a cup of homemade yogurt that got pushed to the back of the refrigerator and forgotten about for almost a month. The lid had gotten loosened and the liquid evaporated so it was about a half a cup. I got it out and looked at it, no mold and I was brave enough to taste it. I liked it enough to start making bigger batches of yogurt and straining in a colander and making yogurt cheese. An accidental creation that I kept doing. Didn’t know back then it was a common food in the Middle East.
@MellyMel22 Back in the early 80’s I entered a sweepstake and won an electric yogurt maker that made 5 cups of yogurt at a time. That’s how I first learned to make it. Then I saw someone make it in a gallon jar with heated milk, cream and a cup of plain yogurt for a starter. After he mixed the yogurt into the lukewarm (not too hot to kill the culture) he wrapped it in a thick blanket and left it overnight until the next afternoon and checked it, the yogurt was set to the proper thickness. Refrigerated it after that. To make yogurt cheese you have to strain the liquid out. I’d line a colander with coffee filters (they usually say cheesecloth but coffee filters are much less expensive) and pour the fresh yogurt in it and put it over a pan and cover and keep in the refrigerator for a couple days till the whey drained off and it was thick. In Turkey they add a bit of salt & some olive oil, and then either season with walnuts and spice or something else. I saw two versions and they both looked really good.
@cherokeepattiI never knew people did that! I’d be worrying it’d go bad out so long. Certain things make me nervous to make, like those hard you save things in. I was afraid to try them after buying them afraid I’d do it wrong and make everyone sick 😩
@MellyMel22 the bacteria in the yogurt culture is a probiotic which means it kills other germs so the yogurt keeps longer. As long as you keep it cold in the refrigerator it will be good for over a month. I would have it on toast for breakfast with honey and use it up before a month was over, it was addictive.
@MellyMel22 You have to leave it out for the beneficial bacteria to grow. It won’t cause food poisoning because of the good bacteria. It’s a process that’s worked for thousands of years. This is how they were able to keep dairy for a longer period of time without refrigeration in the Middle East…eating it with pita or other flatbreads, walnuts, fresh greens, honey etc. And when you have a healthy bacteria in your gut your digestive system gets stronger and able to kill the bad germs.
@MellyMel22 Sauerkraut and other fermented foods that sit out for days fermenting are also extremely beneficial for health. It also increases the bioavailability of nutrients when you ferment them. The one thing you should be careful of is home canning foods, if you don’t know what you should do and don’t follow the procedures correctly you can create botulism which can either cause paralysis or kill someone. Some will hot water bath foods that need to be pressure canned. A student at the university died after eating tomatoes which were water bathed and they would have been OK since tomatoes have a lot of acid but she didn’t realize low-acid varieties of tomatoes were being used and must be pressure-canned to be safe.
@MellyMel22 No if you want to home can anything you study it well and there are home extension county groups where a home economist can help advise you if you don’t have relatives familiar with canning. I used to can a lot of foods including veggies, fruits, pickles, jams etc. Never had a problem, I stuck to the guide for canning each and every different type of thing. It’s not that complicated.
@MellyMel22 I think this is why we need more home ec classes including special ones for canning and preserving foods. I would like to see it offered to adults in the local Vo Tech centers or county extension centers.
@MellyMel22 That’s exactly what you need to get you started. If you live in the USA you can check homemaker extension groups in your area and agricultural colleges usually are connected to them. They have one in almost every county here.
