We love eating yoghurt aboard Mirrool. It is healthy, satiating and easy to digest. When we are away for long periods of time we’ll eat up to 1.5L a week!
Milk powder works remarkably well for homemade yoghurt and in our experience thickens better than using fresh milk which makes it a perfect food for remote travel.
Try adding yoghurt to your morning cereal or as a healthy alternative to cream in pasta and curry dishes (however when using a yoghurt as a cream replacement in your cooking make sure you do not boil it as it will separate).
Equipment you’ll need:
- A well insulated 1L yoghurt container which could be a wide-mouthed Thermos, an EsiYo Kit container or a wide-mouthed container placed in a warm place and wrapped in several blankets so it maintains warmth for at least 12 hours
- Thermometer
- Saniitser solution (We use our brewing sanitiser mix but 1 part bleach 50 parts water should be sufficient as well)
- Saucepan
- Spoon
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups of Milk Powder (or 800mL fresh milk with ½ cup milk powder)
- 700mL sterilised water (to sterilise your water you can boil the night before)
- Yoghurt with alive cultures
Thoroughly clean your yoghurt container, whisk and spoon with warm soapy water and then sterilise using sanitiser solution (or boiling water) and set aside.
To begin whisk the water with the milk powder in the saucepan. Using your thermometer and continuously whisking to prevent the milk burning on the bottom of your saucepan heat the milk to 45 degrees. Once at 45 degrees turn off the heat and use your sanitised spoon to add 2 tablespoons of yoghurt to the milk. Stir well and then pour into your yoghurt container. Leave your filled container in a stable place for at least 12 hours. Then place in the fridge until cool.
To maintain the live yoghurt culture always serve your yoghurt with a clean, sanitised spoon and, as delicious as it is, don’t be tempted to eat it straight from the tub!
To watch a demonstration of Pascale making yoghurt check out the video below from 13:55.
In addition to making yoghurt the ezi-yo way, I have a wooden box lined with old clothes, mostly cotton and wool, into which I nestle things to slow cook. I start a roast off and bring it up to temperature in a cast iron pot with a lid, browning it on all sides and include a liquid such as wine or stock. Once it is brought up to the boil, the lid is secured and the lidded pot is placed into the wooden box with all the old clothes tucking around it. I leave it there all day and at dinner time, bring it up to temperature, skim off the liquid, thicken it to make a gravy and slice the meat. It is tender, hot and delicious
Hi Wendy. Lovely to meet you at the Furneaux Tavern at the start of the year. Only just logged in to our website and noticed your comment just now before we head over to Port Davey. I’m very keen to try your “haybox” method with some yummy Tassie produce this winter while we refit our boat in Hobart. I will let you know how it goes, and if we make it back to Flinders, we’d love to visit you at Badger corner if you’re around. All the best, Pascale
Sometimes, keeping yoghurt going in a continuous cycle of make, eat, start a new tub to make more etc can fall apart. At home, I keep a packet of the Easiyo powder in the pantry & use just 2 level tablespoons per 800ml of made up milk powder to get a new batch going. The packet mix keeps active for a very long time just closed, & you can tell if the packet contents are losing potency when the yoghurt takes longer to set towards the bottom of the packet. These Easiyo packets are an expensive way to buy mostly powdered milk with a little of the Lactobacillus needed to start yoghurt. This is a more economical & space-saving way to use them.
Hi Vanessa. Great minds! I also always have EasiYo sachets at hand in case my yoghurt starts to taste bad or not set properly. I’ve actually only had to use it once in the Kimberely after more than 3 months with the same culture. Some other cruiser friends of ours were able to keep the same cultures going for a year! Thanks for the great tip as I forgot to mention it in the video. Pascale