Monday, May 19, 2008

Goat Yogurt Recipe

To Make Goat Milk Yogurt at Home

Start with fresh, unpasteurized, goat milk that has been produced in a sanitary manner. Heat milk to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. As a starter culture (good bacteria), you can either use our Redwood Hill Farm plain yogurt or a freeze-dried culture purchased from a health or natural food store. In addition, use yogurt from a new cup and use a clean spoon to add it to the milk. Use l Tablespoon per quart of milk or if using a freeze-dried culture, follow package directions.

After the culture has been added, you must incubate the milk at 104-108 degrees. To do this, you can use a home yogurt maker or devise something on your own. Some people use a heating pad wrapped around a jar, put it in the oven on low, or a jar in a crock-pot. What ever you use, experiment with water and a thermometer before you actually make the yogurt to be sure you can hold the milk at the required temperature. Incubate for 6-8 hours depending on your taste. When done incubating, chill the yogurt before eating being careful not to agitate or move the yogurt much until it is well chilled.

Goat milk will not get as thick as cow milk yogurt. In addition many cow yogurts add powdered milk to thicken the yogurt. We use a small amount of tapioca (natural from the cassava root) in our Redwood Hill Farm yogurt. You can use whatever suits you to thicken the yogurt or enjoy a yogurt drink.