The Why, How, & WOW of Yogurt
"WHY" did we start making yogurt? Because we love yogurt and we have the perfect milk for awesome farmstead yogurt. Our mixed breed cheesemaking cows (Normande, Ayrshire, Jersey and Montbeliard) genetics produce milk with a high ratio of fat and protein as well as mineral solids. This means we can make thick, creamy delicious yogurt without any additives and without straining any of the whey. While there are plenty of other great local yogurt options out there, we wanted to make our own yogurts just the way we like them (simple high quality ingredients) and share them with our family, friends and all our loyal cheese customers.
We use our own milk, no additives or stabilizers except lactic cultures and some real maple syrup for our maple yogurt. We wanted to make a maple yogurt we could feel good about feeding our kids any time of day so we went easy on the maple, just enough to know its in there but not too sweet. Yogurt is a fermented dairy product just as cheeses are, except the main difference is the whey never leaves the curd (unless you are talking about a strained yogurt like Greek yogurt or Labneh from Slim Pickins!). All the goodness from our pasture based organic milk is packed into each quart.
The “HOW" is really fascinating to me. As cheesemakers we are used to products that we make today and then take care of for weeks, months and in some cases years before we enjoy the fruits of our labor. Yogurt on the other hand we make today and it's ready to eat tomorrow! Here’s a little about the process.
First we start with our fresh raw milk and pump it over to the vat in the creamery. Next we begin the pasteurization process where we heat the milk to 180 degrees F for about 45 minutes. This process ensures the safety of our product and denatures the proteins so that when they coagulate they form a nice thick and creamy curd mass.
Our yogurt is considered a "cup set" yogurt which means the fermentation and coagulation phase occurs directly in our yogurt cups. After pasteurization, we add some really beneficial cultures to aid the fermentation and coagulation process. Next we fill our yogurt cups and send them over to the incubator where they spend the night. This is where the magic happens, that fluid milk congeals revealing a thin creamline on top and thick custard like curd on the bottom. After the desired pH is reached, the cooler is turned on and the colder temps stall the lactic acid bacteria in their tracks, halting the fermentation process and resulting in yogurt ready for us to dig into by the spoonful the next morning!
When we talk about the "WOW" I like to start with the the live active lactic cultures you'll find in our yogurts: Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis. These are common lactic bacteria that are found in many yogurts. However when you combine them with our organic grass fed milk (loaded with the good fats omega3s) you have a superfood that’s really great for your gut. Both plain and maple yogurts are delicious on their own, with some granola (I personally love the BackRoads Coconut Crunch granola available in the farm store), or maybe turned into a creamy salad dressing or possibly a super tasty dessert with some fresh raspberries!