Milk (29 page)

There does seem to be evidence that when certain bacteria are introduced into the colon they may help keep undesirable counterparts in check. But the basic
yogurt-producing organisms (
S. thermophilus
and
L. bulgaricus
) aren’t among them, because they cannot survive on their own in the human gut. Just which lactic-acid bacteria can and can’t form viable populations in the colon, and what that implies about choices in fermented dairy products, are questions on which the jury is mostly out. The most plausible claims are for a lactose-digesting organism called
Lactobacillus acidophilus,
which appears able to live on its own in the colon. On the strength of this capacity, it is often added to yogurt cultures though it is not one of the heat-loving, or thermophilic, bacteria responsible for basic yogurt fermentation. In my opinion, the merits of acidophilus should be debated by people qualified to talk about lactose-digesting problems, not good food.

On the
lactose-intolerance question, I’d simply point out that people’s digestive capacities can vary across a wide spectrum and that the amount of lactose in yogurt also can vary a good deal. The fermentation is never carried to the point of changing a hundred percent of the original lactose to lactic acid. But as discussed later on in the basic yogurt recipe, the world’s habitual yogurt eaters have almost invariably finished the culturing process by draining much or most of the whey. This eliminates nearly all the lactic acid and remaining lactose together. Unfortunately, sufferers from very severe lactose intolerance may be affected by even the small amounts found in drained or undrained yogurt; trial and error is the only way to find out. Generally speaking, lactose content is highest in yogurt made from nonfat milk, especially with added nonfat milk solids.

I have been happy to see the plain-yogurt fan club grow in the last few years as good new versions come on the market. (The preflavored kinds, though hugely popular here, appeal to a different cluster of preferences and aren’t appropriate for any of my recipes.) Savvier shopping has been one result. It starts with careful label reading.

The first thing to look for is the presence of live cultures. Don’t buy anything that doesn’t mention them. The label may say simply, “live active cultures” or list them by name, in which case the ones to look for are
Streptococcus thermophilus
and
Lactobacillus bulgaricus.
There are brands that list numerous others, but adding more kinds of bacteria doesn’t confer any intrinsic flavor advantage, at least to my taste. If you find that you like yogurt prepared with a large number of different organisms, by all means follow your own preference.

The fewer other ingredients, the better. “Milk,” or “milk and cream,” is all
that’s necessary. I avoid everything containing either thickeners (starch, gum, tapioca, pectin) or additives accompanied by health claims (inulin, fructo-oligosaccharides). The additive hardest to avoid is nonfat milk solids, meant to give wan, insubstantial
yogurt more body. I’d prefer to see the goal pursued by other means like using better milk in the first place, but sometimes can’t find anything made without this would-be improvement.

Please be aware that real yogurt is not a low-fat or low-calorie food. (On its home territory people not only made it from whole, unhomogenized milk but often reduced the milk by long
cooking to enrich the yogurt.) If you have tasted good full-fat yogurt, you will realize how inferior the reduced-fat versions are. As for commercial nonfat yogurt, it is inexcusably awful. Calorie counters and fat-watchers had best treat yogurt as a rich food to be used with discretion, not shorn of its true character. Everyone else should know that the higher the listed fat content, the creamier the yogurt. When possible, look for yogurt from unhomogenized milk, though unfortunately this information isn’t always on the label.

Yogurt is best bought as fresh as possible. It becomes sourer with long sitting. Check expiration dates and try to find younger rather than elderly specimens. Once bought, it will stay fresher longer if you
drain the whey as suggested on
this page
. Some (usually imported) brands will say “strained,” indicating that they already have been partly drained. These are usually creamier and fresher-tasting than ones with all the whey still present.

The range of available brands varies greatly in different parts of the United States. The best are almost invariably more expensive than most of the popular national brands. Small producers often sell their
yogurt in local farmers’ markets, and I urge you to explore these before any others. Otherwise, my hands-down favorite is Old Chatham Sheepherding Company yogurt, an advertisement incarnate for the flavor of sheep’s milk. Just about as good (and expensive) is the sheep’s- and goats’-milk yogurt imported from Greece under the brand name Fage Total.

Total also produces a good whole cows’ milk yogurt. But I usually prefer the full-fat cows’-milk yogurts often sold by the quart in Turkish neighborhood groceries, with labels stating that they are made from “whole milk” containing at least 3.5 percent milkfat—a small but quite perceptible improvement over the usual 3.25 percent kind.

I also like the thick, dense buffaloes’-milk yogurt made by the Woodstock Water Buffalo Company of Vermont, though I wish it were unhomogenized and put up in larger containers. My favorite goats’-milk yogurt is the refreshing drinkable Yo-Goat from Coach Farm in New York State. As explained later (
this page
), goats’-milk yogurt is naturally thinner than that from other animals,
a quality that the Yo-Goat people happily embrace instead of trying to disguise it with thickeners as do most other makers.

A final note to cooks: Yogurt curdles on exposure to heat. This doesn’t hurt the flavor, but looks rather unappetizing. Depending on the dish, you may be able to sidestep the problem by warming a sauce through without letting it boil after adding yogurt. Or for a popular Middle Eastern method, mix yogurt with a small amount of flour, cornstarch, or egg white and heat briefly before using it in hot dishes. (In India, people often use chickpea flour.) The usual proportions are about a tablespoon of flour or starch, or 1 egg white, to 4 cups of yogurt. Begin by mixing the flour or starch smooth with a little cold water or lightly beating the egg white. Put the yogurt in a saucepan and whisk or stir until it thins. Add the chosen stabilizer and bring the yogurt barely to a boil, stirring. Let it simmer for a few minutes before adding to the rest of the dish.

WALLACHIAN SHEEP WITH SPIRAL HORNS

I
f you never have made yogurt before, it’s only fair to tell you in advance that what you end up with may not in the least resemble the kinds you’re used to buying—and there’s no reason it should. Perhaps the most important thing to understand is that real yogurt varies widely in natural consistency, depending on factors like the source of the milk.

In the regions I think of as Yogurtistan, the comparatively thin body of unmodified cows’-milk yogurt (as compared to sheep’s or water buffaloes’ milk) isn’t seen as a defect to be got around by adding any of the thickeners frequently put into commercial American yogurt. If people want to thicken yogurt, they do it by subtraction, not addition. Once it is set, they put it in some kind of strainer and leave it until it has lost from a third to half its volume in whey—at least, that’s a usual treatment of cows’-milk yogurt. Pure sheep’s-milk yogurt sets up much thicker because it’s more concentrated to start with, and the pure goats’-milk kind isn’t expected to set up at all; you drink rather than eat it.

The advantages of
draining are several. Thin, undrained yogurt gets sour faster than drained yogurt because the re-tained whey continues to ferment after the yogurt sets, making it sourer without making it any firmer. Yogurt connoisseurs from places like Turkey, Greece, and Armenia always say that good yogurt is “sweet”—meaning not sugary but beautifully milky, fresh, and clean-tasting. The texture will be suave and silky without heaviness. Yogurt thickened by draining also produces better results in cooking. And the whey has its own uses as a refreshing cold drink, light soup base, or cooking liquid for pilafs.

The best analogy to explain the effect of draining is with simmering a broth or stock to reduce it. You are not merely removing liquid but deepening and focusing the original character of the yogurt in a way that can’t be reversed. Sour yogurt
is all very well, but compared with very fresh “sweet” yogurt it is unremarkable. Make the attempt, and I think you will be convinced.

I am often asked where to find professional-quality yogurt cultures for starting a first batch. But the fact is that after various experiments I see no great advantage in them for home yogurtmakers. My advice is to use a few spoonfuls of any plain, unflavored commercial yogurt that you find particularly good.

It’s also unnecessary to buy yogurt “kits” with little individual-sized cups, or any kind of special yogurt-making equipment. I do find an accurate thermometer to be a help, but it’s not essential. You can make do with a few ordinary kitchen items once you grasp the basic stages of the process that you will be putting the milk through. They are:

• Heating and partly cooling

• Inoculating with a starter

• Incubating in a warm environment protected from jostling

• Draining

None of these is difficult as long as you look through the recipe in advance and make mental notes about the equipment you’ll need. The only thing that may require any special advance planning is the incubation period, when the milk has to stay warm for at least 4 to 6 hours. Some people pour the milk into a crockery bowl, cover it with a plate or plastic wrap, and leave it in a warm, draft-free place (for instance, a turned-off gas oven with a pilot light—alas, the newer gas stoves usually don’t have oven pilot lights). My usual solution, which maintains a good even temperature for a long time, is one or more wide-mouthed plastic containers of the kind you can keep liquids hot or cold in, like the inexpensive half-liter Stanley Heatkeeper Food Jars from Aladdin Industries. The good news is that even if the incubating yogurt cools off below the optimum temperature of about 110°F, all is not lost—it will just take longer to set and may be a little thinner. Making yogurt really is pretty foolproof as long as the starter contains active cultures and the milk doesn’t get jounced during incu-bation.

I
usually double the recipe, but suggest starting with these amounts for a maiden effort. Have all equipment as clean as possible before starting.

YIELD:
About 2 to 2½ cups finished yogurt, 1½ to 2 cups whey (Exact amounts will vary from batch to batch.)