Dusting off the yogurt maker

I bought a Donvier yogurt maker and loved making Bulgarian-type, plain yogurt but when life went to hell in a handbasket four years ago, many things in my life came to an abrupt halt.  Yogurt making was definitely one of them.

I don’t know what got into me, but a week ago I dusted it off and made a batch.  I remember now why I love homemade yogurt so much.  I simply adore the pure, delicate taste.  This week I made another batch, as well as some yogurt cheese.  Yogurt cheese was the basis for the caramel tarts I made this weekend, and not crème fraiche as Jamie Oliver stated that he used in his recipe {I still have not seen a written version of this recipe – just my notes jotted down on the plane ! }

Five years ago, when I bought my yogurt maker {online} I heard of yogurt cheese for the first time.  I’ll confess.  I thought, yug.  I could not have been more wrong. It is fabulous.  It’s a lot like the texture of softened cream cheese, but, again, it has a delicate taste and it has umpteen uses.  It can be spread on bagels and crackers, used in dip recipes, and in fact, used in any and all recipes that call for sour cream, cream cheese, creamy cottage cheese {not really available in USA}, ricotta or for crème fraiche.  Best of all, it’s healthy and low fat or non fat depending on the milk used, and did I say, quite delicious?  Here are some facts about yogurt cheese.

This is how I make it.  I place two containers of my homemade yogurt in a special funnel that I purchased for this purpose.  {The funnel has a plastic mesh liner and the point is open.}  I place the funnel over a jug,

cover it with plastic, and place it in the fridge overnight.  The whey separates from the yogurt and drips into the jug, leaving creamy cheese in the funnel.  I store the cheese in a sterilized glass jar in the fridge.

I see that the type funnel that I have is no longer available for purchase, but there are others if you do a search.  But the cookbook that I bought, Not Just Cheesecake, can still be ordered here.

Yogurt cheese is a spreadable consistency

  

Mwah on fresh fruit and berries

Caramel tartlets before caramel

...and after