live acidophilus cultures - they stop the inflammatory process, remove toxins, help cleanse the body, relieve side effects from taking antibiotics, and normalize disorders after eating food.
2. Live curd cultures are based on bifidobacterium bacteria, which are invariably found in the human body, support intestinal microflora, break down proteins, normalize cholesterol, and have immunoprotective properties.
3. Live yoghurt bacteria - such starters are dosed and completely ready for home use.

The necessary starter is sold in pharmacies; as a rule, a jar means obtaining several liters of the finished product. You should not buy store-bought yogurt to use as a starter, since it inevitably contains pathogenic microbes (most often E. coli). In this form, they pose a minimal risk to the body, but when fermented they can multiply, and then disorders, infections and food poisoning are possible.

Next you need to choose milk. The volume of the resulting yogurt depends on its quantity; It is recommended to use from 1 to 3 liters at a time. The ideal option is a pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized product that is not subject to long-term storage. Even better is homemade milk, fresh, quality and reliability that inspires you to trust. It needs to be boiled for a few minutes before preparing the yogurt. Pasteurized should be heated to 90 degrees, do not bring to a boil; ultra-pasteurized can be used immediately, without preparatory measures.

You should not prepare yogurt using sterilized milk, since it undergoes harsh processing, all vitamins and beneficial lactobacilli disappear, and their properties are lost. Plus, during sterilization, salt and stabilizers are added to the milk, which will subsequently affect the quality of the prepared yogurt.

Preparatory activities

Preparing the dishes
First of all, you should take care of the cleanliness of the container in which you will prepare yogurt. Even spoons that will come into contact with the starter must be subject to the strictest measures, since a change in its microflora can lead, at a minimum, to loss of taste of the resulting product, and at maximum to the proliferation of pathogenic microbes and poisoning due to the consumption of low-quality yogurt.

So, the dishes must be thoroughly washed and scalded with boiling water, as well as the jars where the yogurt will be poured, and plastic lids to close them. And at the end of the scalding process, immediately cover/close the jars. In addition to this, you cannot use aluminum instruments, and the thermometer must be wiped with alcohol, and under no circumstances douse it with hot water. During the process of preparing yogurt, it is strictly forbidden to touch the inner surface of the jars and lids with your hands or utensils; the latter should also not be placed on the countertop, even if turned upside down, since air may remain on the walls, with its microflora “enemy” for the future yogurt .

Preparing milk
You need to open the package immediately before starting cooking, otherwise you will end up with sour milk rather than yogurt. Pour it into a clean stainless pan and heat it up (how to deal with different types of milk is described above). Do not use enamel dishes - the product will quickly burn in them. If you boiled milk, then you should cool it to 38-45 degrees (in the case of ultra-pasteurized milk, immediately heat it to this temperature). If you don’t have a thermometer, try to determine “by eye” - firstly, through the glass lid that covers the pan, you should feel tolerable heat; secondly, drop a couple of drops of milk on the inside of your wrist, as the most sensitive area of ​​the skin, it should be hot, but not burn the skin. Both overheating and underheating are bad for yogurt in their own way; but the latter option is still more acceptable, since in this case the product will only be not very thick (although this still depends on the milk - choose the thicker, the richer in consistency you want the yogurt). If overheated, if you add starter to milk that is too hot - at a temperature of 50 degrees - the bacteria that promote ripening will begin to die, and then all efforts will be in vain.

Leaven
Each starter comes with instructions with a recipe, which indicates how much of it should be used for each liter of milk - focus on it. The most important thing is to thoroughly mix the starter with warm milk. To dissolve it, pour about 10 ml of milk (depending on the amount of starter and milk in general) from the pan into the bottle, shake several times to stir, and pour the resulting mass into the pan with the remaining milk.

It is believed that prepared homemade yogurt (if, of course, it is prepared correctly - not stringy or slippery) can be used as a starter in the future. So, it can be re-fermented several times, but you should still remember that at home we cannot ensure complete sterility when storing the product, and it is better to prepare yogurt using a starter purchased at the pharmacy. Especially if it is included in the children's diet. In addition, such manipulations can affect the taste and properties of the product.

Making your own yogurt

In the yogurt maker. Not every home has a yogurt maker, but if your plans for the future include this fermented milk product prepared at home, then it is highly recommended to purchase one. What's good about a yogurt maker? It maintains the required temperature throughout the entire fermentation period (meanwhile, the milk should remain warm from 6 to 12 hours, without any significant changes, which is difficult to control on your own). If you have a yogurt maker, you only need to mix the milk with the starter, pour it into the special jars that come with it, and turn on the device. After about 10 hours, you can already take a sample.

Without yogurt maker
This is more difficult. There are several ways to maintain milk temperature:

1. Use a thermos for fermentation, which retains heat well.
2. Wrap the dishes in a blanket or cover them with a pillow and place them near a hot radiator.
3. Pour the future yogurt into jars, cover with cling film, fill any flat container with warm water, place the jars there and wrap with film again; after that, place it in a warm place - for example, in a preheated oven that is turned off.

If you want the consistency of the yogurt to be thicker and denser, put it in the refrigerator for several hours. In addition, this will extend its shelf life and increase its benefits by preserving living cultures.

Video: how to make delicious homemade yogurt

Gettyimages/Fotobank.ru

Homemade yogurt

Natural yogurt consists of three components: whole milk, Bulgarian bacillus (Lactobacillus bulgaricus) and thermophilic lactic acid streptococcus (Streptococcus thermophilus).

These microorganisms are extremely useful: they normalize the intestinal flora, stop the growth of putrefactive and pathogenic bacteria, strengthen the immune system, weakened by poor ecology and low-quality products. They stimulate the absorption of essential amino acids and vitamins (including rare K and groups B, D), calcium, and iron.

Natural yogurt should not contain preservatives, stabilizers, flavors, dyes, added sugar or sweeteners. The shelf life of natural yogurt is no more than a month. The problem is that during industrial production and transportation, beneficial bacteria have very little chance of surviving. And if there is a tiny amount of them in yogurt, the effect tends to zero.

How to make natural yogurt at home?

If you want natural yogurt, the safest bet is to make your own. I asked Irina Rozhkova, senior researcher at the Central Laboratory of Microbiology of the All-Russian Research Institute of Dairy Industry, to give step-by-step instructions and describe the typical mistakes that we make when we make yogurt at home.

Step 1: Buy a yogurt starter

Denis Bykovskikh

Sourdough is sold in pharmacies. In Moscow, it can also be purchased at the All-Russian Research Institute of Dairy Industry. It is enough to prepare several liters of yogurt.

Not worth it: use store-bought yogurt as a starter, even without additives or preservatives. The fact is that due to the characteristics of the fermented milk product, foreign contaminating microflora (most often E. coli) inevitably forms in it. When fermented, such pathogenic microflora can increase, which leads to infections and food poisoning.

Step 2. Choose milk

Ideally, pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized milk with a short shelf life. Dairy experts trust, for example, the products of the Obninsk Dairy Plant, Valio and Ruzskoe Moloko.

Not worth it: make yogurt with sterilized milk. The European Union is already abandoning this technology: vitamins and other valuable substances are lost in such milk. In addition, a lot of salt and stabilizers are added to the sterilized drink.

Step 3. Dilute the starter

Bring a glass of milk (150-200 ml) to a boil and cool to +40-45 degrees. Add 5-7 ml of this milk to the bottle with the starter. Shake lightly. Mix the resulting liquid from the bottle with the remaining milk. Pour into a thermos or yogurt maker. Place in a warm place, for example near a radiator, or cover with a pillow. Ferment for eight to ten hours. Sourdough in liquid form can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than two weeks.

Not worth it: checking the temperature of milk with your finger is not hygienic. Place the container on your cheek - if the skin tolerates it, the temperature is ideal. Do not pour ingredients into a plastic container. Even when heated slightly, plastic can release carcinogenic phenol-formaldehyde resins into milk.

Step 4: Prepare the yogurt

Boil and cool to +40-45 degrees one liter of milk. Place a tablespoon of diluted starter into it. Pour into a glass jar, thermos or yogurt maker and ferment for five to six hours. This yogurt can be stored in the refrigerator for five to seven days.

Not worth it: adding powdered milk for thickness - this will definitely not add any beneficial qualities to your homemade yogurt. Do not ignore sanitary safety rules - always treat dishes with boiling water.