Yogurt

There is something great about making home-made yogurt. I don't make it as often as I'd like to, but when I do I just love it. It is thinner than shop-bought yogurt but is perfect for using in home-made smoothies or to pour over cereal or fresh fruit. You can thicken it up by adding dried skimmed milk powder to the milk, but I think that's unnecessary. When using live natural yogurt to start it off, make sure the container says 'Live' on it, so there is a live bacterium in it that turns the milk to yogurt.

Ingredients

500ml whole milk

2–3 tablespoons live natural yogurt

Method

• Make sure everything you use to make yogurt is super clean so you don’t grow the wrong kind of bacteria: place a whisk, saucepan, tablespoon, thermometer and mixing bowl in the sink. Boil a full kettle and pour it over everything in the sink to sterilise it. Turn on the cold tap and cool the items off and just shake dry.

• Pour the milk into a saucepan and place on a medium heat. Place the thermometer into the saucepan and watch it like a hawk while stirring the milk gently. When the temperature reaches 46ºC, take the saucepan off the heat and pour the milk into the mixing bowl.

• Making sure the temperature hasn’t gone above 46ºC, whisk in the yogurt so that it blends with the milk.

• Cover the bowl with cling film and wrap it in a clean towel. Place the wrapped bowl into a warm place, such as an airing cupboard. Check the yogurt after 6–8 hours or even overnight. If it still looks very runny leave it another few hours. If it has thickened, then place into the fridge and chill before use.