Yogurt

When I first heard that yogurt could be made at home without any special equipment, I was intrigued. 

People make homemade yogurt for a variety of reasons, cost and taste being the most common. For me however, it was the fact that 4 years of post-secondary education, 6 years of graduate school, and even more time spent working in a research lab, were finally going to be useful.

To describe it in lab terms, yogurt is bacterial culture. Bacteria are used to inoculate or seed a liquid medium, in this case, milk. As the bacteria grow, they convert the lactose in milk to lactic acid, which gives yogurt its characteristic “tangy” flavor. The lactic acid also interacts with the milk proteins to produce a thicker texture.

There are a couple of things to consider when making yogurt:

1. Milk.

Whole milk gives the best results when making yogurt. If you want something lower fat, 2% milk with added milk powder, to increase the protein concentration also works really well. Here in Texas, I’ve had great results using the high-protein 2% milk from Borden.

2. Bacterial starter.

While you can buy freeze-dried bacteria cultures, it’s much easier to go to the grocery store and buy a small container of yogurt to use as your starter. Different yogurts produce subtly different flavours and textures. I quite like Activia yogurt by Dannon, mostly because it produces a smooth-textured yogurt, but also because I get a kick out of culturing their proprietary bacterium, Bifidobacterium lactis DN-173 010. 

3. Yogurt style

The method and length of the incubation period gives different styles of yogurt. The best and quickest way is to use something to keep your yogurt at the ideal incubation temperature of ~120°F/50°C with an electric yogurt maker. However, wrapping the yogurt in a towel and storing it in a warm spot works just as well, if not a bit slower. I’ve found that the towel-method and the following incubation times work well:

4 hours: very soft, drinkable yogurt

6-8 hours: very soft, cream like, no tang

9-10 hours: firm, slight tang.

While most recipes suggest reserving a bit of your homemade yogurt to start the next batch, I never do.  For consistent results, so I always use store-bought yogurt when making a new batch.

Of course, no bacterial work can be done without adhering to safe food handling practices, or as we say at work, aseptic technique. In the lab, we autoclave our dishes, wear gloves, disinfect surfaces with ethanol, and even control the air flow. For yogurt, just wash everything in really hot water. The sanitize cycle on a dishwasher is convenient. If you want to be extra-cautious, boil your jars and utensils as though you were canning.

Yogurt

Adapted from Bon Appetit

8 cups of whole milk

6 tablespoons of yogurt with live and active cultures (or 1 single serving pack of Activia)

Kitchen thermometer

1. Heat milk in a medium, thick-bottomed, saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan often with a heatproof spatula. If you have a thin-bottomed saucepan like I do, just accept the fact that some of the milk may scorch.  Heat until the milk just until it begins to bubble, around 185°F /85°C. If you are using raw milk, this step will kill off any bacteria, so that it’s a clean slate for your culture. 

2. Turn heat to low and keep milk at 185°F /85°C for about 20-25 minutes. This long heating period denatures the milk proteins, so that it thickens properly rather than forming cheese.

3. Turn off the heat and let the milk cool to 110°F-130°F /40°C-55°C. You can put the saucepan in a large bowl filled with ice water to speed things up. A skin will form over the milk as it cools. It’s edible, but I scoop it out and discard it.

4. Using a sterile spoon, place your yogurt in a small, sterile bowl and slowly stir in about 1.5 cups of warm milk until it is completely incorporated.  You want the dilute the yogurt so that it has the same consistency as milk.

5. Pour the yogurt mixture into the remainder of the milk in the saucepan. Gently stir the milk until everything is mixed.

6. Pour the yogurt mixture into glass or plastic jars with lids. I use a mixture of small canning jars and old jam/sauce jars. Wrap the jars in a bath towel and place in a warm oven (just make sure you turn off the heat after the yogurt goes in) or another warm spot. Let the mixture incubate from 4-20 hours, depending on the desired result. The longer you incubate the yogurt, the thicker and tangier it will be.

7. Place yogurt in the fridge for several hours to stop the bacterial growth and to firm up the yogurt. A little bit of whey may form on top, which can be stirred back into the yogurt or poured off.

8. For thicker yogurts, simply strain after chilling.  For Greek yogurt, strain the yogurt for several hours. For labneh, strain overnight. While I prefer unsweetened yogurt, toppings that I’ve enjoyed include honey, fruit, pumpkin butter and black sesame powder.

Strawberry Tart with Almond Shortbread Crust

When I was growing up, we had a strawberry patch in our garden. What started off as an inspired, if not overly-romantic idea, soon became an overgrown chore that threatened to take over a good portion of the yard. There were weeds to pull, runners to contain, and insects to fight off.

Most of the time, the strawberries weren’t anything to brag about—small, funny looking and only partially ripened. There were days where we seriously questioned the whole enterprise. But every now and then, we would find a spectacular berry-- big and completely red, just begging to be eaten right in the garden. And the strawberry patch would regain its status as The Best Idea Ever.

This strawberry tart recipe was a bid to use up various leftover ingredients in my kitchen. A handful of almond meal in the crust, and that last bit of buttermilk for the pastry cream. The buttermilk adds an interesting tang to the pastry cream, but traditional milk works nicely as well.

The whole process is a bit involved, but each component is relatively fast and can be made ahead of time--just assemble everything prior to serving. You can also use store bought pie crust or frozen puff pastry for even faster assembly.

Strawberry Tart with Almond Shortbread Curst

Almond Shortbread Crust

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup almond meal

1/3 cup icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)

grated zest of 1 large lemon

¼ tsp salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

1 large egg, beaten, cold.

¼ cup ice water (if needed)

Apricot jam (optional)

Yield: 9” round tart or 14”x5”rectangular tart

In a medium bowl, cut cold butter into flour and almond meal using a pastry blender, two knives, or in a food processor. Blend until pea size lumps form.

Add the cold egg and mix until the dough starts to come together when pinched. It should not be wet or sticky. If dough is still crumbly, add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time

Turn out the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, gather the edges creating a ball. Knead and press the dough a few times while wrapped in plastic to mix all the components. It will be pretty crumbly at first, and come together after a few turns. While wrapped, flatten the dough into a round disc or rectangle depending on the shape of your tart tray.

Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight for better flavour. Dough can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, or frozen for up to a month.

Roll out the dough on a well floured surface to 0.5 cm or 1/5 inch thickness. Transfer to tart pan, chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 325° F/160° C. Line the tart shell with foil and fill with baking weights, beans or rice. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and weights. Continue baking, uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until pale golden.

(Optional) Melt about ¼ cup of apricot jam in the microwave. Using a pastry or basting brush, brush the surface of the tart with the melted jam to keep the crust from getting soggy. Cool the tart completely before filling.

Buttermilk Diplomat Cream

3 large egg yolks

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 ½ tbsp corn starch

¾ cups scalded buttermilk

¼ tsp vanilla

½ tbsp butter

¼ cup + ½ tbsp heavy whipping cream

Yield: 1 cup

Note: The cooking times for this recipe are based off of my experience making pastry cream in a wok. Unconventional, I know, but for the longest time I only owned a wok and a rice cooker. While I have expanded my collection of pots and pans, I still prefer to make custards and creams in a wok. It’s easier to stir, and everything cooks faster with the large surface area.

In a large heat proof measuring cup, heat milk in microwave until it just begins to bubble, about 2 minutes. Let milk cool until just hot to the touch.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolk and sugar on medium high speed for about 3-4 minutes, until very thick and ribbons form. Reduce speed to low and add cornstarch.

Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan (or flat bottom wok) and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula for 3-5 minutes until the mixture thickens. After it begins to thicken, large curd-like lumps will start to appear. When the first lumps appear, whisk vigorously for another 2-4 minutes or until the custard comes together and becomes uniformly thick, like a pudding.

Take the custard off of the heat. Stir in the vanilla, butter and heavy cream.

For an extra smooth texture, press the pastry cream through a sieve into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the custard and refrigerate until cold. At this stage, you have pastry cream. Whip it loosen it up just prior to use. Pastry cream can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days, or frozen for several months.

I personally find the pastry cream a little rich, so I like to lighten it up with some whipped cream. This is now called a Diplomat Cream. The ratio of pastry cream to whipping cream can vary depending on your preferences. Here I’ve used a 2:1 ratio.

In a chilled bowl, beat ¼ cup chilled whipping cream with a mixer until soft peaks form.

Gently fold this whipped cream into 1 cup of pastry cream to lighten it.

Assembly of Strawberry Tart

Fill the tart shell with diplomat cream or pastry cream.

Wash and dry about 2 dozen strawberries, and depending on the size, slice them in half or thirds and arrange decoratively on top of the cream. This is best served immediately, but can be stored in the refrigerator overnight.

(Optional) Brush melted apricot jam over the strawberries. This gives the berries a nice shine, and keeps the fruit from drying out.

Clafoutis

We decided to start this recipe collection with a few of our favourite recipes, which naturally come from our mothers.

Picking a fav from each family was quite easy, as these happen to be the first recipes we emailed for after moving away from home.

Clafoutis or clafouti. Wikipedia says the "s" is the French spelling, which is dropped in the English version. However, I've seen both versions, in both languages.

No matter how you spell it, clafouti is fun to say (kla-FOO-tee) and easy to make (like, only-one-bowl-to-wash easy). Clafoutis is a baked rustic dessert typically made from cherries, egg and milk . As it bakes, the batter puffs up, and then deflates when it cools to form a collar around the cherries. While clafouti is often served warm and dusted with powdered sugar, I also like it the next day, straight from the refrigerator.

Traditionally,  fresh, unpitted cherries are used in this dish, as the pits are supposed to enhance the flavour. I use frozen, pitted cherries for the ultimate in convenience (you don't even need to thaw them, just throw them in frozen).

Clafoutis 
from the kitchen of Françoise Gautron

Pour 5-6 personnes

2dl de lait
3 oeufs
100g de sucre
120g de farine
500g de cerises dénoyautées
1 sachet de sucre vanillé 

Battre les oeufs entiers avec le sucre. 
Ajouter la farine et bien mélanger.
Verser peu à peu le lait froid.
Beurrer le plat. Diposer les cerises et les recouvrir de la perparation.
Faire cuire 60min, 180 degrés
Le clafoutis est cuit lorsque la surface est bien prise.
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Serves 5-6
1 cup of whole milk
3 large eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
3/4 flour
2 cups of pitted cherries
1 tsp of vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F
Beat the eggs with the sugar.
Add the flour about a 1/4 cup at a time and mix well. 
Add the cold milk a little at a time.
Lightly butter a pie dish or baking dish.
Arrange cherries in dish and cover with the batter.
Bake for ~60 mins until the surface is puffed and brown, and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.