More and more adherents of a healthy diet prefer to cook natural yogurt on their own, in which there are no preservatives, thickeners, modified starch and other harmful additives. Moreover, having natural ingredients at hand, you can give scope to creativity and, changing the composition, satisfy any refined taste.
But is it worth it to be limited only to this healthy drink? For inventive housewives, the acquisition of a yogurt maker makes it possible to create a mass of tasty and healthy products, being confident in their quality and not spending much effort on it.
What can be prepared in a yogurt maker other than yogurt
The functionality of this device is much wider than the name implies. It is suitable for the preparation of traditional sour-milk products: kefir, fermented baked milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, even home-made cheese.
The main components are milk or cream and certain types of starter cultures. At the same time, you don’t have to stand in the kitchen for hours, all that is needed is to mix the components and pour them into jars, the rest will be done by the “smart machine”.
Important! Before filling the containers, they must be sterilized with boiling water or in the microwave.
How to cook cottage cheese in a yogurt maker
It can be done in separate cups or a bowl, but it is easier to filter out whey from a large form. To get homemade cottage cheese, you can use:
- fresh cow or goat milk;
- pasteurized dairy products;
- dry sourdough for cottage cheese (available in pharmacies, shops);
Attention! Raw milk should always be boiled to prevent the growth of dangerous pathogenic bacteria in it, and then cooled. The pasteurized product is not boiled.
In accordance with the instructions, the leaven is completely dissolved in milk, heated to 40 degrees, and poured into the form of the apparatus. Then you need to select the desired mode or set the time according to the instructions (about 15 hours). After turning off the device, the cup is removed and the mass is thrown back onto a sieve in order to separate the liquid.
How tender or granular the product is depends on the temperature, the time of heating and draining of the liquid. The longer the whey drains, the drier the curd will turn out. When it is ready, it is cooled in the refrigerator for about 3-4 hours and used for consumption.
If the device is equipped with a function for making curd products, the process is simplified. Using a blender, mix 1 liter of milk, 100 g of cottage cheese, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of freshly squeezed lemon juice. The mixture is transferred to a bowl with drain holes, set the desired mode. After preparation, the whey is squeezed using a drain.
Using this unit, it is not difficult to obtain fragrant thick sour cream. This will require:
- 1 liter of milk;
- 0.5 l of cream (30%);
- dry sour-milk sourdough.
Dry powder is dissolved in a small amount of cream warmed up to 40 degrees. All components are mixed and poured into a yogurt maker for 7-8 hours. As a starter, some use kefir, fermented baked milk or cooked sour cream. The density of the product depends on the fat content of the starting components. The shelf life of such a product is no more than a week in the refrigerator.
To prepare fermented baked milk, fermented warm baked milk, for which they add dry preparation or sour cream to it. If sour cream is used, it is put in a ratio of 1: 5. The fermentation time will be about 9 hours.
Is it possible to cook cheese in a yogurt maker
The cheese itself is not made in this device, but natural homemade yogurt is prepared for it, from which you can manually make curd cheese. Ready-made natural yogurt, made from milk and sourdough, is cooled in the refrigerator, then laid out in a colander, which is preliminarily covered with 3-4 layers of gauze.
In yogurt, you can add herbs, garlic, spices, salt to taste. Having tied gauze in a knot, they allow the liquid to drain and hang for several hours. Then they make the knot tighter, press down with the load, and send it to ripen in the cold for 2-3 days, providing further runoff of moisture. You get a gentle and soft cheese product.
Culinary tips for yogurt makers
To get the dishes right, it’s better adhere to the following rules:
- dishes and products must be sterile clean;
- during operation of the device it must not be rearranged, since the fermentation process is disrupted;
- the temperature of the heated milk (40 degrees) should be measured with a thermometer, and not by eye;
- the longer the yogurt is cooked, the thicker it is, but if you overexpose it, it will be sour;
- yogurt without additives can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, and fruit - for several hours;
- it is better to add fruit and berry ingredients after cooking, the rest can be put on the bottom of the cup.
Finished products are supplemented with sweet berries, chopped fruits, nuts, chocolate, bran, jam. A natural product without additives is perfect as a low-calorie salad dressing or as a cream for pastry.
What you can not cook in a yogurt maker
The essence of this device is that it maintains a constant temperature at which bacteria, once in milk, begin to multiply actively and process it into fermented milk products. But not only beneficial, but also pathogenic bacteria act in this way, which can turn a home product into food hazardous to health.
Therefore, for cooking, you can’t take milk, sour "naturally" way, without fermentation. Experts also do not recommend using store yoghurts for fermentation, in which pathogenic microbes can be contained in safe quantities. Once in favorable conditions, they can make a home product toxic. In order not to risk health, it is best to use high-quality milk or cream, special starter cultures and clean dishes.
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