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Yogurt

Ishmael (462 posts) • +1

I have been buying fengweisuannai in glass bottles from my local shop for 15 years and bought some last week, no problem, Have seen it in other shops as well. I return the bottles in groups of 5. Yeah, a little sweet, but it's ok by me, just wondered what others may think.

GoK Moderator (5096 posts) • +2

I eat natural yogurt as a non dessert product, and so I do not want it sweetened. It can be used in the similar ways to soured cream.
If I do want a sweet dairy product, I simply add honey, or jam to it for a flavored yogurt.

making my own is very cheap. If I buy milk for 10 rmb a liter, then I guess production cost will only be 1-2 rmb in addition, for 1 ltr of natural yogurt.

lemon lover (1006 posts) • +3

@Ishmael
Good to hear that the stuff is still available some place and not all is replaced by disposable plastics. Not in my area however so that’s why I make my own.

Ishmael (462 posts) • 0

I'm almost certain I still see other brands in glass bottles too, but I prefer fengweisuannai.

Alexez (349 posts) • 0

Ok. I've got a yg maker. Made my very first batch today. Tastes & smells good, but seems like quite lots of water in it as well. Like the one which is usually on commercial yogurts on the top. So just wonder if I done something wrong? I used powdered milk, mixed properly with water as per instruction.

Added the starter per instruction and done 8h in sunny kitchen so no cold there at all. So is time not enough or too long / too hot coz kitchen?

I would also have a question about the milk powder. I got one in Metro , was in discounted coz have only 4months left to expire. It's from NZ called Instant Skim Milk Powder . The low fat , I believe? That could be a problem?

Also a very strange thing on the packaging. There is a writing from producer about that powder has no additional coloring, sugars , low fat ..etc. That writing was covered by simple white sticker by Metro. Just a white piece of blank sticker as they want to cover that info. I thought that's the positive info about the product, why would they cover it? It's obviously exactly cut sticker to cover it , not coincidence. So I just wonder if anybody came across the same thing?

GoK Moderator (5096 posts) • 0

Full fat is better, and give a thicker yogurt. Commercial low fat yogurts are set with rennet.

The other thing you could try is heat it to almost boiling (90 deg) first as this breaks down the protein, and avoids stringy protein strands. Then let it cool to below 45 degrees (luke warm) before adding the culture. If it is too hot it will kill the bacteria in the culture. Temperatures are not critical, you don't need a thermometer, but it helps.

lemon lover (1006 posts) • +2

@Alexez
Skimmed milk or milk powder gives a rather thin yoghurt. As the Tiger said above commercial yogurts are made in a different way. Indeed adding full cream milk or milk powder will give you a more solid yoghurt.

Another trick is to use a slightly stronger solution; using an extra 20% milk powder in the same amount of water. On the other hand this is what real no fat yoghurt is without the industrial tricks to get it more solid (Gelatine and gums are added as well in commercial yoghurts)
The explanation of the sticker is that imported goods have to be labelled in accordance with Chinese regulations. Apparently the product wasn’t and this was remedied with the sticker.
Normally powdered milk does not need to be denatured (heat treated).
Often DSM can be used well beyond the expiry date. I have used DSM that was a year over time and had been stored under appalling conditions without any problems.

Alexez (349 posts) • 0

Thanks for the tips. Yep , I was suspecting the low fat problem. Any particular recommendations for milk powder? In Metro , Carefour or TB ?

I'll buy full fat after finishing this one.

thanks again!

lemon lover (1006 posts) • +2

Fonterra “Blue” is a full cream milk powder. You will get good results as well with a 50-50 mix of full cream and dry skimmed milk. Sold both at Metro and Walmart.

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