Employing Kefir as a Lactic Starter for Homemade Yogurt
In the world of cheesemaking, Kefir culture stands out as a diverse and beneficial source of cultures for yogurt production. This intriguing method, popularised by author David Asher, offers a unique twist on the traditional yogurt-making process.
The process begins with cooking the milk. This step achieves several objectives: it concentrates the milk, denatures albumin proteins, and reduces oxygen in the milk, encouraging appropriate fermentation. Cooking the milk for 30 minutes to an hour, while stirring all the while, also thickens the yogurt.
Once the milk has been cooked, it's cooled to 110°F (43°C) before the addition of the starter culture. In this case, Asher uses Kefir instead of traditional yogurt or freeze-dried culture. Stirring the cooled milk is necessary to prevent a skin from forming.
The inoculation of cooled milk with the starter culture is followed by incubation. The appropriate incubation temperature for yogurt is cooled milk between 100 and 110°F (38 to 43°C). This temperature range encourages the development of Lactobacillus and Streptococcus bacteria, which give yogurt its good flavor and texture.
For yogurt to develop its best texture, the making process demands the maker's full attention. Cooking the milk slowly to a high enough temperature and for a long period of time, and stirring the milk nonstop during cooking, are all crucial steps.
The high-temperature incubation of the fermenting milk with Kefir also reduces the activity of Kefir's yeast and fungal cultures, eliminating any effervescence. After 4 hours of incubation at 100-110°F, the yogurt is ready. However, it can be left to ferment longer for a more acidic yogurt.
Interestingly, using Kefir as a yogurt starter eliminates the need to keep other starters. Furthermore, if using Kefir as a starter, raw milk will result in a true raw milk yogurt.
Despite extensive research, there are no records that indicate when Asher's natural yogurt recipe was first published. Nevertheless, the diversity of microorganisms within the Kefir culture makes a remarkably flavorful yogurt, setting it apart from traditional yogurt-making methods.
