Re: Digest Number 2222

[Guest guest]

Heyla, folks,

The following directions are for dripping cow's milk yogurt, but I have used

it with goat's milk yogurt, too. Haven't had occasion to try almond milk

yogurt yet. I drip ALL my yogurt, and since (at least, before Hurricane

Katrina) I used a LOT of yogurt, only the best mass production methods work!

I find that I get the best results from dripping yogurt which has been

chilled at least eight hours (for a two liter / half gallon batch) in the

refrigerator.

I bought a dozen inexpensive all cotton handkerchiefs at an outlet store for

dripping yogurt. I wet one, and line a colander with it (wetting it makes it

stick to the sides of the colander so it doesn't go FLOP just as the yogurt

goes PLOP) and then scrape the yogurt into it. I cover it and set it over a

bowl. And then fold the handkerchief corners up over the top of the bowl.

(If you don't, they will wick the liquid up and over the side of the bowl,

says the woman who came back to find a counter covered with yogurt

drippings....)

When dripping a half-gallon of half and half yogurt, I only get about 2 cups

of liquid out of the half gallon, whereas with regular whole milk, I get 4

cups liquid to throw away.

It takes anywhere from 4-6 hours to get the yogurt dripped the way I like

it.

Dripped or drained yogurt is also called yogurt cheese.

The advantage to the handkerchief is that after a couple hours, I can remove

the cover, gather up the corners of the handkerchief, and hang the package

from a string on my cupboard door to finish draining. When it is drained, I

can open the handkerchief, and turn the dripped yogurt into a storage

container, and use a spatula to scrape the remaining yogurt off the

handkerchief. Then I can easily wash the handkerchief, and, if desired,

rinse it in bleach water to sterilize it. (Personally, I think American /

Canadian reliance on antibacterials is absurd: hot water and soap get rid of

as many bad buggies as most of the commercial antibiotic products.)

I keep meaning the sew some bias tape along the edges of the handkerchiefs

to create self-strung yogurt drippers, but somehow, I'm always trying a new

recipe, instead of doing that! Or at least, I was. In the days BK, Before

Katrina. My 82-year-old father has been very ill with gall bladder the last

month, and my 84 year old mother isn't handling it at all well. (Mom is,

IMO, hyper-active ADHD).

-- Marilyn (post Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, Louisiana, USA)