A versatile and popular dairy product, yogurt is used around the world. With some overlap, its applications are varied across the Mediterranean, Central Asian, South-South East Asian and Eastern European culinary cultures. Yogurt can make a daily healthy snack or can be included in everyday cooking. The probiotics in yogurt are beneficial for gut health and aid digestion.
With a number of health benefits and delicious flavours, yogurt, especially greek yogurt, is a staple of the refrigerated supermarket section. For the diet-conscious consumer, and children, flavoured yogurt is popularly sold in snack-sized containers – often in plastic packaging of sixteen 100 g (3.5 oz) portions. Once the yogurt is consumed, those small plastic cups likely end up in landfills along with the rest of one-time plastic packaging that makes our day-to-day lives a little less conscious and a little more convenient.
While yogurt consumption is healthy for humans, this increased ease of accessing on- the-go convenience is proving incredibly unhealthy for the planet. The majority of yogurt containers end up in landfills, and if recycled, travel an average of 13,000 kilometres to countries in Asia and Africa to be separated and either recycled or landfilled.
So how can you get that good bacteria in your body without creating more plastic garbage?
One of the leading countries to process plastic yogurt containers for recycling, India has had a storied tradition of setting yogurt in terracotta pots using pasteurized whole milk. It is a system that recycles yogurt to create more of it, reducing costs, containers, and a trip to the supermarket all at once. And you can do it too!
Here’s what you need:
- Milk : Take as much milk as you plan on making yogurt. Use 2% or more – the more milk fat, the creamier the yogurt. However, you can definitely use low fat milk.
- Yogurt: 1-2 tbsp – depending on the amount of milk. The bacteria in the yogurt – also known as yogurt culture – helps ferment the new milk and set the yogurt.
- Glass Mason Jars
- Life Without Plastic Beeswax Cloth Wrap
- Life Without Plastic Stainless Steel Mason Jar Lids (Regular or Wide)
Duration: 24-48 hours (may take more time in winter)
Here’s what you do:
Step 1: Boil milk in a pot. Once it boils, leave it to cool to a lukewarm temperature (~45ºC). Yogurt culture needs the heat to multiply and set the curd.
Step 2: Take a mason jar and coat the inner surface with 1-2 tbsp yogurt. Leave the rest of the yogurt inside the jar.
Step 3: Pour the lukewarm milk into the yogurt and stir to homogenize the mixture. This will ensure that the culture is spread throughout the milk and the yogurt doesn’t set in lumps.
Step 4: Cover the mason jar with Life Without Plastic beeswax cloth wrap and store it in a warm and dry place. You can also cover it with aluminum foil with 3-4 small holes in it.
Step 5: Prepare your daily yogurt bowls with granola and fruit in mason jars to-go using Life Without Plastic Mason Jar Lids (Regular or Wide). You can store them in the fridge or carry them in your bag without worrying about a spill. Your yogurt and fruit snacks will remain fresh!
Tasty yogurt is a matter of time and temperature:
Room temperature is optimum to set the yogurt. Higher temperatures will help set the yogurt faster but might make it lumpy or curdled. The yogurt takes up to 48 hours or more in winter as the room temperature may be quite low. Keeping the mason jar in a sunny window or closer to the stove may help speed up the process.
You can even use unglazed terracotta or clay pots to set your yogurt. The clay is porous and regulates the temperature of the milk inside, thus helping the bacteria make your yogurt creamier and thicker. Clay pots also make the yogurt healthier as the natural minerals from the clay get mixed in, contributing to a delicious earthy flavour. And the best part about a clay pot is that it can be used to set yogurt for years, and once it wears off, you can break and crumble it into small pieces and return it to the earth.
With this simple recipe, you can make your own yogurt at home and contribute to your own health and that of the planet!
– Richa Agarwal, LWP Administrative Lead