Making Greek yoghurt at home is a very easy task. All you need is the right recipe and the correct ingredients. It is as easy as making any normal breakfast on a good day. There are different recipes used in making Greek yoghurt in Nigeria, all you need to do is to choose the one that works best for you. In this article, you would learn how to make Greek yoghurt in Nigeria. Read on to find out.
How to make Greek yoghurt in Nigeria would be discussed below:
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Ingredients Used in Making Greek Yoghurt
If you want to make Greek yoghurt in Nigeria, you would need certain ingredients and equipment. These ingredients can be found in any local market or supermarket near you. The equipment used can be found in the kitchen. The ingredients include a heatproof measuring cup, 3 cups of fatty milk, one packet of yoghurt culture (you can also use live yoghurt culture, about 3 tablespoons), a whisk, a big saucepan, a clean cloth, and half cup of powdered milk, although this powdered milk is optional.
At this point, note that if you are not using live yoghurt, you have to keep 3 tablespoons of milk that would be used later. Also, try not to make so much Greek yoghurt for a start as it might not be an easy task.
- After you must have gotten all your ingredients, the first thing to do is to turn on a gas stove and place the saucepan containing the fatty milk. Make sure the heat of the stove is at the highest level. This is to ensure that the milk is very hot. This would take a little time.
- When the milk starts boiling, turn off the gas stove and remove the milk from the gas. Remember that powdered milk could be added to this recipe if you wish. If you would make use of it, add it to the heated milk and mix it with the whisk.
- After you must have mixed the milk properly, you can then cover the saucepan containing the milk with a lid and allow it to cool down for about an hour or so. Make sure that the milk cools down well. Using a kitchen thermometer to check the temperature of the milk is advisable at this point as it helps you to get the correct temperature needed for the milk so that you would get the recipe well. Ensure that the milk temperature should be at 50°C as this is the perfect temperature required.
- The next step is to add the yoghurt culture whether live or packet. In a situation where you are using the packet yoghurt culture, you would have to mix it with the milk that is now cooling down. If you are using live yoghurt culture, pour it directly into the saucepan containing the milk. After this, mix the content of the saucepan thoroughly with the whisk. The next thing to do is to transfer the mixture straight to the measuring cup.
- The next step is to transfer the measuring cup containing your mixture into an oven that is on medium heat. Before putting the measuring cup into the oven, ensure to cover it well with a lid and wrap a towel around it. This is to make sure your milk does not go below 50°C temperature. If you do not have an oven, no problem. You can also use the double boiler method of putting your measuring cup into a pot of boiling water on top of a gas stove. The stove should be on low heat. Your kitchen thermometer still comes to play here to maintain the temperature.
- If you are using an oven, you have to leave the mixture in it for about 5 hours. This makes the milk lose its liquid state. The whole point of this part is to ensure that the milk does not appear light. It has to be in the oven for a long time. This all depends on if the milk remains runny. When you have gotten the right consistency you need, that is when the milk is no longer light, the next thing to do Is to strain the milk with either an old clean cloth or any strainer of your choice. Place the cloth on top of a bowl. You can use rubber bands to make sure the cloth does not leave the top of the bowl.
- The next thing to do is pour the yoghurt mixture into the cloth you are using as your strainer. After that, you have to put the bowl together with the cloth and yoghurt inside the refrigerator. You have to leave it in the refrigerator for some time, say 2 to 3 hours. Just ensure to leave it for a while in the refrigerator because the longer it stays there and drains the thicker the yoghurt would become. You have to make sure to check on the yoghurt periodically until you get the desired thickness.
Once you have achieved the correct consistency, you can then take the yoghurt out of the refrigerator and remove the rubber bands you used. You can then remove the cloth containing the yoghurt from the bowl. You have to be extremely careful when doing this to ensure that the yoghurt does not mix with the whey(this is the liquid that was strained from the yoghurt). After that, transfer the yoghurt to any container of your choice and return it to the refrigerator to store and preserve for a while. Just make sure you do not keep it for too long. Your Greek yoghurt is now ready to be served. Wasn’t it easy to prepare? Make sure you keep it in a tightly covered container to preserve it. With this, it can be kept in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks or more. You can garnish it however you wish. You can use grapes or strawberries as toppings.
Note that the whey should not be thrown away. It can be used to make other amazing recipes.